During the early years of the Galactic Empire, Zygerrian raiders attacked Syngia Station in the Sertar sector and enslaved many of the inhabitants. Penn Zarang, who later became an Imperial cadet at the Arkanis Academy, survived the slave raid by hiding in a maintenance conduit. The murder of his father and the death of his mother while en-route to Zygerria convinced Penn to become an Imperial cadet. The raid occurred at a time when the Imperial Military had not expanded into the Outer Rim.
During the Age of the Empire, slavery once again became commonplace, particularly among alien species, which were considered inferior by the human-dominated Galactic Empire. With the rise of the Empire, the softening and eventual repeal of laws outlawing slavery led to the classification of some species, such as the Wookiees, as non-sentient. As a result, the Wookiees were pressed into slavery building much of the Imperial war machine, or serving in the notorious spice mines of Kessel following the Empire’s conquest of their homeworld of Kashyyyk. Another example were the reptilian Bodach’i species who were enslaved and forced to work in the species mines of Kerev Doi as «reparations» for their homeworld’s repeated defiance of Imperial decrees. In addition, the Empire used slaves from several alien species to keep Weapons Factory Alpha, the largest weapons factory in the galaxy, on Cymoon 1 running day and night.
After being given command of the Imperial-class Star Destroyer Chimaera, Commodore Thrawn discovered that the Empire was trafficking Wookiee slaves after responding to a distress call from the troop transport Sempre. The slaves had been liberated by an attack force consisting of the frigate Castilus and two squadrons of V-19 Torrent starfighters. The insurgents then launched an attack on Baklek Base. Thrawn led a successful military operation to neutralize the insurgents, forcing their surrender. When Lieutenant Commander Eli Vanto expressed his unease about slavery, Thrawn tried to rationalize the Empire’s actions.
The tentacle-headed Twi’lek, mostly their females, were often captured and sold into slavery as they were considered beautiful. Many females of other races, not just the Twi’lek, were often forced to wear revealing outfits and to dance for their owners. In many other cases, those that were not actually slaves in name nevertheless worked in near slave-like existences, forced to endure grueling jobs to eke out a meager living while also often having to contend with corrupt Imperial officials. Identity contracts, commonly called «ident pads», were used to identify individuals as indentured servants or slaves.