Do the Hutts have an Empire or are they split into many different clans?

I was just wondering how many people severe the Hutts and If each Hutt groups are at each others skin. It seems to me the Common Gangters have there own Empires in the Star Wars unverse.

 

I've always seen the Hutts as a bit like the Mafia - each Hutt or Hutt clan having their own territories.

 

There is a certain amount of rivalry between Hutt Clans...however, for the better part of the known history, the Hutts do manage to check that rivalry in circumstances where the profit to the Hutts as a whole is shown.

While there is a great deal of shuffling for position, renown, and dominion, it rarely comes at the detriment of the Hutt's collective interest.

Is it an Empire? Not in the technical phrasing of the term...there is no Hutt Emperor, or even an Overlord, merely the leader of the most publicly dominant clan at any given time...and that position is not exceedingly more prestigious then any other Clan leader.

Hutt Space is a collective of familial Estates, with serfs, slaves, and mercenaries doing the run between of everyday life under the Hutt games of profit and loss.

 

I've always gone with clans, myself, in thinking about the Hutts...but the Clone Wars movie acts like there's only one clan, and I seem to remember seeing reference to a Hutt Empire (in the pre-25,000 years BBY era).

 

I've always been curious about the exact nature of the Hutt Clans. In LotF the Hutts join the confederation and have their own fleet. How big is this fleet? Is this fleet a combination of all the Hutt clans' forces?

 

The Hutt fleets mentioned in LOTF were probably mercenary fleets. The Hutts always seem to hire ships or troops when they need them. In a galaxy like the GFFA, it would be realatively easy for a species as wealthy as the Hutts to hire various pirates and mercenaries.

Of course, the Hutts probably do build some of their own ships. IIRC, there was a reference to Hutt light cruisers, though I suppose it is just as easy to assume that these light cruisers were purchased or hired elsewhere.

--Adm. Nick

 

Hutt space's borders are protected by Ubrikkian frigates.

The Hutts do have an empire that consists of all their worlds, although the clans fight for dominance on the worlds. A planet may have multiple clans represented, like Tatooine. To regulate interclan affairs, each kajidic is represented in a council.

 

Yeah, I would think for the Hutts to be considered to have any sort of "Fleet" that they would have to own the ships and staff them with their scum. If a battle needs to be won they had better win it or die trying. Pirates and mercenaries with their own ships aren't likely to hang around if things get too tricky. They can go hire themselves out to someone else.

 

I always thought of the Hutts as being mostly divided into clans, with one clan occasionally beocoming more powerful than the rest. Jabba and Durga are examples of powerful Hutts. Not as much raw military power as say a Moff or Grand Moff, but a lot of influence, and depending on the situation, perhaps very important. Like in the Clone Wars movie where they had to negotiate with Jabba to use their shipping lanes. Although I don't think Jabba had the military power to fight off a Republic invasion, but if the Republic tried using those lanes without permission, Jabba could cause problems, at least that's the impression I got.

Back during the Han Solo trilogy, when a fleet was being sent in to "clean up" Nar Shadda, the Hutts banded together pretty quickly to come up with a plan, even if that plan consisted of bribing the admiral in charge of the assault.

By LotF, they seemed to have a significant fleet, enough to take over Balmorra at least, though I don't think there were any mentions to things like "Hutt-owned Star Destroyers" or anything like that, unlike with Commenor. Though since this is after the Yuuzhan Vong War, maybe the Hutts bought a permanent army, just in case.

 

The Hutts are divided into clans - I think there's twenty-two in all - which are overseen by an impartial Hutt Grand Council on Nar Shaddaa. Rivalry's common, with different clans assassinating/attacking each other/each other's operations, though usually not openly. There was no Emperor per se, but the leading Hutt of the most successful and influential clan would effectively be the leader. So Aruk of Besadii would've been during the last days of the Republic, early Empire, then Jabba of Desilijic, then Durga of Besadii and then the NJO guy from Besadii.

 

Listen to this guy; he's a real expert who's done tons of research on Hutts to write articles about them.

Also, we need to be careful not to call the Hutt-in-charge an "emperor."

 

</Vader> There is no conflict.

Thrawn McEwok's Useful Little Guide to Hutt Society

The Hutts have an empire, which is split between many different clans.

They have an empire in the sense that they are a unified political body, with a central government that acts on behalf of all Hutts in foreign relations, and is also capable of intervening in internal political disputes. Certain entire species and planet, such as the Klatooinians, Nikto and Vodrans and their homeworlds, are bound by treaty as servants and tributary planets to this empire.

However, this Empire is alsoc characterized by the Hutt social structure and ideology, which could be described as "anarchist", "libertarian", "pure capitalist", or "feudal", but which the Hutts call simply kajidic. This results in a lack of strong bureaucratic government or a stable executive; insteaad, much power rests with powerful "clan" dynasties, and their leaders.

The Hutt Clans

Hutt society is divided into around fifty very powerful individual families or "clans", or more specifically, their kajidics, a word which was often translated as "business enterprise", but literally meant "someone's got to have it, so why not us?". In a more general sense, kajidic was the guiding philosophy of the Hutt species, encouraging every family and individual to take whatever they could get.

There is little sign that the central government could intervene effectively within these families, as oppposed to in disputes between them.

There were apparently forty-eight Hutt families during the Empire, but we also hear about a number being destroyed in feuds over the decades, and it's possible that new ones could be created, too, although I don't think that's ever described directly. Another source apparently says that every Hutt family has a kajidic, but it's not clear exactly how that works. Do all Hutts belong directly to these forty-eight families, either by blood or by alliance?

Well, one comic apparently says that "Hutts" are actually an aristocratic caste within the species, with other lower castes such as "H'uun". Other sources says that even servant species such as the Vodrans and possibly Nikto had kajidics of their own. Bearing this in mind, it seems possible that the main "Hutt kajidics" are just the ruling-caste families, and the bulk of Hutt society is dividied into very many lesser kajidics, one for each clan of lower-caste Hutts like the H'uuns, and one for each comparable local group within the servant species.

Whatever the details, Hutt space was dominated by around fifty kajidics, and the leadership of these was in the hands of relatively tight family groups. These families could be considered "noble" or "princely", although that word is never used to my knowledge: "clans" seems to be the preferred term.

2. Central Government

Now, away from sociological speculation, and back to the government of the Hutt empire.

The central government of Hutt space is a combined council of these leading families, which is known as the Grand Council (it's probably the same group called the "Clan of Ancients" or "Clans of the Ancients" in other sources; the "Hutt Clan" in the Clone Wars movie could actually be the Grand Council).

One of the purposes of this system of leadership is apparently to prevent any one family or individual achieving formal dominance over the Hutt Empire. It also encourages an entirely unrestricted, competitive spirit, only restrained by each Hutt's personal sense of acceptable risk - that kajidic philosophy again.

Basically, the Hutts are small-government libertarians.

I think that the voting membership of the Grand Council consists of each family leader or their representative, but I'd have to check Rebel Dream to be sure. The Grand Council certainly seems to make decisions by a vote among the attending members.

In terms of foreign relations, the Grand Council can decide to open diplomatic relatio

 

The question I would love to Ask I didint the Old or the New Republic not get rid of the Hutts. They from the Knights of the Old Republic all the way to the NJO Have side with there worse Enemies. Yet half of the hutts sided with they Sepertist.

 

Dismantling a clan is a virtually impossible task here on earth; for every major family member in a leadership position, there's dozens of relatives who can step into the role. Now try applying that to a whole species of clan-based interrelationships who've been an organized civilization as long as the Republic has and who are all also exceptionally intelligent and ruthless. It'd be difficult, to say the least, and the Hutts have a long and successful history of resisting outside attack.

 

actually, McEwok, I think the Council does have something like a "ChairHutt", although this is not necessarily the most powerful crimelord, more an appointed neutral arbiter, called Executive Secretary of the Grand Council (Rebel Dawn p 155).

Each kajidic has multiple families in it and multiple representatives on the Council

Rebel Dawn p. 156 refers to both a "censure" and a "fine"

 

Thank you!

I'd point out that the post of "Executive Secretary" is potentially less of a ChairHutt than a minute-taker. Mara is the Secretary of the Jedi Council, for instance, whereas Luke is its head.

But that's all useful information. I'll go and check the book, bit now I know exactly where to look!

- The Imperial Ewok

 

Double post!

 

the Secretary does call on speakers, call for order, shut people up--not just a minute taker

still, it does not seem to be a very powerful position, and there is no direct indication it involves diplomacy/treaty-signing. Of course, the Hutts we see negotiate for their species with the Vong COULD be Secretary, but they have never been given a specific title

 

They have an empire of organised crime, split into various different rival clans. So the equivalent of a mafia rather than a military power.

 

interesting note:

MF novel refers to the "Rigorra/Groodo family"

This may indicate that Groodo and Boonta belong to a kajidic named "Rigorra" ???