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The Italian Mafia And The Mafia

Good Essays

The Sicilian Mafia and the Camorra (mafia group located in Naples) were both created in the mid-1800’s (FBI 2010). These are the two mafia groups we will focus on. The Sicilian Mafia was originally an underground secret society formed to unite the peasants as resistance fighters and vigilante justice to protect their families and friends. In the 1920’s these chivalrous groups developed into what we know as the mafia. The Camorra was originally a prison gang that took controlled the prison and collected fees from the prisoners and guards for keeping order. They continued to meet after leaving prison and spread throughout Naples. They are currently Italy’s largest organized crime group with over 7,000 members (FBI 2010).

The Camorra controlled Naples during the campaign for Italian Unification in 1860 and played a large part in helping the unification process, However, within a few years, the government had taken control of Naples once again and incarcerated many camorristi members. By the late 1800’s, the Camorra was in politics by rigging elections for the Left wing. Lyman and Potter talk about the almost extermination of the Camorra during Fascism. “The Camorra almost died out during the fascist era of Benito Mussolini (1922-43), but …show more content…

The Southern Question dates as far back as Unification of Italy in 1861. Due to its position closer to industrialized countries, cities like Florence and Milan were industrialized and more modernized. The South had mostly agricultural employment and was behind on technological advances. The North was also at a loss at who to put in charge of the underdeveloped South, so they left it up to the landowners and officials who were already in charge and corrupted, which is where the mafia came into power (Cayli

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