The Confederacy of Independent Systems

The Confederacy of Independent Systems (CIS), also known as the Separatist Alliance, the Separatist State, and commonly referred to as the Separatists, was an unrecognized, galactic, democratic, and confederate government that existed prior to and during the Clone Wars. In addition to the secret support of several corporations, including the Trade Federation, the Techno Union, the Retail Caucus, the InterGalactic Banking Clan, the Commerce Guild, and the Corporate Alliance, the Confederacy was formed by thousands of secessionist star systems on the grounds of excessive taxation and corruption within the Galactic Senate. The secessionist movement that began in 24 BBY would lead to a political crisis in which tensions escalated between the newly-formed alliance and the reigning Galactic Republic. In 22 BBY, the Separatists and the Republic went to war using their respective military forces—the Separatist Droid Army and the Republic clone army—resulting in a pan-galactic conflict for the first time in a millennium. The following three years would see the Clone Wars rage across the galaxy with the Separatists rapidly attempting to bring the Republic to its knees. Unknown to the majority of the galaxy, however, the war was merely a ploy—Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine, the leader of the Republic, was a Sith Lord called Darth Sidious, to whom Head of State and Count of Serenno Dooku answered. Towards the end of the conflict, the Confederacy suffered several major defeats in the Outer Rim Sieges as the end of the war approached. After Dooku's death, the Separatist Council was executed on Mustafar. With the subsequent shutdown of the droid army, the state rapidly collapsed as the war came to an end. Following the end of hostilities, trade groups that had supported the cause were nationalized, and most of its remaining star systems rejoined the Republic successor state; the Galactic Empire, whether voluntarily or under threat while some elements fragmented into several holdouts.