Tapani Empire

The Tapani Empire was an entity which briefly unified the Tapani Sector from 902 to 912.

Origins
The Tapani Empire grew out of economic growth fostered by and expansion into the shipping industry. This growth was enabled by the Trade Federation Crisis, which saw a rapid reduction in the freight being moved on Trade Federation hulls. This enabled factions within the Tapani Sector, notable Free World merchants to expand rapidly and make large profits.

This was combined with a series of political marriages between the Noble Houses which resulted in the consolidation of power in the hand of few individuals. These two trends became tied to unified as the Noble Houses sought to tab into the economic growth driven by the Free Worlds, while the Free World sought to expand their profits, making the overall trend toward unificiation largely economic in nature.

As the economic engines continued to turn, the forces toward unification grew. While this was some popular resistance to these development the economic benefits were strong enough to off set them.

The Empire
Upon unification administrative reform attempted to forge the cluster into a coherent whole. However, so after the Trade Federation staged a resurgence, threatening the niche craved out by Tapani merchants. The Imperial administration attempted to diversify the economy in hopes of maintaining growth.

The Tapani Empire, also joined with the Republic of Loronar and the Thyferran Federation, to form the Rim Common Market to help protect its market share. This resulted in some positive effects in the short term, however, Tapani shipping faction soon found their limits.

The Republic Judicial Crisis was a blow to the Empire. While Justice Highbacca remained popular, it raised questions about the commonality of people across the cluster. It also focused popular attention away from positive economic news to the less position political dialogue during the Executive Junta.

Decline and Collapse
Following the release of Justice Highbacca, the serious leadership of the Tapani Empire was gripped by infighting as strong central leadership failed to emerge from the Empress. This lead to a process of economic stasis and political gridlock, disillusioning many people. Gradually the forces that had divided the cluster over the centuries reasserted themselves bringing the Tapani Empire to its knees.