The Confederation of Independent Systems, or Separatist Alliance for short, was an independent government that recruited numerous member worlds as part of a galaxy-wide movement and declared war on the Galactic Republic. The Confederation was joined in particular by worlds that were dissatisfied with their previous Republic government and were striving for freedom and independence. This separatism led to the outbreak of the Clone Wars in 22 VSY, which finally ended in 19 VSY with the defeat of the Confederacy and the reorganisation of the Republic into the Galactic Empire. The Confederacy was obviously led by Count Dooku, but he was acting in the background on behalf of the Sith Lord Darth Sidious. Due to the fact that Darth Sidious was also the Supreme Chancellor of the Republic, he was able to control the actions of the Clone Wars in an intriguing way. In reality, the entire Separatist movement was part of Palpatine's plan to overthrow the Republic and destroy the Jedi Order.