Hutt Clan

The Hutt Clan, also known as the Hutt Families, the Hutt Cartel, the Hutt empire, or just the Hutt clans, was a Hutt crime family that made its riches through smuggling and myriad illegal businesses on worlds across a region of space homonymous with the species name. The Hutt Clan was led by individuals on the Grand Hutt Council, the ruling body of Nal Hutta.

During High Republic Era, the Hutt Clan saw the spread of peace and prosperity across the galaxy as a threat to their ambitions, and sought to reduce the influence of the expanding Galactic Republic. They also had to contend with the carnivorous Drengir species and the anarchistic marauders Nihil but were typically not known to venture into Republic space due to sanctions upon the Hutt Clan regarding outstanding trade issues.

By the time of the Clone Wars, it was one of the most powerful crime families in the galaxy. The Hutts' had a large influence and power over the Outer Rim -- specifically its hyperspace lanes. Due to this, the Hutt Clan aligned itself with the Galactic Republic in its war effort against the Confederacy of Independent Systems. The chaos of the war allowed the Hutt Clan to expand their influence to the far reaches of the galaxy. However, much of the Hutts territorial expansion was itself contained by large swatches of Separatist space.

By the time of the Imperial Era, the cartel remained under the control of Grand Hutt Council and was part of the Five Crime Syndicates. At one point, the Hutt Clan were involved in a series of trade wars with the InterGalactic Banking Clan. 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. When an auction was announced by Crimson Dawn leader Qi'ra, the Grand Hutt Council participated but was invaded by Darth Vader, who after an insurrection in Jekara's orbit with Imperial forces, provoked by Bokku, the Council was killed by Darth Vader, leaving Jabba as the sole leader of the Hutt Cartel before his own death on Tatooine shortly after.

After the fall of the Galactic Empire, the Hutt Clan entered into a period of decline as their power waned significantly without Jabba, allowing other criminal organizations to flourish in its absence. By 21 ABY, the Hutt Cartel power had decreased to the point that Jedi Master Luke Skywalker reasoned that some of the Weequay working for Ochi of Bestoon were former mercenaries that had abandoned the failing cartel.

Text and facts from the “Hutt Clan” article on Wookieepedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Modified for this site.