The Combine Honnete Ober Advancer Mercantiles is usually thought of as an economic entity, and so it was. But the degree to which it was created by political and military forces, sustained by them, and in turn maintained those powers, is a far more important side of CHOAM. CHOAM was a creation of the empire, brought about as a reaction to the formation of the Spacing Guild. CHOAM's creation marked the true beginning of the Imperium, and became one of its chief elements. CHOAM and the Imperium were inseparable.