The Republica Galactica was the galactic government brought to an end by trader barons and corrupt politicians, heralding the rise of the First Galactic Empire.
The Republica was founded with the help of a man named The Skywalker, a hundred thousand years before the Empire.
At its height, it consisted of over a million worlds. The leaders of the power and transport guilds suborned the Great Senate as it grew too unwieldy to administer the state. This conspiracy was discovered by the Jedi Bendu, who were counter-accused of treason. Several Jedi were tried and sentenced to death. Members of the Senate then orchestrated civil disorder and terrorism, spurring popular support for the creation of a police state and later the Empire. The Emperor himself was a mere puppet.
The Holy Rebellion of '06 saw the fall of the Republica's guardians, the Jedi Bendu of Ashla in a conflict with the Black Knights of the Sith. The Sith became the bodyguard of the Emperor, led by the Master of the Sith.
The last remnants of the Republica fled to the Outlands systems and the Great Rift to escape the tyranny of the Empire.
Behind the scenes
The Republica Galactica was a concept introduced in the second draft of the script for A New Hope. It survived into the story synopsis and third draft.[1] The fourth draft renamed it the Old Republic.[2]
The concept would evolve in Star Wars Legends and the Prequel trilogy to be the Galactic Republic. An intermediate version appears in the novelization of A New Hope, which mentions "the massive organs of commerce" and Palpatine being a puppet. The involvement of corporate interests reappears in the Prequel trilogy with the Trade Federation and the factions of the Confederacy of Independent Systems.
The nomenclature of Republica appears in Star Wars Legends in various contexts associated with the Galactic Republic, such as 500 Republica and Republica House.
Sources
- Adventures of the Starkiller, Episode I: The Star Wars (First mentioned)
- The Star Wars: From The Adventures of Luke Starkiller (Mentioned only)
- The Cinema of George Lucas
- The Making of Star Wars: The Definitive Story Behind the Original Film
Empire, the in the Databank (original site is defunct)
