The Death Of Hutt Power After The Galactic Civil War
Image Source: StarWars.com
To paraphrase what Din Djarin tells Grogu in The Mandalorian and Grogu, the Hutts have been gangsters for thousands of years, running criminal operations and surviving in the face of countless calamities. Yet, while much of their canon history remains vague, it is sufficient to say that the collapse of Hutt power seen after the death of Jabba the Hutt and the end of the Galactic Civil War is a monumental setback for these powerful crime lords. Today, we explore the downward plunge of Hutt power after the Civil War, a downward line that followed the former Galactic Empire, and what its fate was by the time of the Sequel Trilogy.
As some may know, the death of Jabba the Hutt at the hands of Leia Organa was a devastating blow to the Hutt Cartel. Compounding recent losses in the form of the entire Hutt Council being killed by Darth Vader (save Jabba), this decapitation of leadership for the criminal underworld’s most significant major power had ramifications Leia would not have thought about at the time, fighting for her life and dignity against a person she despised.
RELATED:
Image Source: StarWars.com
The reason why new Hutt leadership couldn’t simply step in to fill the gap left by Jabba’s death was because of the collapse in the Hutts’ systems of power and tribute. They had kept multiple species and worlds subservient for centuries, millennia even, under the thumb of their leadership. The deaths of these leaders meant that those old bonds of servitude broke, and client species like the Weequay, Niktos and Klatooinians broke away to seek their own destiny. Unfortunately, many of these groups retained criminal connections and instituted new systems of oppression against their own people. They also took resources away from the Hutts in their departure, leading to the significant weakening of the Cartel by the era of the Sequel Trilogy.
The Mandoverse has now explored the further struggles of the Hutts after the end of the Galactic Empire with The Mandalorian and Grogu, in conjunction with what we saw in The Book of Boba Fett. The Twins tried to position themselves as Jabba’s successors, but the Hutts as a whole are so weak that they chose to give away Jabba’s old center of power to Boba Fett as a result of the oncoming pressure from the similarly weakening Pyke Syndicate. By retreating from an area of costly conflict and also disposing of yet more of Jabba’s legacy, the Twins sought to distinguish themselves from the former Hutt leader by firmly centering themselves on Nal Hutta. In some ways, they could be seen as restoring the Cartel to its traditions, as Jabba’s Palace was only made the center of Hutt power due to Jabba’s direct dealings with the Empire, and the death of the wider Hutt Council.
Image Source: StarWars.com
Their plot to kill Rotta, though, proves that despite their efforts, there is clearly some strife within the Hutt Cartel at this time. We saw several other Hutts with the Twins on Nal Nutta, presumably their supporters, but the Hutts are made up of five major families. The Twins pursuing sole control, in the mold of Jabba, all while also focusing on Nal Hutta and seeking to remove his memory and blood heir, shows that things are not nearly as stable as they seem. This is particularly underscored by the complete lack of organic servants or guards for the Twins in TMAG, where instead the Droid Gotra has been hired to act as muscle and security. While certainly a show of force, it also demonstrates their considerable weakness. What slaves they do have (as seen in The Book of Boba Fett) are likely kept as performance pieces, beings who go with the Twins to public, off-planet spaces to project the appearance of still possessing the old Hutt splendor.
There is also the matter of the Hutts and their relationship to the central power of the galaxy. Under the Galactic Republic, the Hutts were broadly repudiated and fought against during the High Republic despite a brief alliance of necessity to stem the initial tide of the Drengir invasions. It was as the government’s politicians became more corrupt, and especially during the Clone Wars, that the Galactic Republic firmly entered into an understanding with the Hutts.
Image Source: StarWars.com
The Galactic Empire expanded that understanding into a proper business relationship, as the Hutts provided the Empire the resources needed for the Galactic Civil War through a direct deal between Jabba and Darth Vader, sent as the Emperor’s representative. The Cartel had been the Empire’s primary underworld partner even before this period, but when the Empire was defeated, the Hutts simply did not change sides. Maybe they could not get over the humiliation Leia Organa had accidentally inflicted on them by setting in motion the collapse of the Cartel, or maybe they simply liked the unrestricted slavery, cruelty, and corruption of the Empire. It was likely a mix of both that prompted the Twins to hitch their wagon to the Imperial remnants, all while acting at support a connection with the New Republic.
In the end, such double-crossing backfired on the Twins. Despite their vast droid security force, and hiring one of the best bounty hunters of the Clone Wars to be their protectors, the Twins were soundly defeated, and killed in The Mandalorian and Grogu. The other Hutts who sided with them might also be dead, should those several other Hutts seen in TMAG have still been in the palace destroyed by the Adelphi Rangers, likely further crippling the only faction of Hutt criminal society seen to be rebuilding during this period. During the Sequel Trilogy, when we meet Vranki the Blue, his casino space station lacks servants and staff, instead merely trained animals and creatures operating the empty casino. While Vranki is an unconventional Hutt, his lack of resources also speaks to the decline of Hutt power in the years following the Galactic Civil War. The Twins, rather than rejuvenate their people’s power, only further damaged it and we’ll be interested to see further exploration of this criminal empire’s collapse.
CultureSlate: Made by humans, for humans.
Please consider supporting our AI-free content via our Patreon page.
READ NEXT:
Source(s): The Mandalorian and Grogu
Latest News
Featured
