2007-10-22 14:51:25 · 5 answers · asked by shiningStar 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
sicily actually.
and there is a very specific reason why the mafia arose there.
sicily was constantly fought over and the leadership changed hands many times.
at one time or another they were controlled by Greek, Punic, Roman, Byzantine, Gothic, Arab, Norman, Spanish, french and Italian powers.
one story that i read tells of a woman who's daughter was raped by a soldier from a foreign power and she ran through the streets crying out 'ma-fia' or 'my daughter' and that this incident was a formative event for the mafia, which apparantly acted originally as a sort of homeland protection organization.
it's a bit fanciful, i'll agree, but it makes as much sense as anything else that i've read...
2007-10-22 14:57:18 · answer #1 · answered by nostradamus02012 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Italy wasn't a united country until the late 1800 and didn't really become a single nation until Mussolini made the populace and offer they couldn't refuse. Many areas of Italy, especially the southern portion, were independent ducys or the like prior to unification. Locals took over control to get things done. As there was no real central government, the strongest prevailed. Family ties were stronger than community; coommunity stronger than region, and region stronger than national. Mussolini may have got the trains to run on time, but the Black Hand got the country to run.
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2007-10-22 21:57:21 · answer #2 · answered by Lil Bro 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Most countries had some sort of organized crime -- some cultures adapted to make it work better than others.
Sicily had a culture of independence -- where people expected to take care of their own problems, and not to get help from the authorities -- that allowed an organization that did that to flourish.
No different than the Japanese Yakuza, the Triads, the Tongs, or dozens of other criminal organizations -- the Mafia just got to the US before most of the others, so is better known.
2007-10-22 21:55:37 · answer #3 · answered by coragryph 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Must be that arab/negroe blood in them. That's why italians tend to be darker.
2007-10-22 22:03:19 · answer #4 · answered by libs are traitors 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
every nationality has their mob, Italians were just better at it.
2007-10-22 21:55:05 · answer #5 · answered by NEOBillyfree 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋