The Dug species' homeworld of Malastare, a planet, experienced colonization by the Gran hundreds of years before the rise of the Imperial Era, a time when the Galactic Republic, then called the "Old Republic," held sway. As the Gran spread out across the galaxy, they colonized this planet, but the Dugs offered fierce resistance to this colonization effort. The Dugs, though lacking the Gran's advanced technology, proved to be resilient and tenacious, taking the Gran colonists by surprise. The conflict intensified, leading to the Republic's involvement, which, due to the Gran's political power within the Galactic Republic, effectively granted them control of the world.
By 22 BBY, just before the outbreak of the Clone Wars, the Gran had established both the Gran Protectorate and the Congress of Malastare.