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I noticed that the filmmakers didn't actually establish why two Jedi were sent to talk with the Trade Federation.

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    Unless you're asking why Jedi were specifically chosen for the negotiations with the Trade Federation, this is a "general reference" question which is indeed addressed in the film itself. If we had "general reference" as a close reason here (as some other sites do) I'd imagine this question would be closed.
    – Iszi
    Commented Feb 8, 2012 at 4:26

5 Answers 5

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This is explained on the opening crawl :

EPISODE 1
THE PHANTOM MENACE
Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The taxation of trade routes to outlaying star systems is in dispute.
Hoping to resolve the matter with a blockade of deadly battleships, the greedy Trade Federation has stopped all shipping to the small planet of Naboo.
While the congress of the Republic endlessly debates this alarming chain of events, the Supreme Chancellor has secretly dispatched two Jedi Knights, the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, to settle the conflict.....

opening crawl

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    ...the guardians of peace...: that must be why they fight so much.
    – Xantec
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 14:22
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    +1 for excellent source. -1 for no hand-drawn circles
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 15:06
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    @DVK hand-drawn circles are sold separately on opening crawls. An order could be made at the cost of a 50 reputation bounty.
    – DavRob60
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 15:37
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    @DVK - I like hand-drawn circles. Especially in red ink
    – Valorum
    Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 15:17
  • @Xantec: For the same reason that cleaners work in dirty areas and doctors focus on sick people. The area of focus is always directly opposite to the change that they try to introduce.
    – Flater
    Commented Oct 13, 2017 at 9:17
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http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Invasion_of_Naboo

Valorum and the Council dispatched two Jedi, Qui-Gon Jinn and his Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi, to meet with the Federation Viceroy and ensure the Federation's withdrawal from the system.

Basically, they were doing what Jedi ALWAYS did - serving as diplomats and conflict resolution negotiators. They were acting in their official capacity as Ambassadors for Supreme Chancellor Valorum (from the TPM script):

CAPTAIN : ... the Ambassadors for the Supreme Chancellor wish to board immediately.

The reason they were sent to talk was because the blockade of Naboo was basically a small move in a large chess game between the Trade Federation and the Republic over trade route taxation.

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    I know when I travel on diplomatic missions, I never fail to bring my laser swords.
    – Jeff
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 12:25
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    It's called aggressive negotiations
    – DVK-on-Ahch-To
    Commented Feb 7, 2012 at 15:06
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    The opposition sends two heavily armed religious fanatics with psychic powers that can warp minds to the Trade Federation and they say they want to "negotiate". Is it any wonder that they went for a preemptive attack?
    – FuzzyBoots
    Commented Oct 7, 2014 at 17:27
  • Yeah, why not gas them and then attempt to execute them by firing squad? This whole 'jerking off to the anti-Jedi-perspective' routine is so tired.
    – Daniel B
    Commented Oct 13, 2017 at 5:32
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I think we're meant to infer from the context that the Jedi council is worried about the Trade Federation blockade of Naboo, and has sent a couple of diplomats to try and resolve it.

This was probably routine crisis handling for the Jedi at this point, given the effective paralysis of the Republic Senate.

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They were sent by the Chancellor to negotiate like it says in the prologue." The chancellor secretly dispatched two jedi knights."

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  • While this is true, this has been covered with better detail and references in an existing answer. Do you have any additional information to add?
    – phantom42
    Commented Jan 10, 2015 at 7:39
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Correct me if im wrong, but i read up on it apparently they were sent to negotiate the TF and nebula font trade routes

enter image description here

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    Hi, welcome to SF&F. If this is something you've read in an authoritative source, you should quote it directly and link or capture the content to include in your answer. Check out the How to Answer guide.
    – DavidW
    Commented Apr 10, 2019 at 2:22

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