Slavery

"I'm not completely comfortable with the idea that the Empire is using slaves, sir." "Terms are not always as they seem, Commander. They are called slaves, but they may in fact be indentured servants. They may be prisoners working off their sentence. They may have sold themselves into slavery as a means of repaying debts to others on their world. I have seen all those situations at times."

- Eli Vanto and Thrawn discuss slavery

Slavery was a practice and institution where sentient beings were bought, sold, and held as property of other sentient beings.

Clone Wars
"I can't believe there's still slavery in the galaxy. The Republic's anti-slavery laws&mdash;" "The Republic doesn't exist out here. We must survive on our own."

- Padmé Amidala and Shmi Skywalker discuss slavery on Tatooine

Although the Galactic Republic outlawed slavery, it still existed around the time of the Clone Wars. The Outer Rim planet of Tatooine had a slave population living in Mos Espa, and slaves had chips implanted into their bodies that would explode if the slave attempted to escape. Centuries earlier, Zygerria controlled a powerful Slave Empire, which some Zygerrians attempted to rebuild during the Clone Wars.

Age of the Empire
"But since that has ended, the breeding programs have become problematic. We have a surplus of slave labor&mdash;but what to do with it? Could the Wookiees be farmed for their meat? Presently it's stringy and tough, but maybe if they could be fattened up, or modified in some way&mdash;crossbred with another species, perhaps, like the Talz."

- Commandant Theodane Sardo

During the early years of the Galactic Empire, Zygerrian raiders attacked Syngia Station in the Sertar sector and enslaved many of the inhabitants. Penn Zarang, who later became an Imperial cadet at the Arkanis Academy, survived the slave raid by hiding in a maintenance conduit. The murder of his father and the death of his mother while en-route to Zygerria convinced Penn to become an Imperial cadet. The raid occurred at a time when the Imperial Military had not expanded into the Outer Rim.

During the Age of the Empire, slavery once again became commonplace, particularly among alien species, which were considered inferior by the human-dominated Galactic Empire. With the rise of the Empire, the softening and eventual repeal of laws outlawing slavery led to the classification of some species, such as the Wookiees, as non-sentient. As a result, the Wookiees were pressed into slavery building much of the Imperial war machine, or serving in the notorious spice mines of Kessel following the Empire's conquest of their homeworld of Kashyyyk. Another example were the reptilian Bodach'i species who were enslaved and forced to work in the species mines of Kerev Doi as "reparations" for their homeworld's repeated defiance of Imperial decrees. In addition, the Empire used slaves from several alien species to keep Weapons Factory Alpha (the largest weapons factory in the galaxy) running day and night.

After being given command of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Chimaera, Commodore Thrawn discovered that the Empire was trafficking Wookiee slaves after responding to a distress call from the troop transport Sempre. The slaves had been liberated by an attack force consisting of the frigate Castilus and two squadrons of V-19 Torrent starfighters. The insurgents then launched an attack on Baklek Base. Thrawn led a successful military operation to neutralize the insurgents, forcing their surrender. When Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto expressed his unease about slavery, Thrawn tried to rationalize the Empire's actions.

The tentacle-headed Twi'lek, mostly their females, were often captured and sold into slavery as they were considered beautiful. Many females of other races, not just the Twi'lek, were often forced to wear revealing outfits and to dance for their owners. In many other cases, those that were not actually slaves in name nevertheless worked in near slave-like existences, forced to endure grueling jobs to eke out a meager living while also often having to contend with corrupt Imperial officials. Someone who engaged in practices related to slavery, such as capturing people to make them into slaves, was known as a slaver.

Post-Galactic Civil War
"I do not understand why you keep these... people, Agent Terex." "Oh, each of these folks is particularly, specifically useful to me, Phasma."

- Captain Phasma questions Agent Terex about his slaves

Following the Battle of Endor, the New Republic's provisional Galactic Senate in Chandrila diverted substantial resources to compensating alien species that had been enslaved by the Galactic Empire. In 5 ABY, Han Solo and Chewbacca led a successful slave uprising on Kashyyyk against Grand Moff Lozen Tolruck, the leader of Imperial territory G5-623. One of Tolruck's subordinates Commandant Theodane Sardo toyed with the idea of farming enslaved Wookiees for their meat. As part of the plan, the former Imperial loyalty officer Sinjir Rath Velus disabled the inhibitor chips controlling the Wookiee slaves with a hyperspace transceiver spike. Following a battle on the ground and space above Kashyyyk, the planet was liberated by New Republic forces led by Admiral Ackbar and Princess Leia Organa. Wookiee and New Republic forces later liberated more Wookiee slaves including Chewbacca's son Lumpawaroo in mopping-up operations against Imperial holdouts on Kashyyyk.

Despite the New Republic's ban on slavery, slaves were still known to be exported from seedy places like Chrome Citadel to Nal Hutta under the classification of "live cargo." In addition, individuals were still known to be indentured as servants. During an undercover mission to Sibensko, Senator Leia Organa assumed the identity of a recently-freed indentured servant.

During the search for the explorer Lor San Tekka, the First Order's Security Bureau Agent Terex owned several slaves from various species including an Abednedo and a Rodian. He justified his behavior on the grounds that each of these aliens served a particular use and that the Empire practiced slavery, citing the enslavement of the Wookiees as one example. Captain Phasma disapproved of his ownership of slaves and regarded the First Order as purer and stronger than the Empire.