Sicilian Mafia

The Sicilian Mafia (kent as Cosa Nostra an aw) is a creeminal syndicate that emergit in the mid-nineteent century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association o creeminal groups that share a common organizational structur an code o conduct, an whose common enterprise is protection racketeering. Each group, kent as a "family", "clan", or "cosca", claims sovereignty ower a territory in which it operates its rackets – uisually a toun or veelage or a neebourheid (borgata) o a lairger ceety. Its members caw thairsels "men o honour"licinSiilHousomeivver, the term "mafia" haes become a generic term for ony organizit creeminal netwirk wi similar structur, methods, an interests.

The Mafia proper frequently parallels, collaborates wi or clashes wi, netwirks oreeginatin in ither pairts o soothren Italy, such as the Camorra (frae Campanie), the 'Ndrangheta (frae Calabrie), the Stidda (soothren Sicily) an the Sacra Corona Unita (frae Apulie).

The American Mafia arose frae affshuits o the Mafia that emergit in the Unitit States durin the late nineteent century, follaein waves o emigration frae Sicily. There wur similar affshuits in Canadae amang Italian Canadians. Housomeivver, while the same haes been claimit o organisit creeme in Australie,^[1] this appears tae result frae confusion wi 'Ndrangheta, which is generally regardit as mair prominent amang Italian Australies.