In most of the most striking narratives of popular culture, we encounter the figure of the mafia. The organized crime organization called the mafia looks cool from the outside because it has rules within itself, but its inner world is extremely dark and dangerous for everyone. Let’s see what the real mafia is, when it emerged, how these criminals make money, in all details.
As soon as we saw the title, of course, we all thought of The Godfather series, in which the novel by Mario Puzo was adapted to the cinema by Francis Ford Coppola. But when it comes to the mafia, the examples are countless because not only in the world of movies and TV series, but also in the world of books and games. This organized crime syndicate is often used. The reason why the mafia figure is so loved is that it has its own rules.
Even though we call everyone who wears a gun and cuts a lacon as mafia today, in fact, the real mafia is a structure created by Italians. Moreover, when it was first established, the purpose of these people was not to engage in illegal activities, but only to protect their families and themselves. Of course, time passed, the mafia got stronger and what happened. What is the mafia, when did it appear, how does it make money, what does it do? Let’s take a look at the frequently asked questions in detail.
What is the mafia? Not every bearded grandfather, not every gang is a mafia:
The real mafia arose in Sicily in the middle of the 19th century. Sicily, Because it is an island between North Africa and Italy Throughout history, it has been occupied by Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs, French, Spaniards and many more states you can think of. Over time, the local population developed a self-protection mechanism.
The literal meaning of the mafia is to act as a protector against the arrogant powerful. Although throughout history Sicilian families have been armed to protect themselves, It is precisely in the 1860s that we encounter the concept of mafia for the first time. Sicilians who were in prison during this period were maintaining a certain hierarchy among themselves according to the mafia families they belonged to.
The mafia managed to stand up to the Italian government:
Sicily, though an independent entity, became a province of Italy in 1861. But the Italian government was shocked because there was complete chaos on the island. in the 1870s An agreement was made between the Italian government and the mafia. According to this agreement, the mafia families would eliminate the stray criminal organizations on the island and the government would provide certain support to the mafia.
Is it possible to enter the same sack with the devil? The mafia did indeed keep its promise to the government, but The works of small gangs started to gather in the hands of the mafia this time. So much so that Sicily was now being asked of mafia families. Of course, the mafia did not fail to use this great power on politicians.
Even the fascist Mussolini could not finish the mafia:
The power of the mafia had increased in the 20th century. They make secret oaths of loyalty among themselves, They held initiation ceremonies and made promises that they would never cooperate with the government and authorities. Especially this period is the period when the mafia set certain rules and still, for some reason, the beloved sublime atmosphere is gained.
Then the government changes in Italy and the fascist Benito Mussolini comes to power. As we described in our previous article here In the fascist regime, every power that opposes the state is crushed. The mafia also gets its share from this crush and waits in a corner for many years. Of course, after the Second World War, things turn in favor of the mafia.
What does the mafia that heals the wounds of Italy do, how does it make money?
After the Second World War, Italy was in shambles and the state machinery was in disrepair. Already in the 1950s the mafia, a force from within the people re-emerged and became the number one controller first in the construction industry and then in other industries. When we came to the 1970s, the criminal empire in the hands of the mafia had expanded incredibly.
The biggest power of the mafia at that time was drugs. In addition, smuggling of all kinds of substances, trafficking of all kinds of illegal substances, etc. Things that it would not be nice to write the details of It was in the hands of the mafia. Worse still, the mafia was declaring its autonomy wherever it was, as it was doing what the law and law enforcement were supposed to do, knowing its duty. It didn’t take long for him to cross the borders.
The mafia makes a bombshell entry into America:
As those who watch The Godfather series know very well, some Sicilians immigrated to the United States in the first years of the 20th century and they were establishing a number of minority neighborhoods here. Just like in its early years, the mafia was first established here to protect itself. Then the Sicilian wind started to blow on the streets of America.
After the US government banned alcohol in the 1920s, the mafia, became the number one controller of bootlegging. When we came to the 1950s, the mafia began to largely control all kinds of illegal activities in the country. Of course, thanks to this illegal power, he intervened in the public, business world, politicians and even the legal world.
We have bad news for those who think everything is over:
In the 1980s, the Italian and US government began to take strict measures against mafia families. With the enacted laws, the mafia and the public officials it controlled were largely cleared. Thanks to this strong struggle that continued in the 1990s, when we came to the 21st century, there was no such thing as the mafia.
How so, no mafia? It should be said that as long as the Sicilians live, the mafia will continue to survive. Because the concept we call mafia is much more than an organized crime organization. As a kind of tradition of Sicilians who have always been culturally independent even though they are officially affiliated with Italy, the mafia still exists, even if it has weakened, and if it catches a small management vacuum, we fear it will become stronger again.
Let’s come to the most curious subject; Who is the biggest mafia, who are Turkey’s mafia?
We don’t want to offend anyone in our country because we don’t want to be shot in the heel, but There is no mafia in Turkey. Yes, maybe there are those who do the work of the mafia in our country, but these are considered organized crime organizations before the law. The concept we call mafia is a kind of brand like the names that come to mind when we say wipes or granulated coffee.
There are organized crime organizations in the world that are much larger than the mafia, but it would not be right to call them mafia. The Mafia is an organized crime syndicate founded by Sicilians or Italians. Names such as Salvatore Lucania, Vito Cascio Ferro, Al Capone, Michele Navarra, Salvatore Greco, Angelo La Barbera, Gaetano Badalamenti, Salvatore Riina, Bernardo Provazano were among the important men of the mafia. For example, Luciano Leggio is also a famous gangster, but he is not from the mafia family. Of course, we are talking about the origin story here, we can call every gangster gang mafia in public.
Originating in Sicily and ruling America for a period what is the mafia, what are the rules, how does it make money We answered frequently asked questions such as: No matter how cool these guys look in movies, TV shows, books, remember, they’re killers, don’t be shy.