Corporate Sector Authority/Legends
The Corporate Sector Authority (CSA) was a corporatocracy that operated the Corporate Sector, a sector located at the front end of the Tingel Arm of the galaxy's Outer Rim Territories and was established sometime before 27 BBY.
It eventually was took over by members of the Galactic Corporate Policy League (GCPL), lobbyists who supported Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic Palpatine and rewarded by being made controlling members of the CSA when he became Emperor of the Galactic Empire
The CSA was allowed to continue relatively unabated, as they tolerated corporate competition and companies insure they did things for the greater good of the Galactic Empire and had formal diplomatic relations with the CSA.
History
- "The Corporate Sector wasn't always what it is today. Back in the old days it was simply a place where businesses could go and make a few credits without too many bureaucrats getting into the act. As an enterprising businessman, I can appreciate that kind of setup. That was back when the Republic was something to be respected, and the businesses were kept on a tight leash. But things changed…"
- ―Han Solo
The Corporate Sector was first formed in 490 BBY, in order to resolve differences between Galactic Republic lawmakers and the heads of many of the galaxy's largest corporations that largely existed in the Expansion Region. The Corporate Sector was established in the front end of the Tingel Arm region of the Outer Rim Territories and originally consisted of a few hundred star systems, all of which were supposedly devoid of sentient species. The corporations allowed to operate in the sector could purchase entire regions of space. However, they were meant to be supervised by the Galactic Republic.
In the last years of the Republic, a group of lobbyists known as the Galactic Corporate Policy League, backed by such influential figures as Baron Tagge, began to get in close with then-Chancellor Palpatine, presumably representing the loyalist companies in the sector, although during the Clone Wars most of the Corporate Sector supported the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
After the conflict's resolution, the assets of most Separatist corporations were nationalized or given to loyal companies as a reward (e.g., KDY, SFS or the Tagge Company).[3] Then several of Palpatine's influential corporate allies, led by Tagge, convinced the Emperor to expand the Corporate Sector to nearly 30,000 star systems, and with the signing of the Corporate Sector Charter a new umbrella company was formed from the GCPL to rule the newly-expanded sector: The Corporate Sector Authority.[3][1]
The CSA took possession of many of the remaining droids belonging to the Confederacy following the Battle of Murkhana, and as per its agreement with the Empire paid an annual stipend of 3% of the sector's gross product, as well as a tithe of materials and ore produced. In the years after the war's end much of the surviving Corporate Alliance's assets relocated to the Corporate Sector. Eleven sentient species were discovered in this expansion, though the Corporate Sector was careful to cover this fact up.
The CSA's encroachments upon surrounding systems did not always go unforgiven. The Kobok, a militaristic species, did not appreciate the CSA's claim on planets bordering their territory, and the two groups often fought in border disputes. Circa 15 BBY, the Koboks and the CSA engaged in open warfare. The Corporate Sector also came into conflict with the felinoid Trianii species. An armistice was eventually signed between the Corporate Sector and the Trianii three years after the start of the CSA–Trianii War.[4]
During Emperor Palpatine's reign over the galaxy, many of the Corporate Sector's companies developed technologies for use by the Empire. However, following the Battle of Hoth a contributing company, Galactic Electronics, developed a new magnetic pulse warhead and sold it to the Rebel Alliance. In retaliation the Imperial Star Destroyer Glory invaded the sector and seized the corporation's deep-space research facility. During the Galactic Civil War, many people sought refuge in the Corporate Sector; however, it was not long before those people discovered that the Corporate Sector was far more stark than the Empire.
In the wake of the Battle of Endor and the Emperor's death, the Corporate Sector tried to remain neutral and sold products to both the New Republic and the remnants of the Empire. The New Republic, however, was too burdened with establishing a new government to sign a long-lasting partnership with the corporate-minded fiefdom—especially since some in the New Republic boycotted the CSA for being just as bad as, if not even worse than, the Empire.
Government and politics
The government of the Corporate Sector Authority was made up of several powerful corporations. These companies were managed by the Direx Board, which was made up of 55 members, all of whom were high-ranking business executives. The Direx Board was led by the ExO, or Executive officer, and other posts included Prex (President), Viceprex, Auditor-General and the Imperial Advisor that represented the interests of the Galactic Empire. The monetary authority of the Corporate Sector was the Authority Currency Exchange. Etti IV was the administrative center for the sector as well as a major trading crossroads.[1]
As with its other client states, the Galactic Empire maintained an embassy in the Corporate Sector.[5]
Economy
(For a list of companies that were affiliated with the Corporate Sector Authority, go here)
(For a list of companies that were Signatory Sponsors of the Corporate Sector Authority, go here)
Culture
The Corporate Sector Authority had much less racial discrimination than the Humanocentric Galactic Empire, although it advertised on the appeal of being free of alien interests. The prevailing culture of the Corporate Sector tended to value a being's financial status much more than their species of origin.
On the other hand, the Corporate Sector Authority historically violated the rights of sentient beings. The CSA possessed exclusive rights to use the sector's resources as it saw fit; the corporations within the region would typically strip a planet bare, often using slave labor or destroying the world's natural environment in the process. The majority of the Authority's residents consisted of the working class; citizenship, which granted limited "shareholder" rights, was purchased, putting it out of the reach of most laborers. Labor relationships were extremely poor, and most people lived in impoverished conditions; one of the most severe crimes in the Corporate Sector was to form, or even attempt to organize, a labor union.
Military
The Security Division of the Corporate Sector Authority was responsible for law enforcement and the defense of the CSA's territories. The police of the CSA, known as Espos, had a reputation for brutality. Many of those convicted of political crimes within the Sector were sentenced to terms at a secret prison called Stars' End.
The Security Division also maintained a large fleet to patrol their territory, that consisted of relatively outdated vessels bought from Imperial surplus stock.[1] The fleet's operators were trained by advisors from system defense navies that still utilized the aging designs.[1] Ships included first-generation Victory-I-class Star Destroyers, Invincible-class Dreadnaught cruisers,[1] and Marauder-class corvettes. The Authority IRD was one of the numerous types of starfighters used by the Security Division.[source?] The CSA began purchasing large numbers of Dreadnaught-class heavy cruisers as soon as they were developed. At some point prior to the Battle of Yavin, the CSA military sold a number of its older Marauder corvettes to the fledgling Rebel Alliance.
Astrography
The Corporate Sector encompassed the area of the Aparo and Wyl sectors in the northeast quadrant of the Outer Rim. The region was chosen for widespread economic development by the Galactic Republic for its lack of native sentient life, a notion that would later prove to be untrue.
The worlds of the Corporate Sector included Ammuud, Bonadan, Roonadan, Bretta, Duroon, Etti IV, Kalla VII, Kail, Kir, Orron III, Knolstee, Maryo, Mytus VII, Gaurick, Rampa II, Reltooine, Saffalore, Ulicia, Abo Dreth, Craci, Drog II, Erysthes, Kuminphal, Mall'ordian, Ession, Matra VI, Oslumpex V, Brosi, Colsa, Mos, Thosa, Tol, and the Trianii colonies of Trian, Fibuli, Ekibo, Pypin and Brochiib. The Corporate Sector Authority was known to ravage entire ecosystems in their hunt for profits.
