Anybody who has access to any kind of media will have heard of The Mafia. They are part of modern day folklore, and are to be found mentioned in many films and books. Not many people pause to think about their origins, and how they got their name. It is name that can strike fear into the heart of anyone who might have got on the wrong side of them.
It has its origins in mid nineteenth century Sicily, and the Italian name for them is La Cosa Nostra. Roughly translated this means Our Thing, or this thing of ours. The Italian word mafiosa actually translates as bold or beautiful or full of confidence, so it is really quite a nice word. It was the Italian government who made the word synonymous with crime
It was the late nineteenth century when members of this organisation started to move from Sicily to the eastern and mid western parts of the United States. Once over there it was not long before it became a powerful organisation. It was at the peak of its powers during the seventies and eighties. After this time its activities were curtailed by investigations and arrests by the authorities.
Even now it is very strong in Chicago and New York city. It is still considered to control much of the organised crime in both these cities. Even after so much time has passed its links to its birthplace in Sicily and Italy remain very strong.
In its mother country of Sicily this organisation is still very powerful and is thought to have strong links from within the government. Part of its strength is thought to come from the fact that it started growing at the same time as the country was emerging. This meant that there was a lot o new trade and industry that was being developed at the same time. One of these industries sprung from the lemon and orange groves that grow on the hills around Palermo.
These orange and lemon groves and estates were owned by wealthy landowners to whom the Mafia offered its protection. They were then able to use the political connections that these landowners had to go about their business freely. Today the city of Palermo is still considered to be the headquarters of this organisation.
During world war two the American officials managed to turn the connections between Sicily and America to their advantage. Some of the mafia were in jail, but if they allowed their connections with their Sicilian brothers to be used then they would be treated like patriotic Americans and allowed to continue with their businesses. These connections made it easier for the Allied troops to get into Italy and Sicily.
The mafia started to become more powerful again in Italy after the country had surrendered at the end of world war two. This rise to power continued until a series of murders in the eighties and nineties. After this time the organisation started to concentrate on more white collar criminal activities, and moved away from their more traditional forms of extortion.
The Italian press now have a new nickname for the mafia, which is La Cosa Nuova, which means new thing. The term mafia is often applied to any groups of criminals that are found throughout the world. The Mafia still only means one thing, and that is the real thing.
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