History of the Mafia

According to Paolo Pezzino, the mafia is “a kind of organized crime being active not only in several illegal fields, but also tending to exercise sovereignty functions – normally belonging to public authorities – over a specific territory [ …] . It is therefore a form of criminality implying some conditions: the existence of a modern state claiming the exclusive right to legitimate monopoly over violence; an economy that is free of feudal bonds [ …] ; the existence of violent people able to operate on their own, imposing their mediation even on the ruling classes". (1)

The mafia (a.k.a. the Cosa Nostra) is a secret Sicilian society that was developed in the mid-19th century. The mafia came to the United States during the late 19th century after Sicilian and Southern Italian emigration. The "original" mafia formed as a secret society sworn to protect the Sicilian population from the threat of Catalan invaders in the 15th century. However, there is very little historical evidence to suggest this. It is also feasible that the “Robin Hood" origins, which are closely intertwined with the Sicilian outlaw Salvatore Giuliano, were perpetuated by the earliest known mafiosi as a means of gaining goodwill and trust from the Sicilian people. This origin states that the Mafia is a means for righteous rebels to defend the people against oppression, Roman and Northern Italian control, and outside invasion.

After the Revolution of 1848 and the Revolution of 1860, Sicily had fallen to complete disorder. The years following the unification of Italy, saw the completion of the mafia’s "institutionalization" process and the first coordination experiments among the gangs. The earliest Mafiosi, at that time separate, small bands of outlaws, offered their guns in the revolt. Some claim that the main reasons for this were the chance to burn police records and evidence, and to kill off police and pentiti in the chaos. However, once a new government was established in Rome and it became clear that the mafia would be unable to execute these actions, they began refining their methods and techniques over the latter half of the nineteenth century. In order to strengthen the bond between the disparate gangs and so ensure greater profits and a safer working environment, it is possible that the mafia as such was formed at this time in about the mid-19th century. (2)

(1) Airoma, Domenico.
(2) La Cosa Nostra the Mafia an Expose.