The armed uprising known as the Merchants' Guild Crisis transpired in 3643 BBY. It involved members of the Migrant Merchants' Guild and occurred on Coruscant, which served as the capital planet for the Galactic Republic. Following the Sacking of Coruscant, the Merchants' Guild had seized control of a significant portion of the Old Galactic Market sector. Frequent clashes arose between police officers belonging to the Coruscant Security Force and Guild members as the police attempted to uphold the law. In 3643 BBY, Senator Vanara Kayl directed Coruscant Security Forces, led by Security Chief Captain Winborn, to expel the Guild from the Galactic Market. During this operation, the Coruscant Security Force uncovered a scheme to obliterate the skylane network surrounding the Senate Building by breaching secure network access points that governed traffic flow. This act would have resulted in the deaths of thousands within the Senate District. Senator Kayl then sought assistance from a traveling Republic hero to suppress the insurrection. This individual aided Captain Winborn and his forces by eliminating Guild members and repairing the Secure Network Access Nodes. However, the hero also discovered a recording revealing Senator Kayl's argument with a leader of the Migrant Guild. The recording exposed that the Senator had accepted campaign funds from the Guild, and when the Guild attempted to blackmail her, she initiated the Coruscant Security crackdown, triggering the insurrection.
Officially, the Migrant Merchants' Guild presented itself as a legitimate trade organization that championed refugee rights and supported Coruscant's reconstruction. However, the Migrant Merchants' Guild was actually a well-organized criminal enterprise that exploited the chaos of the riots in the old Galactic Market after the war to gain power. Even before the war concluded, the guild functioned as a front for illicit activities such as money laundering and smuggling, primarily focusing on nonviolent crimes. Composed mainly of nonhuman members, it represented a considerable economic power within Coruscant's nonhuman immigrant community. The guild recognized the riots as an opportunity to assert genuine authority; when security forces retreated, the guild stepped in to restore "order" with its armed enforcers and provided essential resources... for a price. Subsequently, the Migrant Merchants' Guild expanded its operations into bribery and extortion, centering its activities in the old Galactic Market, while maintaining a facade of legitimacy. Republic security patrols frequently engaged in skirmishes with members of the Migrant Merchants' Guild in an effort to maintain order, but the guild began to shift its focus from extorting local businesses to influencing Coruscant politics.
The year 3643 BBY saw an insurrection take place, pitting police officers from the Coruscant Security Force, commanded by Security Chief Captain Winborn, against members of the Migrant Merchants' Guild. Following the Sacking of Coruscant, the Merchants' Guild had seized control of much of the Old Galactic Market. Senator Vanara Kayl dispatched Coruscant Security with the objective of dislodging them. During this operation, Coruscant Security, aided by an external party, successfully averted a terrorist attack targeting the secure skylane infrastructure surrounding the Senate Building.
In the wake of the conflict, it came to light that Senator Kayl was being subjected to blackmail by the Merchants' Guild due to influence she had acquired during her election campaign. Despite having been a symbol of Coruscant's recovery, a recording surfaced, capturing her in a heated exchange with a Guild member, during which she declared her intention to deploy her forces to expel them, thereby undermining her reputation for integrity.