The Mafia: A Brief History

In these modern days a huge amount of organised crime groups are referred to as ‘mafia’ and in many respects this is due to the glorified portrayal by films and television of The Mafia. A criminal organisation, governed by inexorable rules, that has a tendency of doing all types of illegal crimes from drug deals on a street corner right the way up to controlling the highest levels of government. They may live by a special ‘code of honour’ but it is based on greed, power and arrogance. Not to mention oppression and violence.

Where did the ‘Mafia’ originate from?

Most people know the Mafia from their portrayal on television and in films but in many respects this is just an Americanisation of what they are about. Although, most people are aware that the Mafia originated from Italy further details are usually sketchy in their mind. Hopefully this will help.

(Films such as ‘Goodfellas’ show how Americanised the Mafia became. Image Source)

 The Mafia, also known as the Mafioso has routes that can be traced all the way back to Sicily in the mid-nineteenth century. Interestingly the word Mafia itself derives from an old Sicilian adjective ‘mafiusu’. It will come as no surprise to learn that the meaning of that word is ‘aggressive boasting or bragging’. It may be worth pointing out at this point that many Mafioso say the real name behind them is actually Cosa Nostra, which translates basically as ‘our way’. You can tell instantly that any group who has names based on those meanings would be the kind of group that would not let anyone get in their way. Ever.

So, is the Mafia one big group then?

The Mafia is definitely not a single group or gang but is actually made up of many different ‘families’ and although in more modern times it was rather rare for the different families to fight against each other that wasn’t always the case.

In the early days, way back during the 19th century, many of the families would fight long, drawn-out and extremely bloody gang wars between each other. The violence escalated and the cost of money to each gang was immeasurable, not to mention the cost of lives. It was decided that some sort of ceasefire would need to be called and at this point a group known as the ‘Cupola’ was formed. Their job was to oversee all of the different Mafia families who began to co-operate mainly for the greater profits. The Cupola also took control of major assassinations. Although it could be argued that the introduction of the Cupola meant that the families started to work together, for the greater good, in realistic terms it was more a case of them staying out of each others way.