The Corporate Sector was formed in 490 BBY to free the Republic lawmakers and the Corporate moneymakers from their differences, after being exiled from the Expansion Region to the Tingel Arm. The Corporate Sector originally had a few hundred systems all devoid of intelligent life. Its creation came in the aftermath of the disastrous experiment with corporate control in the Outer Expansion Zone. The new experiment was tried under more careful supervision; the Republic sent the equivalent of a full subsector’s worth of ships to protect the rights of the workers in the sector and to ensure the companies preserved the basic integrity of the environment on the planets in the sector. The corporations allowed to operate in the sector could purchase entire regions of space, but were supervised by the Galactic Republic. A general tax was paid directly to the Republic government which enabled the companies to avoid the morass of sector, system, planetary, and local taxes found on most worlds in the Republic. The Tynnans eventually became a key business partner in the Corporate Sector. During this time, the sector did well enough economically, but was too small and too remote to really thrive.
At the close of the Clone Wars, half a dozen Recusant-class light destroyers were sold to the Corporate Sector. The only other known ships of this class were part of the Alliance Fleet, as well as one being part of a secret Jedi temple.
During Emperor Palpatine’s reign over the galaxy, the Corporate Sector expanded to nearly 30,000 star systems, and the Corporate Sector Authority was established to administrate the sector internally. It was also one of the few sectors the New Order allowed to continue relatively unabated from its time during the previous Republic era, as they tolerated corporate competition so long as several companies made sure they did things for the greater good of the Imperial citizenry. Han Solo and Chewbacca at some point got kicked out of the Corporate Sector due to «squeezing all the money out», which the former later recounted when discovering the Empire’s role in the establishment of the Corporate Sector Authority via the Imperial Handbook. At the time of the Battle of Endor, a huge new palace was being built for Palpatine in the sector; because of difficulties in communications, construction continued after his death, wasting much Imperial money.
After having captured the sectors surrounding the Corporate Sector in 6 ABY, Grand Moff Zsinj conquered the sector in 7 ABY. The Corporate Sector stayed under Zsinj’s control until his death in 8 ABY and remained neutral during the Thrawn campaign of 9 ABY.
In 40 ABY, following the Mission to Adumar, parts of the Corporate Sector joined Corellia, Commenor, Adumar, and Fondor in fighting against the Galactic Alliance during the Second Galactic Civil War. In 44 ABY, the Corporate Sector suffered a full slave revolt, as it was happening everywhere else in the galaxy.