The Great Hutt Nation

"See fah luto eetheen, ee yaba ma dukey massa. Eeth wong 
che coh pa na-geen, nah meeto toe bunky dunko. Lo choda!"
Translates: Ok, fifteen percent. But if you fail me again, 
I'll put a price on your head so big you won't be able to go 
near a civilized system.
::: -- Jabba to Han'''
==The Founding of an Empire==
The Great Hutt Nation is nearly as ancient as the Republic, and its foundings long forgotten. Some Hutts claim that they have existed far longer than the Republic, and had helped found the Republic in some ways. Of course, any truth to this is easily ignored. What is known, though, is that the Hutts have existed long enough to have evolved into the giant, slug-like beings they've become because of their power they hold in the galaxy.
What is known of how the Hutts came to power is related in whispered stories, passed on through the old families of slaves that serve the Hutts on their homeworld of Nal Hutta. That through deception and treachery, the Hutts gained power and influence over the other sentients of their homeworld by turning them against each other. They spread outwards throughout the Galaxy... taking control of new races by 'offering protection', or through the same cunning that awarded them power and wealth over long ages. The 
Gammorreans, in particular, worship the Hutts as God-beings.
Today, the Hutts control 90% of all criminal activity within the Galaxy. They've built a powerful Nation, dependent on the money and influence that the Hutts provide, enforced by the strength of the Bounty Hunters Guild, and held in the iron grip of a heartless race.
==Administrative Structure==
The Government of the Hutts, if it could be called so, is dependent upon a system ruled by the Six most powerful Clans, which sits upon the Hutt Council, and the numerous smaller Clans that secretly vie for power and a seat on the Council. However, every Hutt is the ultimate ruler within his own domain, working to gain power and influence over his Clansmen.
===The Clans of the Hutts===
The Six Clans that sit on Council are the most powerful in the Hutt Nation. The Head of each Clan lives in a Palace within the Capitol City of Nal Hutta. The Clans each controls a vast portion of Nal Hutta's resources, and each Clan also controls one or more of the Planets or Systems within the Hutt Nation.
The many other Clans serve below them, seeking to amass enough power and strength to be recognized on the Council. It is ultimately futile, for once a lesser clan becomes powerful enough to be taken notice of, it is usually absorbed forcefully by one of the larger clans. This is both an Honor to the lesser Clan, and a curse, as the head of the clan is typically assassinated and the elder members moved off world to sit as overseers of minor colonies or poor planets, much as Jabba was exiled to Tatooine in the movies.
The Six Clans are named Trinivii, Tuluu, Cuugunga, Guggx'la, Fguncli, and Zagganugi. Membership to these clans is granted by the Clan Boss.
====Within the Clan====
The Clans are comprised of various Hutt Lords, those Hutts not killed at birth or soon after, and have lived long enough to amass size and power. All of the resources of the Clan are considered to be owned by the Clans Boss, but each Hutt gains more influence dependent on what he controls. A hutts power within the Clan is primarily dictated by his age, and secondly by girth. The fatter and lazier, or long-lived, a Hutt becomes is considered to be a direct result of his cunning and aptitude for amassing wealth and power.
If a Hutt can gather enough followers and influence in the galaxy, and feed himself to enormous sizes, he has right to denounce those Hutts of less mass than himself and take some of their prestige. In such a way is the Boss of the Clan decided, and so to is the Supreme Boss of the Council of Clans decided.
===Bosses===
The Bosses are those who control the clans, and thus control the Nation. They are the rulers of planets and systems, the overlords of crime and assassinations. They demand tithes from their underlings, and can move great forces with their money and power. They are the ones who know what is going on in the Galaxy, the owners of Information that no one else has. They also control some of the most dangerous men in the known systems.
===The Supreme Boss===
The Supreme Boss is the Voice of the Hutt Nation. His extreme size and power have earned him the right to dictate decrees to the rest of the Hutt Clans. He alone has the right to sentence another Hutt to death, and he alone can send the entire of the Hutt Nation to war. Of course, no Hutt is ever foolish enough to do either of these things, as he can be killed by a poison truffle frog as easily as any.
The Supreme Boss is more of a figure head for the Clans, as the epitome of what Hutts see themselves as and wish to be. His council is valued after and the benefits of his good favor desired by all. He does not control the resources of the Hutts outside of his own clan, but is given power that no other Hutt may obtain, including control over Nar Shaddaa, which is considered to be owned by all Hutts.
==Economy==
The Great Hutt Nation has an economy based almost entirely on activities which would be either questionably moral or outright despicable, and often illegal, in any other part of the Galaxy. These sources of income can be roughly divided into: slavery, arms dealing, the spice trade, and sundry.
===Slavery===
The Great Hutt Nation enslaves species from all over the Galaxy: the less they enjoy slavery, the more expensive the slave, with Wookiees and Whiphids being particularly sought after as males, and Twi'leks and Humans being particularly sought after as females. More common slaves include the Gamorreans, who have been cowed and wrangled by 
the Hutt Nation.
The Hutt Nation acquires these slaves in any number of ways: either from the children of vanquished foes, raids on other worlds, dark business dealings, extortion, or the wide-spread enslavement of a species (as in the case of Gamorreans and orphans of Ord Mantell). The Hutt Nation then sells its slaves to anyone who will buy them: from humanitarian organizations that set the slaves free, to gangsters and politicians.
A recent push by the Black Imperium and other Outer Rim worlds has caused
Nar Shaddaa to abolish slavery, and to move to a more progressive system
of contracts for indentured servitude.
===Arms Dealing===
The Hutt Nation's second most despicable economic boon is its arms dealing. Originally, this role was fulfilled by Tenloss Corp., known for making shoddy, dirty-cheap weapons that can turn any gangster into a petty warlord. The underhanded dealings of Jasmine saw the corporation move off-world to Bespin, but the void was quickly filled by Czerka Corporation.
In addition to personal arms and armor, mercenary guilds operate on all major Hutt worlds, putting together despicable groups of thugs and contract killers who would slit their mothers' throats for a credit.
Finally, for those seeking the biggest guns available for a reasonable price, there is the Nubian Collective, a Shipyard that has operated under the governance of the Hutts for more than a millenia. Like most of the Hutt weapon enterprises, the rule is cheap rather than potent, and there are numerous cutting edge shipyards and weapons dealers outside of the Great Hutt Nation, but still in the Outer Rim. Still, the Great Hutt Nation has developed a few newer, more capable models, including the Supernova and the Orgon.
===The Spice Trade===
Almost always under the control of one Hutt or another, Kessel is notorious for it's spice mines. Here, and here alone in the Galaxy the rare and strange narcotic known as spice is mined from the fifth planet in the Kessel System.
Although it is referred to as a "prison," it could just as easily be considered a slave camp. The Galaxy's most unwated are sent to Kessel as punishment or to simply end their life in a manner more miserable than death, to spend it mining spice, to have their bodies slowly degrade from handling the material raw.
After the spice is mined, it is transfered to a refinery in orbit of Kessel, where it is processed into the pure form of the drug. From there, the pure "spice tabs" are transfered to the secure "Warden's Colony" on the seventh planet of the Kessel System. Here, the Warden of Kessel sells the spice to select buyers. 
Once the spice is sold in its pure form, it is further cut and processed into a number of final consumptive forms, everything from the popular "death sticks" which are smoked, 
to the "sassy slurry" which is injected, to the short-lived product "Slurm," which was drunk.
Once processed in that state, the narcotic is shipped around the Galaxy and sold to addicts (commonly known as "spice-heads") and those who are curious.
As a result of the Brood of Zergata / Great Hutt Nation Civil War, Edward Zamir handed over control of Kessel to the Republic, halting the flow of spice to the galaxy at large.
===Sundry===
In addition to the backbone of the Hutt Economy, listed in some detail above, the Hutts make money through a number of business ventures. Gambling, and various forms of extortion and blackmail make up a fair three percent of the Hutt Nation's annual reported income.
The Hutt's investment in the misery of others takes somewhat more legitimate forms as well: death races, gladiatorial games, poaching, assassination, and terrorism are but a few of the economic endeavors that, while substantially less profitable than those listed above, are still considered respectable pastimes by the Hutts. The lower ranking Hutts engage in these activities for livelihood, the higher ranking... for fun.
==The Fouling of the Nation==
During the rule of Cerebra the Hutt, the Brood of Zergata and the Great Hutt Nation were engaged in a campaign of galactic conquest, the height of which saw the Great Hutt Nation encompassing Nar Shaddaa, Ardak, Camodai, Gamor Prime, Tatooine, Ord Mantell, Kessel, and Bespin.
This amount of conquest was rather off-putting to many of the Hutt elders but Cerebra had the military might to do as he wished, which was shown clearly when he placed a human, Alvin Dogma aka Aldog, into the position of Supreme Boss of Nar Shaddaa.
Cerebra the Hutt's death during his invasion of Corellia started a slow and steady decline of the Great Hutt Nation that continues to this day. Aldog stepped down, and Super Great Vordo the Hutt was elected to the position of Supreme Boss. The Brood of Zergata and the Great Hutt Nation engaged in a tedious civil war, leaving Nar Shaddaa stripped of defenses, and the member worlds Bespin, Ord Mantell, and Kessel given away by surrendering Brood officers.
The Black Imperium quickly moved to take advantage of the civil war, and imposed upon the Great Hutt Nation an onerous series of conditions, the most painful of which was the end of the Great Hutt Nation as a coalition of member worlds. All that is left is Nar Shaddaa. This, combined with the
abolishment of slavery and the Republic control of Kessel, has led to dark times for the Hutts.
Category:Hutts