The Minmatar Republic's complex society of tribes and clans is made even more complicated by the many corporations that operate throughout its space. Minmatar corporations often have tribal or clan affiliations, though some are run by Minmatar circles or are controlled by unaffiliated ownership structures.
The central government of the Minmatar Republic is essentially controlled by the Tribal Council and Republic Parliament. The Minmatar value their tribal and clan sovereignties but have found it necessary to maintain a relatively powerful unified government given the various threats to their freedom.
Once an uninspiring part of the Minmatar government the Justice Department has in recent years taken on a life of its own by supporting the Minmatar rebels. Though not an official policy of the Republic, the Justice Department promotes what most Minmatars secretly want: to defeat the Amarrians, and is thus cordially allowed by the Parliament.
The Parliament is the main political vehicle in the Minmatar Republic and has replaced the gathering of the tribal leaders as the place of power and decision. Though the Parliament has little say in the internal affairs of the tribes it acts as the voice of the Minmatar people to the outside world and governs the relations with foreign powers.
The Minmatars learnt early on in their freedom that it can only be kept by wrapping it in secrets and deceit. The vigilance of the RSS has helped the Republic weather many storms that threatened to engulf the fledgling state. The RSS has strong links with the underworld elements in the world of EVE, the information exchange and black marketing strengthens both sides.
Originally part of the Minmatar government, Urban Management was responsible for allocating land and real estate in the wake of the Rebellion. Once the chaos subsided the company broke from the government and started operating on its own. Yet it still retains many important administrative functions in the Republic.
Each of the Seven Tribes of Matar have seen fit to organize their interstellar interests in various corporations, principally their primary tribal corporations. In recent years, various private military companies each tribe established have become more akin to tribal paramiliaries than mere mercenary outfits.
The Brutors suffered the worst under the Amarr occupation and many of them are still enslaved within the Amarr Empire. This fuels their hate for the Amarrians and they are the only tribe to actively pursue a continuation of the war against the Amarrians and their underlings, the Ammatars.
The Brutor are marked by a disciplined stoicism and deeply spiritual cast of mind that combine to project a sense of nobility around the people of this tribe. While the Brutor have a traditional mindset, they suffered great loss of cultural heritage and knowledge of their history during the Amarr occupation. To the occasional annoyance of the other tribes, the Brutor consider themselves responsible for the freedom of the entire Minmatar people and make no bones about standing on this claim for political purposes when it suits them. In particular, the Brutor are great supporters and protectors of the Starkmanir Tribe, on account of the former originating as an offshoot of the latter. The Brutor Tribe was one of the four founding tribes of the Minmatar Republic following the success of the Great Rebellion.
The Brutor Tribe approach to warfare is classically a no-nonsense, assault-oriented philosophy, but they do not lack for clever tacticians and capable commanders. The Brutor Vanguard accepts mercenary work from many employers, sourcing contract soldiers to fulfill the needs of each job as well as deploying its own seasoned troopers.
The Krusual tribe is cautious and cunning, shrouding its ways in subterfuge and secrecy. It is isolationist by nature, but lately it's been becoming more and more involved with the power politics of the Republic, staking a claim for its mastery.
Pride is a common Minmatar trait, but the Krusual are wont to take it to extraordinary lengths. They rarely lose an opportunity to remind the other tribes that they alone managed to maintain strongholds in the mountainous Tronhadar region of Matar during the Amarr occupation. It is certainly remarkable that in all the long years of the occupation, the Amarr were unable to once and for all crush Krusual resistance. Their ability to hold onto a certain amount of independence during the occupation resulted in the Krusual retaining more of their pre-conquest culture than any other tribe, and their underground bases played an important role in sheltering some Vherokior mystics. The Krusual Tribe was one of the four founding tribes of the Minmatar Republic following the success of the Great Rebellion.
The Krusual Tribe has long prided itself on the prowess of its guerilla fighters and infiltrator units during the Amarr occupation of Matar and the subsequent Great Rebellion. The Krusual Covert Operators tend to reserve their in-house troops for their own purposes, but the corporation also functions as a clearing house for mercenary contracts in locations all around New Eden.
The Nefantar Tribe played a notorious role during the Amarr Empire's occupation of the Minmatar home worlds as collaborators who actively assisted in the enslavement of other tribes by the Amarr. The Nefantar were so faithful to the Amarr that Emperor Damius III bestowed the name "Ammatar" upon them. When the Great Rebellion succeeded in driving the Amarr from the Minmatar Regions, the Amarr subsequently set up the Nefantar in a puppet state called the Ammatar Mandate. Unbeknownst to anyone else, certain Ammatar elites had hidden a large number of Starkmanir Tribe survivors from the Amarr within the Mandate.
After the discovery of the Starkmanir led to a Minmatar invasion in YC110, the Nefantar conspirators and their families led a mass defection of many Ammatar back to the Minmatar Republic, assisting in the recovery of the Starkmanir. Today, the Nefantar tribe has been restored as one of the Seven Tribes of Matar, even while many of their tribe remain loyal to the Amarr Empire back in the Mandate.
The Sebiestors are technically and mechanically inclined, much Minmatar technology comes from them. The Sebiestors have always been a leading tribe in the Minmatar Republic, though their authority has many times been under attack from the crafty Krusual tribe, their main rivals in Republic politics.
With a culture emphasizing the virtues of patience, contemplation, and practical skill, the Sebiestor are known far and wide as engineers and inventors. The Sebiestor reputation for tinkering with any kind of technology is well deserved, and this excellence in engineering naturally propelled the Sebiestor to the fore during the period when the old Minmatar Empire pushed into space. During the Amarr occupation, the Sebiestor did much to hold what remained of Minmatar society together with their skill at maintaining or adapting technology. The Sebiestor Tribe was one of the four founding tribes of the Minmatar Republic following the success of the Great Rebellion.
Counting some of the most accomplished and innovative engineers in New Eden among their tribe, it was only natural that a Sebiestor military contracting corporation would focus on combat engineering. The Sebiestor Field Sappers offer battlefield engineering and siegecraft services to any who can pay their considerable rates. Additionally, the corporation fills in other combat roles with contracted troops and even organizes contract fulfillment on behalf of other corporations.
Subjected to an Amarr campaign of annihilation, the Starkmanir Tribe was considered lost for centuries until the discovery in YC110 of a viable surviving population hidden by Nefantar elites on Halturzhan, the sixth planet of Jarizza in the Ammatar Mandate. The discovery spurred a Minmatar fleet into an invasion of Amarr territories with a view to recovering the Starkmanir and as many other enslaved Minmatar as possible. The vast majority of surviving Starkmanir were successfully recovered, evacuated to the Minmatar Republic, and settled on lands set aside for them by the larger tribes.
Though few in number, the Starkmanir have full status as one of the Seven Tribes of Matar and govern their affairs through a council of clan chiefs headed by the overall chief of the Starkmanir Tribe.
The Thukker Tribe is a loose confederation of nomadic fleets and transient colonies dominated by the Great Caravans that roam the space of the Great Wildlands region, rather than by the large clans more typical of other Minmatar tribes. The Council of Caravans is the Thukker equivalent of a council of clan chiefs. Lesser caravans generally acknowledge the authority of the Council and Tribal Chief, even if only nominally, but Thukker organized as more standard clans, the so-called "clanners", operate more independently than caravaners and have a well-earned reputation as renegades, pirates, and ruthless mercenaries.
The Thukker Tribe is one of the seven original Minmatar tribes. After the Minmatar Rebellion the Thukkers left Minmatar space and took up the nomadic lifestyles of their ancestors, only this time in space. The closest thing they've got to home is the Great Wildlands region, where they are very numerous, but the Thukkers like to be on the move, constantly going from one solar system to another in their huge caravans, trading and scavenging.
The Vherokior tribe is perhaps the least troubled of the Minmatar tribes, with little aspiration for dominance, content to live on the fringe. Most Vherokiors are shop-keepers or small scale businessmen, seldom venturing into the interstellar corporate leagues.
Vherokior are disinclined to engage in great collective efforts, and their various clans are rather loosely grouped under the tribal chief’s authority. Indeed, the clans themselves hold nominal authority in many cases, with the family being by far the most important social unit to the individual Vherokior. These families are traditionally matriarchal in structure, though the aftermath of the Amarrian occupation has disrupted this pattern somewhat, as with so many other aspects of Minmatar tribal culture. Most Vherokior have long-abandoned the ancient nomadism of their tribe but the Vherokior mystics are the guardians of the Voluval Ritual and travel immense distances in this role. The Vherokior Tribe was one of the four founding tribes of Minmatar Republic following the success of the Great Rebellion.
The Vherokior Tribe's talents lie away from frontline combat as such, and are more suited to organizing the complicated and often extended chains of logistics required to keep an interstellar conflict ticking over. In addition to its specialist services, Vherokior Combat Logistics also works as a brokerage house matching mercenary units to appropriate contracts, a role that gives it ample opportunity to sell access to its extensive military supply network.
The level of militarization of Minmatar Republic society rivals that of the Caldari State, and most Minmatar serve in some capacity in their youth. The Republic's military forces do not lack for personnel and the services have high prestige and influence within Minmatar society.
Republic Command is something of an oddity in a new order where the Minmatar tribes wield considerable power. In large part the Minmatar military has become fragmented among the tribes but a rump central command remains. The Republic Command has managed to retain control over those units that reported directly to its military council, and the elite nature of many of these forces has allowed the generals of the Command to retain significant influence.
The Republic Fleet was formed from the surviving elements of the rebel fleet after the Minmatar Rebellion. Though it has not the same access to advanced weaponry or hi-tech equipment as the fleets of the other empires, it more than makes up for this with fierce spirit and clever battle tactics.
The Minmatar heart sings for freedom and the Minmatar soul strives for open skies, but the Minmatar heart has been withering away in captivity. It is now up to you, capsuleer. You hold the power to free our people. You are the heroes of your generation. Join us in the struggle for freedom. Death to Amarr; long live the Minmatar Nation.
A large array of Minmatar corporations operate in the main industrial and commercial sectors of the interstellar markets. While the tribes and clans maintain interests in many of these corporations, the variety of their ownership is diverse. Some are rumored to be a front for the many criminal organizations that operate at the fringes of Minmatar society.
Boundless Creation is a recently formed manufacturing corporation that has still to take off. Its main asset is its research facility, which the Minmatars have high hopes will produce for them in the near future.
The great success story of Minmatar business, Core Complexion is one of very few Minmatar corporations that have managed to succeed on a universal scale. The company combines innovative designs with cost-effective production methods to create equipment that gives much bang for the buck.
Eifyr was founded by the renowned biochemist Kolvil Eifyr with support from the Krusual tribe. The company has often been suspected of developing and manufacturing illegal neural boosters, but nothing has ever been proven. In any case, the operation of the company has always been a mystery to the public, and secrecy always breeds conspiracy theories.
Freedom Extension was founded by Minmatars that moved to the Gallente Federation following the Rebellion, but returned to the Republic to foster the good relationship between the two races. Freedom Extension is a courier company modeled after Gallentean ones and quickly established itself as the main shipping company in Minmatar space.
The enigmatic Kolvil Eifyr is a large shareholder in the Leisure Group and this ties the company in with the criminal elements so strong in the shady world of Minmatar power politics. The Leisure Group is an entertainment company that is known for its barbaric, yet stirring, pleasure nodes.
Minmatar Mining Corporation is the only Minmatar corporation still in existence that can trace its foundation to before the conquest of Minmatar space by the Amarrians. It managed to stay in business while the Amarrians ruled the Minmatar only because it was useful to the Amarrians. Now it is useful to the Republic by providing the raw materials to build a space fleet to defend the Republic against the Amarr Empire and its minions.
The Amarrians had tried to eradicate the Minmatar heritage during their occupation of Minmatar space. One of them was the Minmatar cuisine and Native Freshfood has been at the forefront in establishing traditional Minmatar food all anew.
One of the many companies that was formed after the Rebellion, the Six Kin dived headfirst into the rebuilding effort. Considered to be hard working and decent the company has seen a steady growth in recent past and seems poised to become a major player in the galactic construction business in the near future.
The Minmatar Republic may be relatively young but it has developed several top-tier academic institutions, and the tribes are always ready to send their best and brightest to improve their education and skills.
Pator Tech School was founded on the principle of helping gifted Minmatar children to be better qualified for high-level positions; something the republic was in dire need of when assembling a new government and administration virtually from scratch. This principle has held intact to this day, even if the foundations of the republic were firmly set a long time ago.
The Republic Military School was for a long time the bastard child of the Minmatar education system - it existed because it was perceived as needed, but it had no support; most military personnel were Gallente trained. But in recent years, as the republic tries to ascertain its total independence, effort has been made to transform the RMS into a top-notch military school.
The Republic University was founded by Minmatar emigrants as a show of support for the fledgling republic shortly after its inception. The school is modeled after the University of Caille and based on the Gallentean education system.
Most Minmatar spend some time in military service and a good number develop a liking for it and considerable experience, particularly as border conflicts, anti-pirate operations, and various other military tasks are a constant for the Republic. As such, the services of private military companies are also in high demand and several have sprung up in Minmatar space.
The Minmatar organizations known as 'circles' are formed for as many purposes as corporations or societies found in other nations may be, and the Circle of Huskarl specialized in providing bodyguards to any who could pay their price. As the fledgling Minmatar Republic expanded and developed, the Circle's services began to be especially called for by visitors from other nations and corporations. Exposure to the ways of interstellar corporations, and the allure of incredible profits, soon led the Circle of Huskarl to diversify into mercenary services.
The fame of the Eyniletti Rangers among the Minmatar is legendary, with their hunters and trackers reputed to always make their kill or capture their target. That image is largely based on tales of a band of Rangers that existed before the Amarr invaded and occupied Matar. Even so, the Eyniletti Rangers, now a paramilitary scouting and exploration corporation, have justly acquired a record of completing the contracts they accept to the satisfaction of their employers.
Supposedly formed by forty-nine freedom fighters representing all seven tribes of Matar, the Fedayeen wrap themselves up in a warrior mystique in order to attract fresh blood. It is hardly the only Minmatar mercenary company to project an aura of legend about it, but the outlandish tales of the exploits of the forty-nine occasionally border on the absurd, even by the standards of Minmatar tale-telling.
Quite how a fugitive crime lord was able to set up a military contracting corporation while wanted by both the Thukker Tribe and Minmatar Republic authorities is difficult to explain. Nevertheless, Baliggan Krullefor managed it and his Organization supplies mercs and military equipment to various conflict zones. Some say that this is a sign of how truly chaotic the times are. Others suspect that Krullefor is simply useful to certain powerful interests.
The arctic terrain of the Mikramurka region on Matar serves as a fierce training ground for the Republic military's ground forces. It was only natural for a group of Minmatar veterans turned mercenaries to evoke that inhospitable land as symbolic of their ability to conquer any adversity. The Mikramurka Shock Troop have a reputation for executing swift and stunning assaults, securing facilities and other targets with a minimum of collateral damage. As a result, their services are much in demand.
In the ancient Minmatar Empire, the leaders of the Minmatar people were called 'Sanmatar' and their military councils staffed by officers known as 'kelkoons', an archaic Brutor word signifying a veteran warrior. The owners of the Sanmatar Kelkoons seek to play on that heritage even though their mercenaries have absolutely no connection to the present Sanmatar or the Republic military. Minmatar tribalists may consider this usage outrageous but the long history of abusing this terminology almost amounts to a tradition in itself. For their part, the Sanmatar Kelkoons continue to attract top rates for the services of their mercenary forces.
Extreme violence and a total disregard for non-combatant casualties are the hallmarks of a mercenary outfit that would be regarded as brutal by anyone's standards, quite possibly including the feared Blood Raider Covenant. Given that the corporation was founded by members of the Seykal, a Thukker renegade clan noted for slash and burn raids on remote colonies, it is perhaps no surprise. Probably even less surprising is the willingness of many in New Eden to hire the Expeditionary Group for its 'expertise' in planetary operations.
The Tronhadar Free Guard claim to trace their origins back to Krusual clans who held out against the Amarr invaders in the mountains of occupied Matar. That, at least, is the branding. While it seems true that it was founded by a pair of Krusual warlords, the company displays the utter lack of scruples one would expect in a Guristas interstellar pirate, and a like appetite for profit and power. No-one is quite sure who stands behind the Free Guard today but the rumor is that the enigmatic Kolvil Eifyr has a hand in its operations.