4 years later, TPM confuses me greatly

It might sound ridiculous to ask this question 4 years after the movie came out, but I have come to a startling conclusion: I don't understand the Phantom Menace.

What was that trade federation deal all about? I know that we learn in the second movie that it was just Sidious trying to divide and conquer the galaxy- exploiting people's legitimate grievances with the republic, etc- but what does Naboo have to do with this? And what exactly was being traded?

There is a whole lot of explaining in the first two movies- but particularly the first one- that is just downright confusing. Characters explain all of this stuff but I honestly don't get it, 4 years later.

Anyway, if someone could ezplain to me what Naboo did to warrant all this attention, who the trade federation people are, what exactly they trade, etc, I would appreciate it.

Edit- Oh yeah, there was something else I was going to ask. Does anyone else think that GL has done a bad job explaining exactly what the opposing factions of the republic are so upset about? This may be more appropriate for another forum because it deals with not only the trade federation, but the other factions represented in Episode 2. I figured i would include it on this one though because it really has its roots in TPM. Anyway, what is everyone so upset about? Is it simply that the Senate doesn't work anymore, that people aren't being represented, and things aren't getting done? If so, what exactly do they want to get done?

 

I'm with you.

I know it's supposed to have something to do with taxing trade routes, but why is Naboo blockaded? what are they blocking? How come the Gungans don't care?

I saw Lucas asked to explain the set-up of the story in a TV interview once, so he starts talking about the Naboo and the Nemoidians and the trade blockade and taxation....and then he pauses...and says :"look - these are the bad guys and these are the good guys, that's all you need to know!"

g

 

Palpatine convinced the Trade Federation to blockade his own planet, thinking he knew the queen of the planet well enough to know how she'd handle the situation.


Now, the taxation of trade routes in the galaxy was being discussed in the Senate. The Trade Federation didn't want this, because it meant some of their income would go to the government. They were desperate. Thus, they legally blockaded the planet, hoping to get the Senate to back down. It didn't work, so they agreed to illegally invade the planet, and hold the queen hostage.


This is exactly what Palpatine wanted, because it got Amidala off the planet, and gave her a reason to bring change. He wanted an empire, and his first step was proving to people loyal to him that the Republic wasn't functioning properly. Since it was his planet that was blockaded, he got the sympathy votes, and convinced everyone that he was the man to bring about change and end the corruption.


And he delivered on his promise.

 

But her leaving the planet was a result of the Jedi intervening, which I doubt was a part of Palp's plan. The original plan was for her to sign a treaty, her making it to Coruscant was a fluke not a part of his original plan. If she was not meant to leave the planet, or even live, how was he supposed to become Chancellor?

 

He knew that if the Trade Federation invaded, it would force Amidala off the planet and to the Senate. With or without the Jedi, I think his plan was for her to come and bring her case before the Senate, only to have it completely ignored.


EDIT: That, or he himself would make the case before the Senate, since he was already on the capitol.

 

I think what Palpatine truly thought was that Amidala would be captured, but would not sign the treaty, as she says she won't right from the getgo. So Palpatine could go to the Senate and say that his planet has been held hostage by the Trade Federation. The Jedi may not have been part of his plan (all though it very well could have been; maybe he suggested it to the Chancellor), but it ended up working out better than he could imagine.

Cometgreen

 

He knew that if the Trade Federation invaded, it would force Amidala off the planet and to the Senate.


He seemed to be surprised by everything that she did in that movie. "This is an unexpected move for her, too aggressive".

I don't think he was planning on her coming to Coruscant, because the Neimodians had her in custody and took over her city. They didn't let her escape, I don't think.

Darth Maul was chasing her and the Jedi, presumably to kill her. Why not just let her get to Coruscant on her own, because where else would she go when her planet is being invaded?

The only thing I can think of is that he wanted to find a patsy- kind of like Jar Jar Binks in episode 2- to push the legislation he wanted through the senate. And that was a vote of no confidence in Chancelor Valorum. I don't think he wanted her there- I dont even think he wanted her alive.

I kind of understand the part about picking Naboo because it's his home planet- the part about it helping him get sympathy makes sense. But all of the stuff about taxes and whatnot detract from the overall story because I still have a hard time following what in the world everyone is talking about.

 

The taxes, as said above, is just a way for the TF to get desperate. I personally don't really care about the tax stuff (it's really only talked about in the opening crawl), but I think it shows why the TF would get caught up with the Sith. They, like the Banking Clan and others, have grown tired with the Republic. I'm sure Sidious promised them better treatment once the plan is completed.

Cometgreen

 

The basic premise of the plan really is this.

Sometime before TPM, a new taxation law was brought in which cut into the Trade Federation's profits. But what could the TF do?

This is where Sidious comes in.
He knows how motived the TF (and oher corporate organisations) are by greed. So he uses this to his advantage by telling them (yeah he'd really "advise" them )to blockade Naboo. And then eventually invade Naboo, capture its leader, force her to sign a treaty which gives the TF legal rights to her planet and possibly kill her (its most likely).

But why Naboo, as you ask? Simple, Darth Sidious is Senator Palpatine, who is the Senator of Naboo
What does this blockade of his "homeworld" help him do?
It will aid him in showing how corrupt Chancellor Valorum's administration/regime is, and then it is only a matter of time before the election for a new Supreme Chancellor takes place and Palpatine/Sidious can coax other senators into voting for him.
Remember Sidious' plans are to eventually destroy the Jedi and takeover the galaxy, this is the first small step of his ultimate goal.

The fact is Naboo is of no importance to the Senate or anywhere else, its just because Palpatine is its senator that he abuses the planet to his advantage.

But when the Jedi arrived unannounced this changed the plan altogether.
Queen Amidala had an escort and escape route, and Sidious' plan A went caput.
But seeing as he has an all seeing eye and knows the future (or one manipulated by him), he realised that having Amidala arrive on Coruscant was just as good a plan.

 

Also, because Senator Palpatine is the Senator for Naboo, no one would suspect the work of the TF was his doing - it takes the attention away from him so that he can continue to scheme, plot and manipulate the republic unnoticed.

 

Bingo.

Palpatine/Sidious is working both sides because he knows he can. He is using both his true persona and his Senatorial persona to get his plans into fruition. Eventually he will use his Apprentice to do some of the work (which is why after Maul he needed Dooku, but he would've used Maul to be the Separatist Leader even though most people don't think Maul was up to the job).
And before we know it his plan is even more intriguing by AOTC because all that double-faced scheming is working to a tee. And he is STILL working both sides (albeit he has Dooku doing the other side).
First he works to control the Senate, then he works to divide the Republic and then he works to conquer the galaxy.

 

There are some good points in this thread, and I'd like to add why Naboo's placement in the galaxy makes sense.

Naboo is far enough away from Coruscant for this kind of blockade business to matter that much to the Senate. It can reason that it has far many more planets closer by to take care, who cares if one of our outermost planets is taken? The Republic has bigger fish to fry. That's the attitude that Sidious takes advantage of.

Now, it may be one planet near the Outer Rim, but it's also part of a trade route. It's like dominoes, tip one, and the others start to follow. That's where AOTC comes in and we add the Separatists to the picture, it's a domino effect. The "victory" on Naboo in TPM delays the effect, but does not stop it completely.

The analogy I'm using is this. They are a long line of dominoes that eventually snake their way to the middle of this awesome domino structure. Naboo is far from the center, so its "pushing" isn't noticed so much by the center dominoes at first becuase the structure has become too big for its own good. Naboo is the beginning domino, while the Trade Federation is the conduit, the means in which the pushing of the Naboo domino will have any effect on the Republic/center dominoes.

 

So is Palpatine the Chancelor doing things in the senate that he knows will make the seperatists upset? Like taxing the trade routes, etc.

 

Yep, probably. If you'll notice, there doesn't seem like much of a change in the political arena from TPM to AotC. The corruption remains, and will remain until the Republic fully dies away.

 

The end of corruption and the beginning of tyranny. Nice.

Great posts people!

 

This skews a little off topic because its an episode 3 question, but since we are on the subject, do you think that it's important for Palpatine to reveal to those factions that he has actually been playing them for fools in the next movie?

In TPM and AOTC, he has apparently been speaking to them as Sidious, either personally or through Darth Maul/Count Dooku. They are unaware of the fact that he is actually Palpatine, i'm guessing. So is it an important plot point for him to publicly say "you all are a bunch of suckers", or does that even matter?

I ask because that seems to be an important part of the story, because it basically establishes why everything happened the way it did. If Palpatine doesn't say something to this effect- wrapping up what has happened, basically, and saying he is completely responsible for all of it- I think the prequels might end up looking like a big jumbled mess.

 

Yes, Palpatine already has pushed the Separatists buttons and it goes back to Naboo.

It's important to keep four parties in mind here. The Republic, Naboo/Palpatine, the Trade Federation, and the outlying systems (soon to be Separatists).

At any point after TPM, any system that lies on the fringes of the Republic, can see what happened to Naboo and how it barely survived when the Republic left it on its own. They don't have time for some distant system to sift through red tape and decide to come help them, especially when the need for help is spurred on by this same distant system's decision to tax their trade providers. This is why Naboo's position and situation is important. It is what starts the break-up of the Republic.

By the end of TPM, the Republic is held in bad light by members of outlying systems. The Outer Rim (systems such as Tatooine) is closer to these systems than Coruscant is and while they are not in great shape, they're not completely helpless either. These outlying systems begin to ponder their own freedom and doing things their way. This paves the way for the Separatists. It's possible to infer Palpatine is doing in things in the Senate to upset the Separatists more, but don't forget the things he has already done in TPM.

United the Republic stands, but divided it falls. And that paves the way for the Empire. It may seem like an unlikely plot at first, but it's critical to the beginning of the Republic's fall and the rise of the Empire.

Recap: Why Naboo? It's position in the galaxy, and that's where Palpatine is from.

Why Trade Federation? Nothing stirs people up better than money. And Palpatine needs an agency with resources. No resources, no droid army. No droid army, no blockade. No blockade, no example to make of Naboo.

Now the question is, why do the Separatists align themselves with the Trade Federation, the once oppressors of Naboo? Because after TPM, the one person who has insight on what its like to live in an outlying system and can do something about it to make conditions better becomes the Chancellor. But when he fails to meet their demands, they seperate. Palpatine and Naboo join with the Republic. The Separatists and the Trade Federation are left and so one has the resources, and one has the needs and the rest is history.

So of those four parties I mentioned in the beginning of this post, they are all on their own in TPM, but by AOTC they've teamed up, two on two, with Palpatine in the driver's seat. It's more complicated than Empire vs. Republic, I'll concede that, but it's not so complicated it's impossible to understand.

 

Well put, Vanthorne_OX. I hadnt even thought of why the seperatists were aligned with the trade federation until I read your post.

So the seperatists align themselves with the trade federation, because Palpatine and Naboo have both abandoned their cause. Makes sense.

Why did the trade federation have an army in the first place, though? We learn that they are pretty quick to assemble by the Geonosians, but an order had to be placed. This is getting into the backstory, but why would they do that before knowing that there was going to be taxation on the trade routes?

 

There are some novelizations that explain the Trade Federation's backstory, including their army.


I think the simplest answer is best: they, like the rest of the galaxy, have become corrupt and greedy, and are slipping into dangerous territory by using questionable means (such as organizing a private army to better "persuade" their rivals and all-out enemies into backing down.).

 

I think in the Behind the Magic OT saga CD-Rom there was a Episode Preview that talked about how the "enemies" of the Republic would have private armies and how the conflict on Naboo leads to increasing militarization and arming of the galaxy.

The TF was one of these groups having a private army.

 

What was that trade federation deal all about? I know that we learn in the second movie that it was just Sidious trying to divide and conquer the galaxy- exploiting people's legitimate grievances with the republic, etc- but what does Naboo have to do with this? And what exactly was being traded? ... Anyway, if someone could ezplain to me what Naboo did to warrant all this attention, who the trade federation people are, what exactly they trade, etc, I would appreciate it.

---

[link=http://www1.theforce.net/CUSWE/search.asp?search=trade+federation]Trade Federation[/link]: this group was formed by during Old Republic, some 350 years before the Battle of Yavin, to monitor and maintain the delicate balances of power between the growing economies of the Core Worlds and the developing worlds of the remote Outer Rim Territories.

Ostensibly, they were the policemen of commerce for the Old Republic, working to ensure fairness and mediate disputes between merchants and transport providers. The Federation became large enough, and powerful enough, to maintain a seat in the Galactic Senate as if they were a populated planet.

Many outlying systems aligned themselves with the Federation, rather than requesting direct representation in the Senate, because it was a more expedient way to develop trade with the Core Worlds. However, the Trade Federation - controlled by the Neimoidian race - was inherently weak, and soon found itself under the control of Darth Sidious during the years leading up to the Clone Wars.

A series of political maneuvers led to the Old Republic's taxation of trade routes in the galaxy, which took away much of the control and profit realized by the Neimoidians. In an attempt to force the repeal of the tax law, and under the control of Sidious, the Trade Federation threatened the world of Naboo by blockading all trade to and from the planet.

The blockade was eventually broken during the Battle of Naboo, but the Federation had already outlived its usefulness to Sidious, who abandoned them when they could no longer control the situation. In the aftermath of the Naboo blockade, the Trade Federation's warfleet and its military personnel were absorbed into the Old Republic's own defense forces, and the Federation itself was restricted in its ability to do business.

The Republic ordered the immediate downsizing of the Federation's droid forces, but many of these combat automatons were simply resold to Federation holdings. Nute Gunray, the Viceroy of the Trade Federation, survived imprisonment and maintained control of the Federation. However, he felt betrayed by Darth Sidious and so threw his support to Count Dooku and the Separatists.[hr] [/blockquote]
In short, Naboo lies in the path of an important trade route. Naboo puts a tax on the usage of this trade route, and the Trade Federation doesn't like it. Ultimately, this is just a move by Sidious, but he used Naboo as the planet to harrass about getting rid of the tax. They don't want their proffits going toward tax dollars. Also, it set him up in a position to become Emperor when Valorum didn't do anything about it.

[i]Edit- Oh yeah, there was something else I was going to ask. Does anyone else think that GL has done a bad job explaining exactly what the opposing factions of the republic are so upset about? This may be more appropriate for another forum because it deals with not only the trade federation, but the other factions represented in Episode 2. I figured i would include it on this one though because it really has its roots in TPM. Anyway, what is everyone so upset about? Is it simply that the Senate doesn't work anymore, that people aren't being represented, and things aren't getting done? If so, what exactly do they want to get done?[/i]

It's mainly what Dooku said: The Corruption in the Senate. Smaller planets were not getting as much of a voice in the grand scheme of things, and weren't happy about it. They wanted an equal voice.

[blockquote][hr][link=http://www1.theforce.net/CUSWE/search.asp?search

 

ousley, you are like the most knowledgeable star wars person in the history of the world or something. Thanks.

 

Yes, that was a great response from Ousley. I also recommend reading the novel Cloak of Deception by James Luceno, which takes place 1 year or so before TPM and gives some insight to the events in the films. The taxation, the accusations of corruption against Valorum etc.

 

Alright, I still don't get it.

It sounds like the Trade Federation was supposed to be a branch of the Republic. The TF defying the Old Republic is like the US Treasury department going agains the congress for passing new tarrifs. Wouldn't the TF be the ones to handle the taxation of the trades routes and would be making most of the profit? And why would they have they're own army? The Treasuring dept doesn't have it's own army. And if this is no longer the role of the TF, and they are considered nothing more than a represented planet, why are they still called the Trade Fed. And doesn't the Rep. need a branch to fill that position.
So it's like the treasury dept gets so powerful it breaks from the government into it's own "state", doesn't do any of the treasury duties anymore, but is still called the Treasury dept. And the gov. never replaced it's treasury dept.

Also, what good would any treaty forceably signed with Naboo do against the will of the Republic?
"Nya, nya. If you don't stop taxing the trade routes (which is supposed to be our job anyway) we'll? uh? pick on this small, outlying planet and make them sign some treaty!"

 

The TF is a mercantilist trading company stark like the Dutch East India Company and various other European shipping companies.

They were granted franchises and monopoly power over specific shipping lanes. They had armies and built garrisons to secure their ports.

And they could level massive tariffs, or worse, against other non-affiliated companies.

The companies founded colonies led by a Viceroy.

what the TF and Sidious are attempting to do in TPM is a failed attempt to begin splitting the Republic.

This eventually does happen in AOTC when Palpy aligns himself with a charismatic former Jedi, Count Dooku.