Good essay, glad Andrew convinced you. He has convinced me to write some essays too, I just have to get around to writing them 😂
On the comparisons. As you point out Lucas appears to have been influenced from everywhere. The most common is Weimar Germany but that's recency bias. Thinking of how the Republic operates in the prequel trilogy seems closer to the Holy Roman Empire or a medieval kingdom with barons/dukes (senators) petitioning the emperor/king (Supreme Chancellor) to solve disputes that they don't want to take to the courts. The Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo is questionable in legality yet Valorum wants to set up a committee and investigate it before ruling either way, which would be odd for a centralised state but reasonable for a decentralised one. Each system (county/principality/dukedom) is its own country held together by treaties on trade rights, amount of ships, size of ships, limitations on weaponry and size of military (the Trade Federation found loopholes to circumvent many laws and agreements). It seems wars between systems aren't immediately quashed or bureaucratic legalism steps in everytime. I don't know enough Expanded Universe stories to know and the wiki is a rabbithole I don't want to get sucked into right now.
There's a lethargy to the Republic that Palpatine takes advantage of and he fits the role of a Caesar figure but instead of focussing on the masses he convinces the senators themselves to support him. More of a Napoleon than a Julius, perhaps.
Really enjoyable essay and comparison! Have you read Augustus by John Williams? It’s a brilliant historical novel telling the story of Augustus. It’s much more Star Wars than history manual, though, so I think you’d like it.
Good essay, glad Andrew convinced you. He has convinced me to write some essays too, I just have to get around to writing them 😂
On the comparisons. As you point out Lucas appears to have been influenced from everywhere. The most common is Weimar Germany but that's recency bias. Thinking of how the Republic operates in the prequel trilogy seems closer to the Holy Roman Empire or a medieval kingdom with barons/dukes (senators) petitioning the emperor/king (Supreme Chancellor) to solve disputes that they don't want to take to the courts. The Trade Federation's blockade of Naboo is questionable in legality yet Valorum wants to set up a committee and investigate it before ruling either way, which would be odd for a centralised state but reasonable for a decentralised one. Each system (county/principality/dukedom) is its own country held together by treaties on trade rights, amount of ships, size of ships, limitations on weaponry and size of military (the Trade Federation found loopholes to circumvent many laws and agreements). It seems wars between systems aren't immediately quashed or bureaucratic legalism steps in everytime. I don't know enough Expanded Universe stories to know and the wiki is a rabbithole I don't want to get sucked into right now.
There's a lethargy to the Republic that Palpatine takes advantage of and he fits the role of a Caesar figure but instead of focussing on the masses he convinces the senators themselves to support him. More of a Napoleon than a Julius, perhaps.
Definitely more to write about on this 😁
References:
- My memory.
- It came to me in a dream.
I am so glad this came together! I may well do a take on the Rome/Star Wars connection at some point.
Meantime, let's figure some other things out to nerd out about! Well done.
Really enjoyable essay and comparison! Have you read Augustus by John Williams? It’s a brilliant historical novel telling the story of Augustus. It’s much more Star Wars than history manual, though, so I think you’d like it.
A good comparison...