Mid Rim
The Mid Rim, also known as the Mid-Rim, Middle Rim, Mid-systems, or the Mid Rim Territories, was a region of the galaxy located between the Expansion Region and the Outer Rim Territories. With fewer natural resources—and therefore a smaller population—than many neighboring regions, the Mid Rim was a territory where residents worked hard for everything they had. Several planets built up impressive economies, and pirate raiders often hid in the relatively unexplored spaces far from major trade routes.
History
Early Beginnings
During the Pre-Republic era, the Wookiees of Kashyyyk were ruled by the galactic-spanning Infinite Empire of the Rakata who terraformed the planet's surface for agricultural purposes. The collapse of their empire left the terraforming machines unattended which resulted in the planet's abnormally large foliage. The Hutt Empire encompassed a number of Mid Rim worlds including Nal Hutta and Nar Shaddaa.[3] However, the Bothans were able to resist Hutt expansion and carve up their own independent region of space which evolved into the Bothan sector.[1]
The Mid Rim politically developed as a consequence of a colonization boom in the Expansion Region during the Great Manifest Period (20,000—17,000 BBY). Profits from business ventures in the Expansion Region prompted several Inner Rim political systems and religious organizations to colonize and develop the worlds in the Mid Rim's portion of the Slice. This colonization boom attracted few corporations which chose to remain in the Expansion Region due to the region's business friendly policies. Over the following millennia, colonization in the Mid Rim developed at a progressive albeit leisurely pace which provided successive generations of colonists with ample space to expand into. Due to the stronger presence of central government from Coruscant, there was less criminal activity in the region compared to the more distant Outer Rim Territories. The crime-dominated Hutt Space bordered the eastern fringes of the Mid Rim.[1]
In 12,000 BBY, Ord Mantell was settled by Corellian colonists as a Republic military outpost.[4]
Circa 4000 BBY the Mid Rim was known as the Frontier or Galactic Frontier, as it was the limit of the then explored galaxy. Most Mid Rim colony worlds became dependent on low-cost manufacturing and agriculture as the basis of their economies. However, this prosperity attracted the attention of pirates who used unexplored space as a hiding place and staging ground for raids on colonies. This became a problem in the period following the Sith Civil War.[1]
The Republic Classic era
During the New Sith Wars in 1800 BBY, Republic forces bombed the Ubese homeworld of Uba IV and exterminated all life on Uba I, II and V . This led to the near-extinction of the Ubese species who maintained an everlasting belligerence towards the Republic and the Jedi.[1] Throughout this period, Gap Nine[5] and Almas[6] were the sites of battles between the Republic and various Sith factions. In the Light and Darkness War, the Brotherhood of Darkness invaded Kashyyyk and Trandosha. However, the Trandoshans slaughtered many of the troopers. The Sith retaliated by invading their world and burning the homes of the Trandoshans, leading the surviving Trandoshans to save themselves from death by pledging loyalty to the Brotherhood. In 1000 BBY, the lush world of Ruusan was the site of seven epic battles which culminated in the destruction of the Brotherhood. Following the campaign, the Republic enacted the Ruusan Reformations which increased the powers of the Galactic Senate while reducing the number of senators.[3]
Circa 1000 BBY, Malastare was colonized by Gran colonists from Kinyen which resulted in a bloody and violent war. Using their influence in the Senate, the Gran were able to settle the conflict in their favor and established the colonial Gran Protectorate. The native Dugs were demilitarized and resettled on Malastere's western continent where they were exploited by their Gran colonial masters over the millennia. Throughout the last centuries of the Republic, the Gran colonists dominated Malastare.[7][8]
Under the Emperor Palpatine's new Galactic Empire, Imperial forces invaded Kashyyyk and enslaved the Wookiees with the collaboration of the Trandoshans who profited in the slave trade.[9]
The Empire and Beyond
Following the Declaration of a New Order, a series of Imperial academies were established throughout the Mid Rim. It was heavily patrolled by the Empire, which feared that it was ripe for the Rebellion to set up bases there. The region's interstellar markets also profited from favorable trading incentives.[1]As the Empire withdrew from the Rim following their defeat at Endor, the Mid Rim remained one of the few places unquestionably under Imperial control. In 4 ABY, an experimental Ssi-ruuvi Hyperdrive system was discovered to have crash-landed on the planet Garos IV over 25,000 years before.[10] After the Battle of Endor, it housed many hidden Imperial bases and makeshift shipyards. Many rival Moffs maintained "private empires" in this region on the condition that they supply troops and taxes to legitimate Imperial fleets in the region. During the time of the return of Palpatine in 10 ABY, the Mid Rim was still a significant Imperial power base which kept their massive fleets supplied.[1]
In 11 ABY, Palpatine's final clone body and spirit were destroyed during a battle at Onderon. Following his demise, the Alliance's successor state the New Republic recaptured much of the Mid Rim. By 19 ABY, the Empire had been pushed out of the Mid Rim into eighteen backwater sectors in the Outer Rim known as the Imperial Remnant. During the Caamas Document Crisis, the Bothan capital of Bothawui was the site of fighting between various pro and anti-Bothan factions. With the appearance of Imperial forces, these disparate factions united to defeat a common foe. Shortly afterwards, the Imperial Remnant and the New Republic signed the Bastion Accords which ended the Galactic Civil War.[9]
Astrography
The Mid Rim was comprised of over 160 sectors, and a region of free-standing subsectors on its southwestern flanks.[2] Sectors located in the Mid Rim included:
Appearances
Sources
Notes and references
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 1.12 1.13 1.14 1.15 1.16 1.17 1.18 1.19 1.20 1.21 1.22 1.23 1.24 1.25 1.26 1.27 1.28 1.29 1.30 1.31 The Essential Atlas
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.48 2.49 2.50 2.51 2.52 2.53 2.54 2.55
Star Wars: The Essential Atlas Online Companion on StarWars.com (article) (backup link not verified!)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The New Essential Chronology
- ↑ The Last Command Sourcebook, p. 74
- ↑ Star Wars Adventure Journal 7
- ↑ Living Force Campaign Guide
- ↑
Gran in the Databank (content now obsolete; backup link)
- ↑ Galaxy Guide 12: Aliens — Enemies and Allies
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Essential Chronology
- ↑ The Truce at Bakura Sourcebook