Twenty years ago today, Star Wars fans were eagerly awaiting the REVENGE OF THE SITH, exploring the depths of Nar Shaddaa in the KNIGHTS OF THE OLD REPUBLIC II, and beginning to build WOOKIEEPEDIA—the Star Wars wiki. As an ever-growing community of volunteers, the Wookieepedia project now celebrates its 20th year.
Our encyclopedia officially reached 200,000 articles last month. This was only possible with the work of hundreds upon hundreds of fans over the past twenty years. Most Wookieepedians started off editing with little to no writing or coding experience, but our efforts have brought us closer to the goal of creating the most accurate, comprehensive, and well-presented resource about all things Star Wars.
Since Wookieepedia's tenth anniversary in 2015, we have expanded the breadth, depth, and quality of our documentation of both the Star Wars Legends and the new canon continuities, as well as coverage of Star Wars media and production behind the scenes. Wookieepedia has also been building a more friendly and welcoming community. Informed by our contributors' experiences, we have launched ongoing efforts in revamping our policies to be clearer and more fair, improving accessibility, and developing new editing tutorials.
Since 2015, editor recruitment has advanced on Wookieepedia, with the great majority of the current administrators and review board members having joined those groups in recent years. The past ten years has also seen the progress of the Discussions forum and the launch of twenty-two new collaborative WookieeProjects. These include the Project Stardust initiative focusing on essential topics and Project Pride's efforts to improve the wiki's coverage of LGBTQIA+ topics. Most external links on Wookieepedia now have backup archival links to keep a better record of the ever-changing Internet, and bot systems have automated many monotonous site maintenance tasks such as page archivals for the status article peer review system.
Our work continues unabated. Thousands more pages need to be created, lack citations, await expansion, and could use more images. All the while, the franchise continues to grow and require updates. As we enter our third decade, we would love for more readers to join our ranks! May the Force be with us in the next twenty years… ✨
The Blockade of the Hydian Way was an offensive action against the Galactic Republic by the Mandalorian warrior clans in the final decade of the Great Galactic War. The blockade was orchestrated by the Sith Empire's Ministry of Intelligence, which had spent years investing in the resurrection of the then-disbanded Mandalorian clans. The Empire's efforts culminated with the rise of Mandalore the Lesser, who was little more than a puppet for the Sith government. Disaffected Mandalorians from across the galaxy rallied to the man regardless and acquiesced to Imperial demands for support in their decades-long war against the Republic. After a series of skirmishes between Mandalorians and Jedi, the warriors launched their primary operation in 3661 BBY. That year, Mandalorian cruisers seized control of the Hydian Way, a vital trade and supply route used by the Republic to move goods and resources from the Outer Rim Territories to civilian population centers in the Core Worlds, as well as military materiel bound for battlefronts across the galaxy.
The blockade was incredibly successful and choked commerce in the Republic's private sector and prevented military wares from reaching battlefields along the Hydian Way. The Core Worlds were thrown into an economic crisis, and the Republic's Galactic Senate was deadlocked on a proper course of action. After much deliberation, the High Council of the Jedi Order consented to give aid by dispatching squadrons of Jedi pilots to confront the Mandalorian warships. Despite their strategies and Force talents, the Jedi fighter squadrons were handily defeated in an operation that was widely seen as a resounding failure. News of the Jedi defeat caused widespread panic and rioting on the Republic's capital world of Coruscant, where impoverished peoples in the lower levels of the planet-spanning Galactic City were beginning to suffer from starvation as a result of the supply crisis.
The blockade continued for a year until 3660 BBY, when the Mirialan smuggler Hylo Visz recognized it as an opportunity for profit. Together with a band of her fellow smugglers and financial backing from the Hutt Cartel, Visz arranged for a fleet of freighters to be loaded with much-needed goods from the Outer Rim Territories. The smugglers piloted the cargo haulers towards the blockade, and while the Mandalorians were distracted by the apparently defenseless shipping vessels, Visz and her allies attacked with a fleet of smuggling vessels. Their ambush was soon joined by Republic reinforcements that helped to overwhelm the Mandalorian cruisers. The blockade was ultimately broken in the engagement, and Hylo Visz was able to bring her goods to Coruscant, where she was greeted as a hero. Despite the victory, the Republic was irreparably inundated following the blockade and continued to suffer heavy losses throughout the war as a result. (Read more…)
Characters
Below are some of the current community projects happening around Wookieepedia. If you are interested in joining in, check out our newcomers hub page to start your editing journey!
- Project Stardust is improving the Mustafar and Mustafar/Legends articles. See their respective canon and Legends project pages to help out.
- The Featured article, Good article, and Comprehensive article nomination processes help bring articles up to the highest possible standards. Join the effort by helping review nominations.
- WookieeProject Creators is adding the full credits to all media articles. You can assist the team by visiting any article on a piece of media and expanding the credits list.
- WookieeProject Pride is providing citations for pronouns and gender for in-universe topics. See the Sourcing policy for rules on how to cite pronouns and gender.
- Ogg files are being converted to alternate formats to improve the site's usability on Safari. See the Files policy for guidance on eligibility.
We are the Star Wars encyclopedia that anyone can edit — created by fans, for fans. Founded in 2005, our goal has been to build the most accurate, comprehensive, and well-presented resource about all things related to the galaxy far, far away.
We want readers like you to join our ranks! Sign up for an account to remove ads, chat with fellow fans, and join our editing community. Not sure where to start? Our dedicated editing guides are here to help you. Want to share your thoughts and help make Wookieepedia better? Fill out our reader experience survey!
Social
- 1926 – Gil Kane is born.
- 1937 – Billy Dee Williams is born.
- 1947 – John Ratzenberger is born.
- 1973 – Cindy Robinson is born.
- 1975 – Zach Braff is born.
- 1981 – Star Wars: "The Millennium Falcon Deal" aired on National Public Radio.
- 1985 – Return of the Jedi Weekly 94 published.
- 1996 – Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire novel and soundtrack released.
- 2004 – "Clone Wars Chapter 18" airs on Cartoon Network.
- 2004 – Boba Fett: A New Threat published.
- 2004 – Star Wars Insider 75 published.
- 2016 – Rogue One: A Star Wars Story teaser trailer releases on the Star Wars YouTube channel.
- 2021 – Doctor Aphra published.
- 2021 – Star Wars Vol. 2: Operation Starlight published.
- 2021 – Tatooine published in Spanish.
- 2021 – Skywalker: A Family at War published.
- 2022 – Bounty Hunters 22 published.
- 2022 – Christopher Muncke dies.
- 2023 – Norman Reynolds dies.