Slavery / Legends Slavery was the practice wherein sentient beings were treated as property to be bought and sold , enforced by violence or other forms of coercion . It was typical for the owner of a slave to implant the slave with a device that would kill them if an escape attempt was made . In the more lawful portions of the galaxy where slavery was allowed , if a slave was injured in a manner that devalued the slave or prevented him from performing his job by a third party , the owner was entitled to compensation from that third party for the depreciated value or the loss of the slave . History . In ancient times , the Infinite Empire of the Rakata captured huge numbers of slaves for the building of their Star Forge . Needing some Force - sensitive slaves , they captured Niktos , Duros , Hutts , Humans , Selkath and more . Slavery was used by groups as disparate as Xim the Despot ' s empire , the Hutts , the Galactic Empire , the Zann Consortium , the Yuuzhan Vong , and the Ssi - ruuvi Imperium . To chronicle the use of slavery by various civilizations over the history of the galaxy was considered by many to be a futile task . Slavery was made illegal by the Galactic Republic under the " Rights of Sentience " clause , but continued to exist , particularly in regions not under Republic control , primarily the Outer Rim Territories and the Senex sector . On Tatooine , some slaves were installed with chips in their craniums that killed them if they tried to escape . Anakin Skywalker and Shmi Skywalker had such chips installed within their bodies . For Anakin , who later trained as a Jedi , his history as a slave created some difficult emotional complications for his prospect of life in the Jedi Order . Because slavery naturally bred and intensified the dark side - inducing emotions of hatred and fear — " anathema " to the Jedi , as fostering these feelings was antithetical to the Jedi tenets and beliefs that strengthened their connection to the light side of the Force — Anakin faced peculiar challenges of the mind and spirit in his quest not only to become a Jedi Knight , but also to fulfill his destiny as " the Chosen One " . Anakin ' s advanced age for Jedi initiation ( at nearly 10 years old ) combined with his native Tatooine background , compounded the emotional problems that arose as a result . Whenever Skywalker came into contact with anyone or anything that summoned to the present his or his mother Shmi ' s unsavory experience with slavery , the Jedi Padawan was ever challenged to first acknowledge those feelings of hatred , anger or fear , allowing them to be felt , but then , critically , to let them pass , or " let them go , " as was the Jedi way ; Anakin was thus severely challenged on his early missions to Krayn ' s Nar Shaddaa , Haariden , Mawan , Typha - Dor , Romin , and Fondor . Young Skywalker felt acutely the sting of any injustice , as well , whenever he encountered it in his journeys throughout the galaxy . For example , when Anakin witnessed , in the Jedi mission to Romin in 24 BBY , the stark disparity between the wealthy and the poor , the 17 - year - old Padawan struggled with the intense feelings of disgust he felt for the injustices seen — clearly manifest both in the poorer areas of the planet ' s predominantly rich capital city and in the overwhelmingly bleak countryside hovel areas outside of the city — the planet ' s citizenry was , in essence , enslaved to its tyrant - dictator . Seeing the same severe injustices that he ' d grown up with , Anakin had to concentrate to keep his breathing even : " " He had tasted [ the injustice ] in his mouth like the sand that filled the air of Tatooine . The hatred he felt was bred in his bones " . " The following year , in 23 BBY , Skywalker continued to be vexed , but at greater intensities than ever before , by disturbing visions of darkness and distorted memories of his time as a slave . He wished he could wipe from his mind his experience as a slave , and he grew increasingly worried about the safety of his mother , Shmi . It had been nine years — and many intervening interstellar missions — since Anakin had promised her that he would become a Jedi Knight and return to Tatooine to free her , and he remained determined to keep that promise . Fate would , however , tragically lead the 19 - year - old Jedi back to his homeworld in 22 BBY to find Shmi brutally held captive by Tusken Raiders . After Shmi died in his arms , young Skywalker suddenly found himself " in the midst " of his dark visions as he took revenge on those who had taken his mother ' s life . Unfortunately , after the rise of the Empire , slavery was once again given a degree of legitimacy with the issuance of Imperial Decree A - SL - 4557 . 607 . 232 . Citizens could now be enslaved as punishment for " crimes against the civil order " . Non - Humans and Human critics of the New Order alike were rounded up and enslaved en - masse for work on such projects as the Death Star . In addition , early into the Empire ' s formation , the 501st Legion had been ordered by Emperor Palpatine to sell Nosaurian women and children into a slave market at Orvax IV . The Empire ' s enforcer , Darth Vader , learned of this during a debriefing for the Cleansing of New Plympto when Commander Vill let slip about the Emperor ' s order . Vader grew despondent enough at the revelation as a result that he abruptly ended his presence at the debriefing and could not fall asleep that night , due to remembering his own time as a slave . He later revealed what he had learned to the Emperor , and ultimately let it continue despite his misgivings after the Emperor told him the Imperial way was " different . " Agorffi , Wookiees , Yuzzem , and Talz were exploited for their strength while the Mon Calamari and the Givin were used for their famous ship - building skills . Also the Quarren , Chroman s , Ugnaughts and Mustafarians were enslaved for their mining skills , the Gamorreans and Gungans were enslaved for military operations and the Kaminoans and Kallidahins for their cloning skills . Meanwhile , the Empire frequently ignored the trade of Twi ' lek girls , who were enslaved for their beauty . When the New Republic became the dominant galactic power , slavery was once again made illegal by New Republic Senate Resolution 54 . 325 . However , slavery still continued in remote areas of the galaxy particularly in the Outer Rim and on certain Imperial fortress world s such as Byss . The former Imperial Procurator of Justice Hethrir was a major figure in the slave trade and sold undesirable captives into slavery at Crseih Station in the remote Crseih system . With his death , the slave trade suffered a major blow . Slavery re - emerged as a significant threat during the Yuuzhan Vong War as practiced by the extra - galactic Yuuzhan Vong empire . In particular , the Chazrach slave race were used in military operations . However , this was short - lived , once they had been defeated . Slaving was often handled by experienced slaving guilds ; three of the most notable were the Thalassian slavers , the Zygerrian Slavers Guild , and the Karazak Slavers Cooperative . Other criminal groups such as the Exchange and the Black Sun also had slave trades . The Invisible Market dealt largely with selling slaves on behalf of the black market , especially since the black market was more out in the open . In 44 ABY , due to the efforts of Freedom Flight , The Perre Needmo Newshour , and other groups , as well as the actions of several Lost Tribe Sith to desecrate the Fountain of Ancients on Klatooine , public support dramatically turned away from slavery . Most notably , the Chev species was freed from bondage to the Chevin , and the Treaty of Vontor was overturned , freeing the Nikto , Vodran , and Klatooinians from Hutt bondage they had endured for the past 25 , 144 years . The galactic movement against slavery grew and soon , slaves all around the galaxy , from the Ssi - ruuk Star Cluster to the Corporate Sector , started to revolt against their masters . After the violent repression of the slave revolt on Blaudu Sextus , the Jedi Order decided to move in to support the movement against slavery , which led to all - out war between them and Galactic Alliance Chief of State Natasi Daala . Galactic Emperor Darth Krayt repealed many anti - slavery laws set in place after the fall of the Galactic Empire when he took control of the galaxy . He even enslaved the Mon Calamari species . Indentured servitude was also engaged in by crime lords who liked to appear more legitimate than their peers . Droids and slavery . Another variation ( at least to some ) was ownership of droids . Some felt that this " ownership " was merely enslavement of their kind and fought to give them their freedom . An uprising of droids would later bring such ideas of their liberation into question . Droids , including artificially intelligent droids , were typically treated as property . More advanced droids sometimes received proportionally more respect . Some protested the status of droids as slavery . This was a contentious issue , owing in part to the difficulty of assessing levels of artificial intelligence , and determining which droids could be considered properly sentient . Although emancipation of droids was a radical concept , some opposed memory wipes except for very simple droids . Some droids enforced slavery alongside their organic companions . The Naboo considered higher level droids equal as fellow sentients . Under the Galactic Empire , no laws protected droids from abuse and those who showed them respect were looked upon as strange . Methods . Slavers had ways of keeping their charges on their leashes , literally and figuratively . The more physical means was attaching a chain to collars around their necks . The collar would be held by the slave ' s master , or attached to an object such as a wall . Zygerrians used collars on their slaves which sent electric shocks through their bodies at the touch of a button . They also used Shock whip s . Another method was placing transmitters inside their bodies . Any attempt to escape caused the transmitter to explode , killing the slave . However , this method had the drawback of resulting in the destruction of the slave and loss of property . The Sith used the dark side to enslave other beings , like Exar Kun who enslaved the Massassi . Despite all these possibilities , the most powerful method was likely psychological . Slaves would be made to feel that escape was impossible , and they would be forced to remain slaves . However , this method often failed , and slaves escaped fairly often . Image . The most common of slaves were either workers or portrayed as entertainment . Worker slaves were forced to labor , while often receiving little food and water . They were the type more frequently seen , especially in governments and more legal slaving organizations . Entertainment slaves were forced typically to wear revealing outfits to please their masters ( or their master ' s guests ) and submit to them . These were usually slaves to criminals , rather than major organizations . Notable examples included the Twi ' lek Oola and Leia Organa Solo , who were enslaved by Jabba Desilijic Tiure . Behind the scenes . According to " The Essential Atlas " , the Empire outlawed slavery . Later sections of the book indicate that the Empire instituted slavery as a judicial punishment for certain ill - defined crimes .