Hutt Clan

"There are many things the Hutts influence and possess that would be useful to us."

- Darth Maul to the Grand Hutt Council

The Hutt Clan, also known as the Hutt Cartel and sometimes simply as the Hutts, was one of the most powerful crime families in the galaxy around the time of the Clone Wars. It was governed by the Grand Hutt Council, whose members were the heads of the five Hutt families. During the Clone Wars, the clan aligned itself with the Galactic Republic, and briefly with Darth Maul's criminal empire, the Shadow Collective. During the Galactic Civil War, they clashed on multiple occasions with a group of mercenaries operating on the planet Tatooine, and established an alliance with the Galactic Empire.

Before the Clone Wars
During the final days of the Galactic Republic, 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.

Entering the Conflict
"Soon the Jedi will not only be at war with you, Count, but the Hutt Clan as well."

- Darth Sidious to Count Dooku

During the Clone Wars, the Hutts' influence and power over the Outer Rim, specifically its hyperspace lanes, was sought by both the Galactic Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. Rotta, the son of Jabba, was secretly kidnapped by the Separatists, orchestrated by the Sith Lord Count Dooku with help from Jabba's uncle Ziro. The plot was meant to discredit the Jedi Order and scuttle negotiations between the Republic and the Hutts, but the Jedi were able to rescue Rotta from the Separatists. The crime lord had promised his support to whomever returned his son, and when the Separatists and Jabba's uncle, Ziro, were revealed to have orchestrated Rotta's kidnapping, Jabba pledged his support to the Republic.

Senate Hostage Crisis
At another point in the war, the Hutt Clan 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 the Hutt before he revealed the Council's records, which were kept in a holodiary on Teth, to the Republic Senate. 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 Galactic 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 Galactic Republic. However, two Jedi—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.

Nal Hutta Incident
"There are many things the Hutts influence and possess that would prove useful to us."

- Darth Maul appeals to the Hutt Grand Council

The Shadow Collective, an organization lead by the former Sith Lord Darth 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 just laughed at them, as they did not respond kindly to 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 came 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 his Darksaber and cut down several 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.

Attack on Jabba's Palace
"Give up, Jabba, you're the only ones left!" "Submit or suffer."

- Pre Viszla and Darth Maul to Jabba the Hutt in his inner sanctum

The Shadow Collective attacked the perimeter of Jabba's Palace, paving the path for Darth Maul, Savage Opress, and Pre 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 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 and subsequent battle of Sundari only to withdraw due to infighting within the Collective.

Aftermath of the Clone Wars
"Jabba, you're a wonderful human being."

- Han Solo, after Jabba extended the time he had to repay his debts

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 it and the Clan victory over the Confederacy of Independent Systems, preserving their power base including on the desert world of Tatooine, which was enduring an intense drought which become known as the Great Drought that was the worst in then-recent memory. This left moisture farmers with little water to harvest, 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 had gone to take the water back from Jabba's men and give it back to the farmers. Obi-Wan 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, Black Krrsantan, to find Kenobi, and offered to pay him extra for bringing him alive.

Jabba continued his illicit operations during the Age of the Empire, continuing to hold influence as a crime lord. One smuggler he hired for his operations was 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.

Interception on route to Cymoon 1
The Rebel Alliance had learned of impending talks between the Galactic Empire and Hutt Clan, as the Empire wanted Jabba the Hutt and the Clan to provide raw materials to be used in creating weapons and starships and resources to fuel its military operations. This followed the destruction of the Death Star during the Battle of Yavin, however a team of Rebels intercepted the shuttle from Tatooine that carried Jabba's emissary and stole the shuttle and continued towards Cymoon 1.

Alliance with the Empire
"...you must finish your dealings with the Hutt. If he cannot bring an agent to the Core, we must go to the Outer Rim. We have no time to open conversations with the Crymorah or any of the other crime lords. He will expect you in two days' time. Make the deal."

- Darth Sidious, to Darth Vader

The Emperor sent Darth Vader to negotiate a deal with Jabba following the loss of Weapons Factory Alpha during a 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 Dark Lord of the Sith 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 Galactic 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.

Dispute on Tatooine
"Those men worked for my master, the mighty Jabba the Hutt. He is most displeased with your hostility."

- Bib Fortuna contacts the mercenaries following the battle

Sometime before the Battle of Hoth, Jabba's majordomo Bib Fortuna contacted mercenaries 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 mercenary gang would at some point later work with Jabba in order to obtain intel on the faction they opposed in the civil war but would however eventually break down and conflict between Saponza's men and the Hutts erupted once more.

Death of Jabba


Jabba had placed a bounty on the famous smuggler Han Solo as he had failed to pay him back. The Sith Lord Darth Vader had captured Solo in Cloud City and had frozen him in carbonite. Vader then turned him over to Boba Fett, who brought Solo to Jabba's palace on Tatooine. However, this capture brought him to the attention of Leia Organa, who 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, Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker 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, instead Organa strangled 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 Leia Organa. Though the footage 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.

Fading Power
In the decades following the defeat of the Empire and the rise of the New Republic, the Hutt families saw much of their once great power and influence wane, even losing control of the Nikto, a race that had been in service to the Hutts for centuries prior.

Government
"Well, well. If it isn't the heads of the five Hutt families."

- Cad Bane, sitting in on a meeting

The Hutts and their criminal enterprise were ruled by the Grand Hutt Council that was located on the Hutt world of Nal Hutta and included a number of high profile and influential Hutt leaders of each family such as Jabba who led the council and the clan. The Ruling Council handled the day-to-day affairs of the Hutt species, and its leader later spoke on behalf of all Hutts in treaties and dealings with the Galactic Empire.

Astrography
Hutt Space was the domain of the Hutt Clan within the Outer Rim Territories, which held a reputation as a haven for smugglers, bounty hunters and other denizens of the galaxy with Nal Hutta serving as it capital and headquarters of the Grand Hutt Council. Following the Battle of Yavin, the Galactic Empire began to cut into Hutt Clan trade in an effort to reduce their independence.

Non-Canon Appearances

 * William Shakespeare's The Phantom of Menace: Star Wars Part the First
 * Epic Yarns: Return of the Jedi