Mafia, << MAH fee ah or MAH fee uh, >> is a secret criminal society in Sicily. Crime groups stemming from the original Sicilian Mafia operate in the United States and other countries. Mafia is also used as a general term for any underworld criminal organization.
The Mafia is made up of extended kinship groups called mafiosi. A Mafia member is called a mafioso. These groups originally maintained an ideal of manliness developed during the 1600’s, when Sicily was ruled by Spain. The ideal called for refusal to cooperate with authorities and self-control in the face of hardships. In personal quarrels, a mafioso took the law into his own hands and gained respect by using violence. Any offense might trigger a campaign of vengeance called a vendetta. Mafiosi unofficially ruled part of western Sicily in the 1800’s and early 1900’s. Similar crime groups, such as the Camorra in Naples and the Onorata Societa (Honored Society) in Calabria, developed in other parts of Italy.
In the late 1800’s, southern Italians attempted to reproduce the Mafia in the United States. These groups did not have much power until Prohibition in the 1920’s. Then, they greatly profited from bootlegging–the illegal making, selling, or transporting of alcoholic beverages. Also during this time, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini opposed mafiosi in western Sicily. Many fled to the United States and eventually became leaders of American organized crime.
After the end of Prohibition in 1933, these Italian-American groups, also called crime families, became active in other illegal practices. Their activities included gambling, loan sharking (lending money at unlawful rates of interest), and drug dealing. Authorities estimate that thousands of Mafia members and associates operate in the United States, particularly in New York City and Chicago.
Since the end of World War II (1939-1945), the Mafia in Italy has undergone major changes. Its rural base has moved into urban areas. It also has faced increased government opposition and feuds between Mafia groups.
