The Mafia: History and Resources

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Mafia is a word that has struck fear into the hearts of many. Though the word itself only originated in the nineteenth century, the system, featuring a crime boss who ruled much like a king over his subjects, dates back much farther. The term “mafia” represents two categories: loosely used, it refers to any high-profile group of organized crime, no matter the country. However, the Mafia in its truest sense finds its home in Italy, with the Italian mob.

In Sicily, the Mafia is more than a ruthless rabble bent on destruction. It is highly organized, with entrepreneurial qualities. Though it operates like a business, it is much more than an economic corporation. For those involved in the Mafia, and even those living under its shadow, it is as tightly knit as any family- though the organization is more defined by geography and locality rather than familial ties. However, the group is still tightly controlled, with a certain “code of honor” that its members adhere to. Defectors who collaborate with police are considered traitors, with repercussions taken out on them or even on their families.

The term first originated in the mid- to late-1800’s, beginning with a play by Giuseppe Rizzotto and Gaetano Mosca, called “I Mafiusi di la Vicaria,” or, “The Mafiosi of Vicaria.” The play, performed in 1863, features a prison gang in Palermo whose traits resemble that of the Mafia. Three years later, the term found its way into an official report made by the prefect of the same region as the prison gang. In an exciting but unsubstantiated urban legend, the name comes from the acronym of a 1282 slogan shouted by Sicilian patriots revolting against the Capetian House of Anjou: “Morte all Francia, Italia anela!” This translates as “Death to France, Italy cries!”

Despite this history of the name, the members belonging to this organization have never referred to themselves as Mafia. Instead, former Mafiosi who have agreed to work with police investigations indicate another title that is known within the group. “Cosa Nostra,” translated as “our thing,” refers to the sense of togetherness that pervades the society. In introducing known associates to each other, members refer to them as being a part of Cosa Nostra. In essence, it is an agreement that both parties are of the same mind, and from the same Mafioso.

The Mafia finds its roots far back in Italian history, in the feudal era politicians who were often as corrupt as the peasant of lowest rank, and justice was hardly found in the higher government. Local lords preferred spending their time in the large cities where political influence could best be used to their advantage. Being absent from their fiefs, the nobles instated representatives who would oversee in their master’s place. These managers had almost complete power, even to judge and punish certain minor criminal offenses. Since loyalty and honor was rare in these individuals, they quite often employed their own system of justice, extending favors to privileged friends and accepting bribes from the highest bidder. Unfortunately, most often the latter lot fell to those were beyond the law.

It was from this corrupted political structure that the Mafia was spawned. Roving gangs found not only cooperation, but at times even support and allied help in the estate managers entrusted to oversee the running and safekeeping of their lord’s fiefs. Law enforcement and the judicial system was extremely lax to the point of nonexistence; the often poor and uneducated subjects on the fiefs neither expected nor found help from the system that was, ideally, supposed to protect them. This fostered a sense of distrust of official authority, which only served to boost the cause of the bandits. This trait persists even today in many areas overshadowed by the Mafia or other similar gangs; during investigations, police often find the people just as hostile and close-mouthed as the members of the gangs themselves.

It was in the 1800’s that the modern Mafia organization began to take form. Seeded hundreds of years before, and having taken root, it now began to bear fruit. The common people had suffered under years of oppression, to the point where it had become a daily part of life. Finding no help from either the Church, which also profited from the system, or from the government, they became used to dealing with corruption, and even found a moderate sense of protection from it- though at a price. Certainly, it was better than the alternative of attempting to fight back, especially in an era when police and government authorities offered little or no help.

When the political reforms of the nineteen and twentieth centuries took place, it was already too late- the Mafia had already been born, and was firmly rooted in Sicily. Mussolini’s Fascist state fought against the Mafia in an effort to suppress it, but by then it had already been well ingrained into Sicilian society and culture. Indeed, the Mafia has worked into the very fabric of the region itself, forming its own subculture that the people are firmly rooted in, fostering hostility and resistance to formal governmental authority. Only in recent times has the government sought honestly to take a stand against the criminal organizations such as the Mafia, and to provide a true safe haven and trustworthy ally for the oppressed.

Resources about the Mafia

PDF The Black Mafia: African-American organized crime in Chicago 1890–1960
Mobspeak is a language that grows out of secrecy, and who can be more secret than the Mafia? The anti-social nature of the Mob is the perfect breeding new ways to say stuff to keep it a secret.
Annelise Anderson, Reagan Administration member, examines organized crime in the former Soviet Union.
Italian Organized Crime—Overview. Their appearance in the 1800s, the Italian criminal societies known as the Mafia have infiltrated the social and economic fabric of Italy and now impact the world. They are some of the most notorious and widespread of all criminal societies.

Resource by F.Rosseti

I am a teacher in Michigan. I grew up in Florida and have lived here in MI for close to 15 years. I enjoy writing and skiing in my spare time.

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