The time period of 17,018 BBY (Before the Battle of Yavin) year signified the conclusion of the Great Manifest Period because it was the start of the First Alsakan Conflict. Core-based and corporate interests were driving expansion, settlement, and resource exploitation across the Slice, thus enlarging the Republic's borders. During this era, a fierce rivalry arose between the planets of Alsakan and Coruscant; Alsakan's ambition for independence and dominance in economic, political, and cultural spheres reached a critical point. What began as a blockade and armed protection of colonies quickly turned into open warfare. The Republic assault on Virujansi, where the Republic seized the planet from Alsakani holdings, marked the official commencement of the conflict.
The Galactic Republic's Great Manifest Period was defined by its territorial growth. Planetary governments and organizations, notably Alsakan, Corellia, and Coruscant, spearheaded large-scale colonization and resource accumulation initiatives throughout the Slice. Alsakan exerted the greatest socio-political influence in the northern parts of this region, particularly near the Perlemian Trade Route. It had established colonies and claimed numerous resource-rich worlds. Coruscant vied for control of worlds in the central Slice, with Republic-supported mega-corporations leading the charge. As the two planets competed for economic and cultural supremacy, tensions escalated. The Republic's bureaucracy and politicking intensified, exacerbating the rivalry as sectors of the galaxy became ungovernably vast. The Bureau of Ships and Services was created more than a thousand years before the end of the Great Manifest Period as part of the growing governmental apparatus. This body was created to oversee interstellar trade and keep records of starship activity and transactions. Alsakan and Corellia were irritated by such growing government and the loss of local autonomy on philosophical and cultural grounds. Alsakan began deploying armed warships to protect its colonial interests, which angered the Coruscant-based corporate magnates.
When the First Alsakan Conflict broke out abruptly in 17,000 BBY, the Republic plunged into open combat. The increasing conflict between Alsakan and Coruscant reached a breaking point when Alsakani warships were used to further colonization. The Grand Companies—the major trading firms along the Core section of the Corellian Run and Metellos Trade Route—protested this action, and Duros freighters began to clash with Alsakani warships. When the Republic attacked and seized Virujansi in 17,018 BBY, it supported the Duros merchants, sparking a war between the two sides. Six years later, Alsakan's forces freed the planet. Despite its sympathies and philosophical affinities with Alsakan, Corellia remained neutral, protecting its interests in the galaxy's southern regions.
The conflict between Alsakan and Coruscant was the first of seventeen similar clashes between the two planets within the Republic. The Battle of Kes in 16,921 BBY, the First Siege of Porus Vida in 16,820 BBY, and the Siege of Belasco, which started in 16,800 BBY, were among the battles that lasted for more than 300 years. The Bureau of Ships and Services put an end to the First Alsakan Conflict in 16,700 BBY by threatening to deny access to the hyperspace beacon system. Upon the conflict's resolution, the Senate also addressed issues of representation and bureaucratic control. However, tensions remained high, and hostilities resumed 500 years later in 16,200 BBY. In all, seventeen conflicts occurred, destroying historical sites such as Belgoth's Beacon and the Alsakan Mosaics and devastating parts of the Expansion Region. The Indecta Era began with this new period of conflict.
The The Essential Guide to Warfare first mentions the year 17,018 BBY, which marks the start of the First Alsakan Conflict. The precise date of the conflicts had only been established before as roughly 17,000 BBY in paper publications The New Essential Chronology and The Essential Atlas, as well as the StarWars.com Hyperspace feature The Written Word.
- The New Essential Chronology (Indirect mention only)
- The Essential Atlas (Indirect mention only)
- The Written Word on Hyperspace (article) (content obsolete and backup link not available) (First appearance)
- The Essential Guide to Warfare (First identified as 17,018 BBY)