the Sicilian Mafia also known as kostra first took shape in the 19th century it emerged from the instability brought about by centuries of foreign ruled and societal chaos Sicily had a long history of being dominated by outside powers from Greeks to Normans to Spaniards this history left its people pretty suspicious of any type of centralized Authority and this created a culture of self-reliance and distrust in formal institutions the Island's transform during Italy's unification accelerated the birth of organized crime with the disillusion of feudalism and the rise of capitalism kostra found the perfect environment to take
root for many centuries sicile people had to learn how to survive under different Masters this led to the people developing a culture of pretty Hardy skepticism towards any formal government this inherent distrust laid the foundation for an organization that work Beyond The Pale of the law the main cause for the rise of the mafia was the chaos that resulted from the process of Italian unification Italy wasn't a unified country instead it was made up of city states Sicily was under the rule of the borbone monarchy the island of Sardinia and pedmont in the north were
both under the rule of the House of seavoy the Papal States govern Rome in the regions around it the list goes on but slowly these city states started emerging in 1860 Italian nationalist jepi garabaldi LED an army known as the thousand on a campaign to liberate the island and incorp orporated into the Kingdom of Italy this campaign led to the incorporation of Sicily and the whole of the Italian Peninsula was United in 1861 under the reign of Victor Emanuel II the unification put an end to the long period of division on the peninsula but it
left Sicily in disarray this newly unified Italy had a lot of plans for modernizing the country but these plans didn't really suit Sicily's feudal mentality the central government wanted to break up the old ruling Elites and transfer the ownership of Land from the Catholic church and feudal Lords to the peasantry almost overnight the number of land owners skyrocketed small plots of land that once belonged to vast Estates were now in the hands of peasants who had previously worked the land for others by 1865 the number of land owners on the island had increased tenfold from
2,000 to 20,000 this redistribution was hailed as a Triumph of modernization a break from the old world of feudal Lords and church dominance but this drastic shift brought new problems the vast majority of these new land owners had little to no experience managing property worse they lacked the wealth or the Manpower or the political connections that the feudal Barons had used to protect their lands these small land owners were now responsible for their own security something that proved increasingly difficult as crime and political unrest grew across Sicily the Italian government was still in its infancy
and couldn't really provide any form of effective law enforcement all types of criminals thrived in this atmosphere of uncertainty preying on the vulnerable new land owners the mafia started off as a Protection Service to the small landh holders who had no means to protect their farms at first these land owners probably felt the mafia was a necessary evil a way to protect their Farms from any potential violence or looting but that feeling didn't last long the protective forces turned into oppressive ones they bullied they extorted they demanded obedience what started as informal deals between landowners
and local hoodlums became a network of racketeering that engulfed the island the land owners didn't have a lot of options they would either pay the mafia its protection fees or lose everything this protection racket turned out to be one of the most efficient mechanisms of Mafia Domination by the mid 1860s kostra had asserted itself everywhere especially in Sicily's Western areas which were the most anarchic and chaotic government presence hardly existed at all and the police would usually find themselves either outnumbered or ineffective or corrupt or maybe even all three the mafia however had the local
contacts and manpower to back up their Authority they flourished in this vacuum as the organization became more formalized the reach of the mafia expanded Beyond household farms and Estates they began to operate on a larger scale they started targeting key Industries like agriculture where they could maximize their profits by the end of the 1860s the mafia had transformed from a collection of local gangs into a cohesive criminal organization with a clear hierarchy these activities went Far Beyond Simple extortion they had become a force that governed through fear and violence this consolidation of power would allow
them to dominate Sicily for decades to come as they tighten their grip on every aspect of life on the island from here the mafia began to spread its influence into critical Industries setting a stage for their control of Sicily's most valuable resources as the Island's economy began to stabilize and certain industries flourished the mafia saw an opportunity to expand its fluence one of the most lucrative sectors at the time was the lemon industry Sicily's climate made it perfect for citrus production and lemons had become a profitable export they were the perfect Target lemon Groves were
delicate their crops could be ruined by even slight disruptions in care or the environment the mafia quickly recognized that this fragility made the industry particularly vulnerable with sabotage as a looming threat they started infiltrating the lemon trade offering protection to land owners who feared losing their crops it was a repeat of the pattern that had already taken root on small farms across Sicily farmers and Grove owners were left with no real choice but to pay the mafia for protection or risk their livelihoods being destroyed as controll over the lemon trade Titan the mafia made a
normous profits transforming their protection racket into a powerful economic engine the case of gaspari galatti illustrates pretty well how this system worked in 1874 Gadi inherited a Lemon Grove near palmo one of the most fertile regions for citrus production shortly after taking over the estate he dismissed the warden benedetto Coro who had Mafia connections the retaliation was Swift Coro with the mafia's backing began to sabotage the gro operations and intimidate galatti when galotti hired a new Arden that man was murdered the message was clear don't mess with the mafia gad's attempts to report the murder
to the authorities went unnoticed the police well they were either too afraid to intervene or had already been bought off instead galadi received a series of threatening letters demanding that he rehire Coro fearful for his life and the safety of his family galadi ultimately abandoned The Lemon Grove and fled to Naples leaving his property in the hands of the mafia this incident wasn't isolated it was happening all over Sicily as the mafia continued to force non-compliant land owners out taking control of the Island's most profitable Industries in the process the mafia continued to expand its
influence over the lemon business and other markets and to enforce their power they resorted Ed to Brute Force by the 1870s it was impossible to ignore them it had become almost impossible to escape their grasp they penetrated almost every sector of the economy in Sicily including farming and business and it wasn't only through coercion and intimidation that they operated they started laying down the foundations of a huge criminal organization that could only grow in the context of the state's inability to act once the mafia had established their base their next step was to make sure
that their power would last and they would do that that through Oaths a Code of Silence and a structure for their organization one of the key elements that shaped this new version of the mafia was the development of initiation rituals and codes that ensured loyalty and silence new members were no longer simply criminals who carried out acts of violence for money they underwent a ceremonial process that bound them to kostra for Life the most famous of these rituals was the Blood Oath initiates pricked their fingers and smeared their blood on the image of a Saint
which was then burned symbolizing their pledge of absolute loyalty and the death of any traitor this ritual wasn't just about Superstition it served a practical purpose it was designed to foster a sense of belonging and commitment that made betrayal almost Unthinkable members were reminded in a very real way that their lives were tied to the organization but loyalty alone wasn't enough to protect the mafia from external threats to ensure their operations stayed hidden they developed a strict Code of Silence known as Omer this code demanded that no members speak of Mafia business to anyone outside
the organization especially the authorities breaking or Mera wasn't just a violation of trust it was a death sentence orera created an atmosphere of fear that extended beyond the mafia itself civilians too were pressured into silence knowing that any cooperation with the police could lead to deadly consequences in a lot of cases the mafia didn't need to enforce orera through violence its reputation for ruthlessness did the job these practices while brutal work the mafia operated in the shadows growing stronger without attracting too much attention orera made it nearly impossible for law enforcement to gather evidence or
Witnesses even when crimes were committed in broad daylight those involved knew better than to speak the secrecy was key to the mafia's success in maintaining control over Sicily by the late 1870s kostra had developed into a powerful and insular organization one that thrived on loyalty on fear and secrecy these elements not only protected the mafia but also allowed it to expand its influence across Sicily now with these foundations in place the mafia was ready to evolve into a more formalized criminal Empire capable of influencing politics industry and every corner of Sicilian life this Growing Power
would soon attract even more attention both locally and internationally as the mafia became a force that extended far beyond Sicily's borders by the late 1870s kosa had become a strong and closely knit Society a society that demanded and got respect loyalty and confidentiality these elements not only hid the mafia but also helped it spread its tentacles throughout Sicily with these foundations laid down the mafia was now prepared to transform into a more structural criminal organization which would be in a position to get involved in the political system get involved in business and get involved in
basically every other aspect of Sicilian Society this Growing Power would soon draw even more eyes to it both from the region and from overseas as the mafia continued to expand at the end of the 19th century the mafia had mastered Sicily but this was no longer enough to satisfy its appetite waves of Sicilian immigration to the United States between the 1880s and 193s helped kostra extend its power in the new world more than a million Sicilians left their Island in search of a better life in America but they didn't leave everything behind among those who
crossed the ocean there were mafiosi who wanted to transplant their criminal organization to the new world the mafia was able to grow in the US especially in cities with huge populations of immigrants like New York and Chicago in America they applied the same tactics that had worked so well in Sicily protection rackets intimidation and violence Prohibition in the 1920s became hugely profitable for these crime cartels with the prohibition of alcohol mafia families made Millions smuggling liquor and running speak easys Al Capone and lucky luchano became the figureheads of the Enterprises but their Empires were forged
in Sicily years earlier the American Mafia wasn't formally connected to the Sicilian Mafia but the two groups followed a similar Code of Silence blood Oaths and let's just call them extreme business approaches the mafia's hold on Sicily didn't let up as it was growing in the US by the mid 20th century their unchecked power started to raise eyebrows among the police in Italy the Italian government did try some things to combat the problem of organized crime but the influence of the MAF Mafia was so pervasive that nothing much came of it but then came the
Maxi trials the Maxi trials were conducted between 1986 and 1992 and were in a way the largest ever they were products of Decades of Investigations conducted by two anti-mafia prosecutors Giovani Falcone and Paulo Borsalino who had dedicated their lives to building cases against the leaders of the mafia hundreds of Mafia leaders were indicted there were 475 mafiosi on trial the courtroom had to be specially built to hold the proceedings including high security measures to avoid a possible attack by the Mafia the trials were big win for the Italian government most of the mafia heads were
arrested and many of them were convicted and sent to prison for a long time it was the first time the state had managed to eliminate most of the leadership of the organization but the win didn't come without a cost Falone and Bolino were both taken out by the mafia in 1992 both were killed by car bombs the one that took out FAL cone was massive and actually took out the entire Highway he was driving over at the time the hits only caused the government to intensify its efforts towards the destruction of kostra but these victories
did not prevent the mafia so-called Heritage to continue having an impact on criminal bodies throughout the world the bonds created between Sicily and America in the 1900s are still felt today bonds founded in secrecy loyalty and violence the rise of kostra was built on the instability and lawlessness of 19th century Sicily but its decline was set in motion by the very same factors a growing State willing to fight back Brave individuals risking everything to bring Justice and a society finally unwilling to tolerate its rule thanks for watching what other organized crime syndicates do you want
us to cover let us know in the comments and don't forget to like subscribe hit the Bell share this video with a friend and all that good stuff to stay up to date on all the Nutty stuff from human history
