Associations: Argente, Passel Banking Clan communications frigate battle droid bodyguard droid Bulq, Sora buzz droid chameleon droid Commerce Guild Commerce Guild support ship Corporate Alliance Corporate Alliance tank droid crab droid Dooku, Count droid starfighter droid tri-fighter droideka (destroyer droid) Durge dwarf spider droid E-60R missile launcher Geonosian fanblade starfighter Geonosian solar sailer Geonosian sonic blaster Geonosian starfighter Grievous, General Gunray, Nute Haako, Rune hailfire droid Hill, San homing spider droid Hypori IG lancer droid InterGalactic Banking Clan Mai, Shu manta droid subfighter Neimoidian shuttle Nudo, Po octuptarra droid Poggle the Lesser Quarren Isolation League Raxus Prime seismic tank starfighter, General Grievous' super battle droid Tambor, Wat Techno Union Techno Union starfighter Tikkes Trade Federation Trade Federation cruiser Ventress, Asajj wheel bike

Despite rosy recollections of a greater past, the Galactic Republic succumbed into undeniable decay. Its cumbersome bureaucracy slowed down any attempts at reform, and too many of its constituents had grown corrupt and complacent to enact any change. A feeling of disenfranchisement grew in the galaxy, particularly in outlying systems where heavy taxation was not balanced by improved services.

Into this disarray stepped a charismatic man named Count Dooku, a former Jedi, who sought to teach the Republic a lesson. The status quo could be upended and there was an opportunity for change -- radical change. Dooku led a popular Separatist movement that gained increasing momentum, and in two short years, he had a following of several thousand solar systems.

For the first time in a thousand years fear of open warfare crept into the Republic. The valiant Jedi Knights were too few to prevent the scattered flashpoints of violence sparked by the Separatists. Supreme Chancellor Palpatine was confident in peaceful resolution through negotiation, but not everyone was so levelheaded.

Alarmist Senators called for the creation of an Army of the Republic. The Military Creation Act was to be put to a vote, and many believed that the establishment of a Republic military would merely be the catalyst for an all-out civil war. The vote was delayed following an assassination attempt on the opposition leader, Padmé Amidala.

What none in the Senate knew was that the Separatists were gearing up for war. Count Dooku courted the massive engines of commerce in the galaxy -- institutions such as the Corporate Alliance, the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, InterGalactic Banking Clan and Commerce Guild -- with promises of reform and unyielding devotion to capitalism. In exchange, these bodies would commit their immense armies to the Separatist cause. With their droid armies scattered throughout the galaxy, the Separatists would overwhelm the Republic. Dooku felt confident that ten thousand more systems would join the Separatists.

In a darkened conference room on the Techno Union foundry world of Geonosis, Count Dooku made his offer, and the Confederacy of Independent Systems was formally established. This meeting of the minds was overheard by Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who warned the Republic of this alarming new development.

The Republic responded with a pre-emptive strike against the Separatists, attacking their world with a newly created clone army. In the explosive ground battle that ensued, the Clone Wars between the Separatists and Republic began.

For three long years the Clone Wars spread across the galaxy. While Count Dooku was the public and political face of the Confederacy, its military arm was led by the deadly General Grievous. In the last months of the conflict, the fighting was most intense in the Outer Rim Sieges. It was during this time that the leadership of the Confederacy, the Separatist Council, was always on the move.

After leaving their sanctuary on Utapau, the Council fled to Mustafar, a fiery world in the Outer Rim Territories. There, their secret benefactor Darth Sidious advised them that his new apprentice, Darth Vader, would take of them.

Despite their shrewd business sense, the Separatists did not see their betrayal coming. The war was a sham, engineered by Chancellor Palpatine who was in truth, Darth Sidious. Having achieved his objective of building a New Order in reaction to the threats posed by the Clone Wars, Sidious liquidated his allies. Darth Vader arrived on Mustafar and slaughtered the Separatist Council. He then ordered a command signal that shut down the battle droid military. The huge commerce entities that made up the Confederacy became the spoils of war, as the newfound Empire nationalized them and absorbed them into its growing war machine.