Slavery was a practice and institution where sentient beings were bought, sold, and held as property of other sentient beings. Beings subject to slavery were called slaves and said to be enslaved. Enslaved beings were forced to perform labor on behalf of their owners, also called masters.
Indentured servitude was a nominally distinct practice in which sentient individuals performed labor for a fixed time period or until a specific amount of debt was paid off; after which point, they would be freed. However, in practice, indentured servitude typically amounted to slavery. Beings working in indentured servitude were called indentured servants, though that term was often a euphemism for "slave." Another euphemism for "slave" was the term "sentient property," which the Czerka Corporation used in official documents to grant a veneer of legitimacy to their practice of slavery.
Individuals who engaged in practices related to slavery, such as capturing people in order to enslave them, were known as enslavers.
An enslaved Leia Organa forced to wear a dancing-girl outfit.
Slavery was often used as a means for labor. The Galactic Empire enslaved Wookiees because of their strength and ability to work long hours and in extreme conditions. The Hutts enslaved the Nikto race and often used them as guards. Other slaves served as entertainers for their owners. The tentacle-headed Twi'lek, mostly their females, were often captured and sold into slavery as they were considered beautiful. Many females of other races, not just the Twi'lek, were often forced to wear revealing dancing-girl costumes and to dance for their owners.
Children born to enslaved (or indentured) parents were considered to be slaves (or indentured servants) to the same master as their parents. Slave owners could free their slaves at will, and even marry them, although marrying one's former slave was extremely uncommon. Notably, Cliegg Lars purchased, freed and then married Shmi Skywalker, the mother of Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker.
Anakin Skywalker was born into slavery.
Various methods were used to keep enslaved individuals from escaping or defying their masters. Some slaves had transmitter chips implanted in their bodies that would explode if they tried to escape. Others, were fitted with collars around their necks. Some collars were attached to chains that would be held by the slave's master. Zygerrians commonly used shock collars, which were used to electrocute slaves in order to force them to submit.
In many cases, those that were not actually enslaved in name nevertheless worked in near slave-like existences, forced to endure grueling jobs to eke out a meager living while also often having to contend with corrupt Imperial officials. Identity contracts, commonly called "ident pads," were used to identify individuals as indentured servants or slaves. Indentured servants and enslaved individuals could be put on trial for revolting against their masters.
Traditionally, ancient empires controlled by the Sith relied on enslaved beings for labor. During the reign of the Old Republic, Zygerria controlled a powerful Slave Empire that stretched across a number of sectors, making the planet rich and powerful. They and their customers prospered off slavery for thousands of years, but the Jedi Order eventually fought and destroyed the Zygerrian slave trade. When slavery was outlawed in Republic territory, the Jedi Knights liberated numerous beings, and the trade was pushed into the underworld.
Although their influence was greatly diminished, the Zygerrians continued to operate in the slave trade through the Zygerrian Alliance, which publicly was a guild of legitimate business. After the alliance backed a coup on the planet Aaloth, the heir to the Keeper of Aaloth title, Lourna Dee, was sold into slavery and brought to a Zygerrian camp. Later, however, Jedi Master Oppo Rancisis led a raid on the camp and freed those within. Eventually joining with the Nihil marauders, Dee helped take control of Aaloth to place it in Nihil hands. Despite that battle, the Nihil established relations with the Zygerrians and sold slaves to them.
Although the Galactic Republic had outlawed slavery, locations outside Republic jurisdiction were able to continue the practice. The Outer Rim planet of Tatooine had an enslaved population living in Mos Espa, and slaves had transmitter chips implanted into their bodies that would explode if the slave attempted to escape. By 40 BBY, Hosnian Prime was known for hosting a factory complex run by the arms manufacturer Czerka Arms, whose activities included the use of slavery, taking forcefully all the workers they wanted. Also, the Neimoidians used indentured worker drones, whose growth was deliberately stunted. Such drones were even employed by the Trade Federation's senatorial delegation in the very heart of the Republic's Senate Building. In 32 BBY, individuals like Anakin Skywalker, Shmi Skywalker, Wald, Kitster Banai, and Erdan were enslaved in Mos Espa.
Enslaved Togrutas on Kadavo
During the Clone Wars, fought between the Republic and Confederacy of Independent Systems, the Grand Army of the Republic was made up of loyal clone troopers, Clone Sergeant "Slick," however, came to believe that the clones had been enslaved by the Jedi Order, though he was taken into custody during the Battle of Christophsis. By 20 BBY, Queen Miraj Scintel took advantage of the fighting to revive the Zygerria's ancient slave empire. Striking a deal with Separatist leader Count Dooku, Zygerrian forces under Commander Darts D'Nar enslaved the Togruta colonists on the Expansion Region world of Kiros. In response, the Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, Ahsoka Tano, and Clone Captain "Rex" undertook an undercover mission to Zygerria in an attempt to investigate the Zygerrians and free the Togruta colonists.
However, they were captured by Queen Scintel, who planned to enslave her Jedi captives. Since this went against the Sith's planned Great Jedi Purge, Scintel was murdered by Count Dooku. Jedi and Republic forces subsequently managed to rescue some of the enslaved Togruta from the slave processing facility on Kadavo. In addition, Republic forces destroyed the Kadavo slaving facility.
Luke encounters enslaved aliens on Cymoon 1
During the early years of the Galactic Empire, Zygerrian raiders attacked Syngia Station in the Sertar sector and enslaved many of the inhabitants. Penn Zarang, who later became an Imperial cadet at the Arkanis Academy, survived the slave raid by hiding in a maintenance conduit. The murder of his and the death of his while en-route to Zygerria convinced Penn to become an Imperial cadet. The raid occurred at a time when the Imperial Military had not expanded into the Outer Rim.
During the Age of the Empire, slavery once again became commonplace, particularly among alien species, which were considered inferior by the human-dominated Galactic Empire. With the rise of the Empire, the softening and eventual repeal of laws outlawing slavery led to the classification of some species, such as the Wookiees, as non-sentient. As a result, the Wookiees were pressed into slavery building much of the Imperial war machine, or serving in the notorious spice mines of Kessel following the Empire's conquest of their homeworld of Kashyyyk. Another example were the reptilian Bodach'i species who were enslaved and forced to work in the spice mines of Kerev Doi as "reparations" for their homeworld's repeated defiance of Imperial decrees. In addition, the Empire used slaves from several alien species to keep Weapons Factory Alpha, the largest weapons factory in the galaxy, on Cymoon 1 running day and night. Around 18 BBY, followers of the Kilji way of order and enlightenment were slaves of their Kilji masters, as they could not move, or create any thought without them.
After being given command of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Chimaera, Commodore Thrawn discovered that the Empire was trafficking Wookiee slaves after responding to a distress call from the troop transport Sempre. The slaves had been liberated by an attack force consisting of the frigate Castilus and two squadrons of V-19 Torrent starfighters. The insurgents then launched an attack on Baklek Base. Thrawn led a successful military operation to neutralize the insurgents, forcing their surrender. When Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto expressed his unease about slavery, Thrawn tried to rationalize the Empire's actions.
During the Grysk conquests in the Unknown Regions and the subsequent Imperial–Grysk conflict, the Grysk Hegemony kept large numbers of slaves to further their conquests and even fight their battles for them. Often, the Grysks enslaved entire species, by finding their weaknesses and breaking their souls. The Grysks sought to conquer the Chiss Ascendancy by enslaving and torturing the Chiss' beloved ozyly-esehembo navigators. Among the species enslaved by the Grysks were the Darshi and the Scratchlings.
After the rescue of navigator Un'hee, who had been enslaved to the Grysks, by Imperial forces; her fellow navigator Vah'nya touched her mind through Second Sight. Vah'nya told Lieutenant Eli Vanto that she experienced the Grysks probing Un'hee's mind and soul, twisting and tarnishing the young girl's deepest desires and fears to force her to perform their will. She convinced Vanto that such enslavement was a fate worse than death, and asked Vanto to kill her and any other ozyly-esehembo if they should fall into Grysk captivity. Killing a Chiss navigator was a capital offense in the Chiss Ascendancy, so deeply ingrained in Chiss society that no Chiss could even conceive of killing a Chiss navigator. Vanto promised that, if it came to it, he would kill captured ozyly-esehembo to spare them the misery of Grysk slavery, and do so in a way that would kill as many Grysks as possible along with the navigators.
A female Rodian works to free slaves on Sclavos.
Following the Battle of Endor, the New Republic's provisional Galactic Senate in Chandrila diverted substantial resources to compensating alien species that had been enslaved by the Galactic Empire. In 5 ABY, Han Solo and Chewbacca led a successful uprising of enslaved Wookiees on Kashyyyk against Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck, the leader of Imperial territory G5-623. One of Tolruck's subordinates, Commandant Theodane Sardo, toyed with the idea of farming enslaved Wookiees for their meat. As part of the plan, the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus disabled the inhibitor chips controlling the enslaved Wookiees with a hyperspace transceiver spike. Following a battle on the ground and space above Kashyyyk, the planet was liberated by New Republic forces led by Admiral Ackbar and Princess Leia Organa. Wookiee and New Republic forces later liberated more Wookiee slaves, including Chewbacca's son Lumpawaroo, in mopping-up operations against Imperial holdouts on Kashyyyk.
Despite the New Republic's ban on slavery, seedy places like Chrome Citadel still exported enslaved individuals to Nal Hutta under the classification of "live cargo." In addition, individuals were still known to be indentured as servants. During an undercover mission to Sibensko, Senator Leia Organa assumed the identity of a recently-freed indentured servant.
During the search for the explorer Lor San Tekka, the First Order's Security Bureau Agent Terex owned several enslaved beings from various species, including an Abednedo and a Rodian. He justified his behavior on the grounds that each of these aliens served a particular use and that the Empire practiced slavery, citing the enslavement of the Wookiees as one example. Captain Phasma disapproved of his ownership of slaves and regarded the First Order as purer and stronger than the Empire.
Slavery first appeared in the 1983 film Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi, the third installment of the Star Wars original trilogy. In the early versions of Return of the Jedi, the second Death Star was to be built in orbit around Kashyyyk. The construction would be done by Wookiee slave labor. George Lucas then decided to switch the Death Stars's location to the forest moon of Endor and the Wookiees were replaced with Ewoks.
In the drafting for the young-adult novel Queen's Shadow, released on March 5, 2019, author E. K. Johnston worked with an editor to ensure the novel's inclusion of the concept of enslavement was written to use active wording rather than object words, specifically in regard to referring to someone as "enslaved" rather than "a slave." With the support of Lucasfilm Story Group, she hired an additional editor to read over the novel's script, and also opted to use "souls" when referring to enslaved individuals to remind the reader that the individuals were indeed people.
The novel Master & Apprentice by Claudia Gray, released on April 16 of the same year, similarly included slavery as a central theme in the work. She sought to include Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn's encounter with enslavement on Pijal—in the form of meeting Rahara Wick—to add context to his actions in the prequel trilogy film Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace. Gray indicated that she also preferred using the term "enslavement" to refer to an individual's freedom status unless it was the enslaved individual referring to themselves as a "slave" or "former slave" in the proper context, to remain sensititve to the issue. In the usages of "slave" that she did keep in Master & Apprentice, Gray noted that she included them to not word the concept too softly, indicating that evil individuals would not care about objectifying individuals and thus would choose to refer to individuals working for them derogatorily.
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