In today's Milky Way Galaxy, the Trade Federation gave people the impression of being domineering, greedy, ruthless, and corrupt. Yet few knew that when it was formally established roughly 350 years ago, it had been considered a model organization within the Galactic Republic.
It could even be said that without the Trade Federation, there would have been no Galactic Republic rule over the Outer Rim Territories—though that rule had always been exceedingly weak.
Only from this perspective could one understand why, from the Galactic Republic to the present-day Galactic Empire, they had tolerated the Trade Federation betting on both sides of the war without ever moving to eliminate it completely.
The reason was simple: they truly had enormous support in the Senate.
Three hundred and fifty years ago, as hyperspace routes were further expanded, the Galactic Republic entered a golden age of exploration. Many fringe planets in the Outer Rim Territories were discovered and incorporated into the great family of the Galactic Republic. These newly discovered regions came to be known as the Expansion Sectors, encompassing at least one-third of today's Outer Rim Territories and a small portion of the Mid Rim Territories. The area was immensely vast.
And in the course of this process, countless conflicts inevitably arose. Different species, different interests, major trade associations, major corporations—disputes of every kind emerged one after another.
Moreover, because most of these disputes occurred in the Expansion Sectors, the law was useless there. The Republic of 350 years ago did not possess a powerful standing fleet, only the Judicial Fleet—and the Judicial Fleet generally did not deploy.
At that time, the Galactic Republic was still in its final period of glory. Aside from the Judicial Fleet, they often relied on the Jedi Order to settle disputes. But would the Jedi Order travel