The Liberation was an uprising that took place on Klatooine in 44 ABY. Millennia earlier, a treaty was made between the Klatooinians and the Hutts—the Klatooinians submitted themselves to eternal servitude to the Hutts, so long as the Hutts protected the Fountain of Ancients, a sacred wintrium fountain on Klatooine, from harm. The treaty remained intact for thousands of years, although by the time following the Second Galactic Civil War, many of the indentured Klatooinians began to feel unrest.
In 44 ABY, a group of allied Sith and Jedi stopped on Klatooine during their joint mission to the Maw. They soon departed, but two Sith frigates remained behind and raided the Fountain of the Ancients. The Klatooinians called for help, and Hutts arrived and apprehended the Sith, but not before they had damaged the Fountain, allegedly taking wintrium samples. The Sith were brought to trial and condemned to death for their actions, although it was also decided that the Hutts had responded to the threat to the best of their ability, thus upholding the treaty despite the damage the Fountain had suffered. The ruling came too late, however, as an uprising had begun across the planet, with the Klatooinians issuing a full revolt against their Hutt masters.
Around 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, the Klatooinians signed the Treaty of Vontor with the Hutts, dedicating themselves to eternal servitude to the Hutts in exchange for the Hutts' protection of the Fountain of the Ancients, a sacred wintrium Fountain located on the Klatooinian homeworld Klatooine. They lived in service to the Hutts for thousands of years, although, by the time following the Second Galactic Civil War, many Klatooinians began to feel unrest. In 44 ABY, a group of Sith came to the planet with the Jedi Luke and Ben Skywalker in preparation for their joint mission to the Maw. When they departed the system, the Sith High Lord Sarasu Taalon decided to leave two of his frigates behind to meet with Lando Calrissian, who was bringing an asteroid tug for help in navigating the Maw. However, these ships' actual intent was to steal wintrium samples from the Fountain.
Lando Calrissian, mediator
The Sith in the ChaseMaster frigate Starstalker raided the Fountain. The Hutts were notified immediately, and several Klatooinian guards fought the Sith, although the Sith managed to take samples of wintrium from the Fountain before they were stopped. Calrissian and Jedi Knight Jaina Solo then arrived in-system, and were asked by Klatooinian Chancellor Darima Kedari to mediate the situation. The Sith Leeha Faal lied that the attack had been solely the idea of Captain Vyn Holpur of the Starstalker, and although Calrissian and Solo didn't believe her, they had no proof otherwise. Holpur and his crew were thus convicted and sentenced to death, and Calrissian and Solo also decreed that—although they had failed to protect the Fountain—the Hutts had not actually violated the terms of their treaty with the Klatooinians. Due to remaining damages accrued to the Hutts during the Yuuzhan Vong War, their resources were insufficient to fully protect the Fountain. Still, the Hutts had done everything within their ability to do so, so Calrissian and Solo were forced to uphold the treaty, thus condemning the Klatooinians to further servitude.
The decision on the matter came too late—Klatooinians across the planet had already begun to riot and revolt, and soon a full uprising was in place. The uprising quickly became violent, resulting in firefights and skirmishes in the cities of Klatooine. The revolt quickly gained galactic attention and that of Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala, who was concerned by the chaos erupting across the galaxy as a result of many anti-slavery uprisings. Reporter Madhi Vaandt for The Perre Needmo Newshour was scheduled to go to Klatooine to cover the uprising there as part of her running series on the practices of slavery throughout the galaxy, but she was tipped off by a Bothan nicknamed Blink to go to Blaudu Sextus instead, where another revolt had begun.
The uprising on Klatooine was first depicted in Christie Golden's Fate of the Jedi: Allies, the fifth installment in the nine-part Fate of the Jedi series.