Hutt Clan

The Hutt Clan was a powerful criminal syndicate active in the galaxy, particularly in the Outer Rim Territories and Hutt Space, under the control of the Hutt species. To maintain its power and wealthy, the Hutts had their hands in illegal businesses, including slavery and piracy in specific as major sources of their wealth. Other enterprises included bounty hunting, smuggling, and the spice trade. The Hutts would also use their power to control entire hyperspace routes to control the smuggling of legal and illegal goods alike. Like the Car'das smugglers, the Hutt Clan purchased large numbers of the M3-A Scyk interceptors produced by MandalMotors because of their customizability and low cost.

The Hutt Clan was ruled by members of the Grand Hutt Council, which was located on the Hutt homeworld of Nal Hutta and included a number of high-profile, influential Hutt leaders, who represented their respective crime clan-families. Lesser-ranking Hutts who controlled territory in the name of the cartel were granted the title "Master of the Hutt Clan." If one of these Hutts controlled multiple star systems, they were granted the title for each system they held authority over.

The Hutt Clan was based in Hutt Space, which held a reputation as a haven for smugglers, bounty hunters, and other denizens of the galaxy. Nal Hutta was the headquarters of the Grand Hutt Council. As a Hutt Council member and later sole leader of the cartel, crime lord Jabba Desilijic Tiure exerted great influence over the entire Hutt enterprise despite, in theory, only representing his own crime family, the Desilijic Tiure clan. Jabba's power truly was so great that Count Dooku and Jabba's uncle, Ziro Desilijic Tiure, considered him the leader of every Hutt clan. Even then, he would need the council's approval for certain, highly-important operations. While he would attend Council meetings via hologram, Jabba remained centered on the planet Tatooine within his personal palace. From Tatooine, Jabba held influence over business in the entirety of the Outer Rim Territories.

During the era of the High Republic, the Hutt Clan was not blind to the danger the swell of peace and prosperity spreading across the galaxy was for their ambitions. They plotted with a leader of the Directorate, Lord Isamer, in 257 BBY to reduce the influence of the Galactic Republic and the Jedi Order in the Directorate's region of space. This plan triggered the Eiram–E'ronoh crisis, which successfully collapsed the Directorate as had been the Hutt plan all along. They now had no major criminal rival in the region, opening the path for future operations.

Twenty-five years later, a ship of the Hutt Cartel arrived on the planet Sedri Minor to fulfill an agreed-upon bargain, which would supposedly deliver the colonists from tyranny. Jedi Master Avar Kriss established a controversial alliance with the Hutts in the name of putting an end to the Drengir crisis, resulting in Jedi fighting side-by-side with the cartel's soldiers and Myarga Anjiliac Atirue against the Drengir. The alliance ended during the assault on Mulita through the defeat of the Great Progenitor, although the Jedi and Hutt Clan parted on bad terms when Kriss refused to allow Myarga to destroy the incapacitated Drengir leader. Myarga was later captured by the Nihil marauders, who held her captive on the planet Xais. During an ensuing Jedi operation, she revealed the presence of undercover Jedi Keeve Trennis in the name of saving herself, but Myarga was quickly murdered by Nihil Tempest Runner Lourna Dee.

During the final days of the Republic Era, Jabba Desilijic Tiure and his fellow Hutts were known to preside over Tatooine's podraces. Notably during the Invasion of Naboo, Jabba was present when the human slave Anakin Skywalker won the Boonta Eve Classic in what was considered a monumentous event. Jabba was also possibly at the event for business, as a hologram image depicting Jabba paying bounty hunter Aurra Sing after the crash of podracer Neva Kee was acquired by police inspector Tan Divo. The image displayed two of Jabba's henchmen pulling Kee out of his podracer. All identifying authentimarks were scrubbed from the hologram, so it was unclear if it was legitimate. If it was true, it suggested Sing and Jabba had a hand in what happened to Kee. Divo also developed a theory that Farwan & Glott, the original manufacturers of Kee's podracer, had hired Sing so that they could acquire the racer's customization secrets.

By the Separatist Crisis, the influence of the Hutts was great enough to warrant a political faction of the Galactic Senate of the Galactic Republic, the Militarists, to advocate for a standing, centralized military to check Hutt expansion, pirates and organized crime. The Hutts, nor any other criminal organization, never established a presence on the small moon of Raada, as they understood the majority of its surface could not be used for farming.

During the Clone Wars, the Hutts' power over the Outer Rim caused their hyperspace lanes to be sought by both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The chaos of the war allowed the Hutts to seize opportunities it provided to expand their influence to the far reaches of the galaxy. In particular, the Hutts extended Hutt Space from its traditional holdings in the Outer Rim all the way into the Expansion Region to the edge of the Mid Rim. With Republic forces busy engaging Separatist forces elsewhere, it was left to inadequate local system governments to defend themselves against Hutt influence. However, much of the Hutts territorial expansion was itself contained by large swatches of Separatist space.

Also during the war, the Black Sun and Pyke Syndicate were considered rivals to the Hutt Clan.

Early into the War, Rotta, the son of Jabba, was secretly kidnapped by the Separatists, orchestrated by Sith Lord and Head of State Dooku with help from Jabba's uncle, Ziro Desilijic Tiure. The plot was meant to discredit the Jedi Order and scuttle negotiations between the Republic and the Hutts as well as make it look like the Hutt Clan was going to be wiped out, but his nemesis Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker and his Padawan Ahsoka Tano were able to rescue Rotta from the Separatists. The crime lord had promised his support to whomever returned his son, and when Jabba's uncle Ziro, was revealed to have schemed Rotta's kidnapping with Dooku so he could take control of the Hutt Clan, Jabba pledged his support to the Republic. The treaty allowed the Republic to navigate essential Hutt hyperspace lanes and circumvent Separatist space while providing the Hutts with key trade routes within the Mid Rim Territories. Treaties between the Republic and Hutts also had the unintended effect of legitimizing Hutt operations.

At another point in the War, Jabba hired bounty hunter Cad Bane to get information on the Senate Building on Coruscant. After gaining the information, the Grand Hutt Council hired Bane to free Ziro before he revealed the Council's records, which were kept in a holodiary on Teth, to the Republic Senate in exchange for his freedom. Thus, there was a hostage crisis that took place at the Senate Office Building on Coruscant, in which bounty hunters led by Bane held the Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine of the Republic and other senators hostage in order to free Ziro from the Central Detention Center. Ziro, with the help of Bane, escaped from the custody of the Republic. However, two Jedi Masters—Quinlan Vos and Obi-Wan Kenobi— found him dead on Teth after he was killed by his lover Sy Snootles, at the behest of Jabba.

Near the end of the Clone Wars, the Shadow Collective, a criminal alliance led by the renegade Sith Lord Maul, landed at the Hutt Palace on Nal Hutta to gain the backing of the Grand Hutt Council for their coup on Mandalore. In the council chamber, Maul, Savage Opress, and Pre Vizsla asked for the Hutts to join them by promising to spare their lives in exchange for the Hutt territories. The Council laughed at them, unimpressed by Maul's threats. Jabba called for his bounty hunters to stop them. Sugi, one of the bounty hunters, hurled a knife at Maul but it was stopped by Opress, who hurled it back and the bounty hunters opened fire. Maul and Opress cut through several guards while Vizsla set fire to the council table with his flamethrower so that they could have a head start. The bounty hunters chased after them and a firefight began. The guards and bounty hunters retreated back inside. This time, Maul and his followers chased them back in.

As more guards arrived to defend the palace, the Shadow Collective forces quickly cut though them. Sugi dropped down from above and knocked Vizsla over before getting into a fight with Maul. Maul knocked her to the floor and began swiping at her with his lightsaber, but she rolled out of the way of each strike. The bounty hunter Embo got into a fight with Savage while his Anooba Marrok attacked Maul, knocking the lightsaber from his hands and saving Sugi. Savage continuously punched at Embo, who used his hat to block the punches but was knocked to the ground nevertheless. Vizsla drew the Darksaber and cut down numerous guards. Maul managed to throw Marrok off when several smoke bombs were thrown. Latts Razzi and Dengar were at the end of the hall and yelled for their companions to get out. Embo, Sugi, and Marrok followed them, and Maul let them go. Maul then decided to go to Tatooine to confront Jabba.

The Shadow Collective attacked the perimeter of Jabba's Palace, paving the path for Maul, Opress, and Vizsla into Jabba's inner sanctum. After a very brief and violent struggle proving the Collective to be the more formidable, Jabba agreed to surrender his criminal empire and the Hutt Clan and began channeling his resources to the organization's cause for an imminent takeover of the Mandalorian capital city, Sundari. The Hutts then gave the Collective a few enforcers made up of red-skinned Niktos which would later prove useful in the takeover of Mandalore ahead of the subsequent civil war. When Maul was captured for a period of time, the Hutts took advantage of the moment to withdraw from the alliance.

The Hutt Clan continued to operate in the Outer Rim after the end of the Clone Wars and the rise of the Galactic Empire with its victory over the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Jabba continued his illicit operations during the Imperial Era, continuing to hold influence as a crime lord. Their power base on the desert world of Tatooine was preserved. However, the Hutts were also part of the Five Crime Syndicates, all of whom found themselves under Maul's thumb and forced to ally together on his command despite the Hutts' prior effort to distance themselves from Maul.

The Hutt Clan and Empire established a special partnership. The Hutt Clan provided the Empire with certain important services, with the permission of the Empire to break Imperial law in order to provide that valuable aid. In return, the Empire also protected the clan's control over Hutt Space. While the Empire was involved in the criminal underworld with other syndicates to a certain extent, it was the Hutts who were awarded an incredibly special treatment by the Empire, which created jealously amongst the other great crime families that wanted such a position.

In 9 BBY or 8 BBY, Tatooine was suffering from the effects of the Great Drought, leaving moisture farmers with little water to harvest and worsening conditions on the poor, backwater world. In the midst of the drought, henchmen for the crime lord Jabba the Hutt collected a water tax on their master's behalf. An eight-year-old boy, Luke Skywalker, son of Anakin Skywalker, had gone to take the water back from Jabba's men and give it back to the farmers. Kenobi, who had been watching over him, went to their encounter, but blew their vehicle's lights with the Force to hide his identity and proceeded to disable all of Jabba's henchmen with the Force. On hearing about this, Jabba was furious and tried to find the man who had defied him. On being unsuccessful he hired the bounty hunter Krrsantan to find Kenobi, and offered to pay him extra for bringing him alive.

The droid Arr-Nine-Nineteen became indebted to the Hutt Clan and became a spy for the cartel, claiming himself to be a Jedi hunter and going undercover into a crew assembled by the Hidden Hand. However, crew leader Beilert Valance deduced the droid's true loyalties and destroyed him. The Hutts were involved in a series of trade wars with the InterGalactic Banking Clan. The Vice Chairman of the Clan, Anolo, hired a Givin codebreaker, who was connected to an Imperial algorithm that made security codes, to wage a campaign to take control of the Hutt Clan's smuggling routes, but Jabba also learned of the Givin, hiring bounty hunter Greedo to lead a mission to Mygeeto to capture the Givin. However, Greedo ultimately failed; the Givin fell to death after Greedo overestimated how strong a grabbling line was.

One smuggler Jabba hired for his operations was Captain Han Solo, who became the best smuggler on Jabba's payroll. Solo's standing was jeopardized, however, when his ship, the Millennium Falcon, was boarded by Imperial authorities, forcing Solo to jettison his cargo. Jabba demanded compensation for the lost cargo and, when Solo did not pay, the crime lord sent bounty hunters after him. One such hunter was Greedo, who confronted Solo in a cantina in Mos Eisley, but Solo killed the Rodian bounty hunter before he could kill Solo. Jabba learned of this and found Solo in Docking Bay 94, where the smuggler said that he had no choice but to dump his cargo. Jabba agreed to give Solo an extension on the payment in exchange for additional interest. Solo accepted the offer, but he soon became involved in the Alliance to Restore the Republic and once again failed to pay Jabba. When Jabba learned that Solo had joined the Rebellion, Jabba placed a large bounty on the smuggler's head.

Following the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire began to cut into Hutt Clan trade in an effort to reduce their independence but also needed the cartel's help in securing raw materials to be used in providing the raw resources required to create weapons and starships to fuel its military operations following the destruction of the Death Star. As such, the Empire arranged for a negotiation to be held at an Imperial facility on Cymoon 1, where Darth Vader would represent the Empire and force the Clan representatives to agree to Imperials terms. However, the Rebel Alliance learned of the impending talks; the Alliance intercepted the shuttle from Tatooine that carried Jabba's emissary, stealing it to allow the Heroes of Yavin to pose as the envoy and attack the Imperial facility.

Galactic Emperor Palpatine then sent Darth Vader to negotiate with Jabba following the loss of Weapons Factory Alpha during the rebel assault on Cymoon 1. The negotiations were a continuation of what was meant to take place on Cymoon 1. However, Vader arrived on Tatooine earlier than scheduled to hire two bounty hunters for assignments that the Sith Lord kept secret from the Emperor. Jabba provided him with Boba Fett, who Vader tasked with finding the Rebel pilot who destroyed the Death Star, and Black Krrsantan, who Vader tasked with capturing Cylo, an agent of the Emperor. After attending to his personal mission, Vader returned to Jabba's palace the next day and negotiated on the Emperor's behalf. Jabba agreed to provide the Empire with whatever resources it needed to fuel its operations. This alliance with the Empire allowed him and the Hutts to survive the Imperial crackdown against criminal elements in the Outer Rim, as well as rid the Hutts of their competitors.

Sometime before the Battle of Hoth, Jabba's majordomo Bib Fortuna the contacted Tatooine rebel cell via hologram after an attack on their homestead and informed them that they had angered his master. The Alliance also contacted the mercenaries and asked for their aid in recovering medical supplies from a Hutt Cartel den on the planet Dandoran, also earning them an offer of allegiance from the Rebels. While the mercenaries were off-world aiding the them, Jabba's men destroyed their homestead in vengeance for the outlaws' deaths. The Rebels would at some point later work with Jabba in order to obtain intel on the faction they opposed in the civil war. This temporary partnership quickly broke down and conflict between the Rebels and the Hutts erupted once more.

Jabba had placed a bounty on Solo as he had failed to pay him back. After Vader captured Solo on Cloud City and froze him in carbonite, Vader turned him over to Fett, who brought Solo to Jabba's palace. The deaths of all Grand Hutt Council members aside from Jabba in the battle over Jekara left him the sole leader of the Hutt Clan. Later, Leia Organa succeeded in unfreezing Solo before her discovery, resulting in her strategic position as Jabba's new "slave girl" which gave her both proximity to Jabba and a weapon to use against him—the chain that bound her to him. Following her capture and Solo's release from the carbonite, Luke Skywalker, who had now become a Jedi Knight just like his father and a commander of the Rebellion, arrived on the scene, seeking to rescue his friends from Jabba's imprisonment. Jabba refused to agree to Skywalker's bargain and instead tried to execute him via a rancor. Skywalker defeated the rancor which lead Jabba to attempt a mass execution of Skywalker, Chewbacca, and Solo at the Great Pit of Carkoon; only to have Organa strangle Jabba to death using her own chain.

In the immediate aftermath of Jabba's demise, the other Hutts had the wreckage of the Khetanna searched in order to determine the exact nature of Jabba's death and settle a debate over the matter of his will. What they discovered was a holorecording of Jabba's last moments at the hands of Organa. Enraged, the Hutt heirs put out a bounty on Organa. The footage of Organa began to circulate among certain exclusive circles, the Hutts hunted down most copies and their vendors, eager to prevent proof of their own vulnerability from circulating.

After Jabba's demise, the Hutts were left to determine who would fill Jabba's seat and take reins of his criminal empire. Several months after Solo's rescue, a decision had yet to be made. Coupled with the Empire's collapse and demise of Emperor Palpatine, Jabba's death left enormous power vacuums in the Kessel spice trade as well, triggering widespread gang warfare and leaving trade routes once guarded by mercenaries hired by the Hutts vulnerable, leading to the formation of the Spice Runners of Kijimi.

Several years after Jabba's death, Fett returned to his palace and killed Fortuna, who had assumed control of Jabba's throne, and took it for himself. Fett became the new Daimyo of Mos Espa, leading a brother and sister known as The Twins to travel from Nal Hutta to Mos Espa and confronted Lord Fett, laying claim to their cousin Jabba's territory.

The Twins soon sent Krrsantan to kill Fett at his palace. After his failure and capture, they arrived to apologize to Fett and offer him a rancor as well as Krrsantan as tribute. They also announced the Hutt Clan departure from Tatooine, as they have been informed that Jabba's former holdings have actually been promised to the Pyke Syndicate by Mayor Mok Shaiz, and they had no interest in starting a war over a "worthless rock." One Hutt clan active during the late New Republic Era dealt in slaves, with the Hutts purchasing the young Nikto Nenavakasa Nalor after she was captured by pirates.

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