Week 2 Flashcards
(30 cards)
1
Q
The revolutionary fervour
A
the term organized crime was used differently: to describe the revolutionary fervour in 1840s Europe and to define the Camorra of Naples
2
Q
India
A
- in 1862, in colonial India, organized crime was used to refer to gangs of highway robbers and other predatory crimes
- these groups were described in official languages as dangerous fraternities and criminal tribes who are addicted to criminal pursuits
3
Q
Prohibition
A
- prohibition era, the period from 1920 until 1933
- when the production and selling of alcoholic beverages were illegal
- organized crime no longer referred to an amorphous criminal class but to gangsters and racketeers who were organized in gangs, syndicates, and criminal organizations following big master criminals who functioned as powerful leaders or organized crime
4
Q
Piracy and brigandage
A
- ships of ancient Egypt had to defend themselves against sea rovers; caravans were armed in fear of raids from desert nomads
- pirates seized the young Julius Caesar and held him for ransom
- they played a significant role in bringing to an end to the great Norse venture to Greenland and America in the 5 centuries before Columbus
- the great age of piracy in the Atlantic coincided with the colonizing of the New World by Europeans
5
Q
The American way of crime
A
- “no sooner does a crime become profitable in America than it becomes organized”
- it soon became a regular part of the American way of life, thanks to the cooperation and collusion of government officials
- organized crime did not begin with twentieth-century prohibition, it began with the colonial pirates
- organized crime in North America functioned as a facade for a product that was homegrown, like in many other countries
- pirates’ predatory ventures, the enslavement of African peoples as a legal instrument that helped fuel colonial economic enterprise, the genocide of indigenous and the stealing of their lands
6
Q
First form of organized crime in North America:
A
- the first criminal organizations in North America were pirates operating off the eastern seaboard
- to be able to hunt down and pillage their victims, pirate ships required many of the essential trappings that would come to define organized crime: violence, structure, code, symbols, etc
7
Q
Rules and Regulations (pirates)
A
- to maintain order at sea, pirates were among the early organized criminals to establish rules, regulations, and a code of conduct
- breaking these rules could result in confinement in the ship brig, being marooned on a desert island, lashed from the cat-o-nine-tails, other brutal punishments, or executions.
8
Q
The ritual (pirates)
A
- Pirate ship crews commonly underwent initiation rituals, akin to military, to forge a tight-knit band of combatants
- for pirates, the time-honoured crossing-the-line ceremony signalled the onset of rites granting a sailor the esteemed privilege of joining the brotherhood of the deep
9
Q
Financial gain (pirates)
A
- piracy held out the promise of income for exceeded the meagre wage of the merchant seamen or fisherman
- pirate could live a life of luxury and even buy their way into nobility with the riches harvested from their adventures
10
Q
Sea rovers
A
- Pirate = a person who attacks and robs ships at sea
- privateer = individual granted a license by their government to attack shipping belonging to an enemy government, usually during war
- they receive a letter or marque from their national admiralty which grants them permission to raid enemy ships and keep a percentage of the spoils
11
Q
First pirates to come into contact with Canada
A
Sailed off the coast of Newfoundland during the 16th century
12
Q
Canadian king and queen of pirates
A
Eric Cobman and Maria Lindsey - who killed for pleasure
13
Q
Rustling
A
rustled horses and cattle in the badlands of southern Sask and northern Montana along the Big Muddy Creek/valley
14
Q
Campbell gang
A
- settled in Bentinck township (ont) 1950
- the tavern quickly became a hangout for drunkards, thieves, and rowdies, known far and wise as a centre of lawlessness and violence
15
Q
The gang of upper Canada
A
the Shiners war
- conflict between Irish immigrants and French Canadian loggers from 1835-1837 and 1949-1850
- driven by competition for jobs in the logging industry, the economic tensions evolved into religious, racial, and political disputes
- Peter Allen - the king of the Shiners
16
Q
Rebellion 1837
A
- lower classes were calling for a radical transformation of the role of each level of government
- after the rebellion of 1837, a criminal gang plagued central Canada
- first detected in Markham between 1840-45
- their crimes ranged from minor thefts to horse stealing, forgery, and murder
17
Q
Markham Gang
A
- gang members took an oath of secrecy
- the organization’s language was so dark and cabalistic, that none but the initiated could comprehend its meaning
- the gang’s senior member was also involved in the distribution of “boodle” (counterfeit money)
18
Q
Markham Gang scam in three steps
A
- steal horses at opposite ends of the town and tell them to unsuspecting victims on the other side of town
- thieves would switch places and pose as police agents bringing proof that this newly bought horse was stolen property that must be seized as evidence
- return stolen horses to their original owner and collect a reward
19
Q
True blood
A
- the distinction between persons born in the New World versus persons born in the Old Country was that the Americans or Canadians lacked the revered lineage
- their blood was distinguished from the true British blood
20
Q
Lack of lineage
A
inferiority suggested by the lack of lineage was to explain these individuals’ propensity to commit a crime and organize themselves into criminal enterprises
21
Q
The yellow peril
A
- British Columbia:
- opium was legally used as a medicinal elixir among Canadians
- recreational smoking began after Chinese immigrants arrived
- BC was marked by the gold rush and began to become a popular place
- BC became a centre for producing the black tar opium that was used for smoking
- the colonial gov also benefitted from the early opium trade
- they received licensing fees from manufacturers, and taxes were imposed on the retail sale of opium
- 50% tariff on opium lead to rampant smuggling into Canada
22
Q
Slave trade
A
- a contract was made between Chinese women and Chinese merchant or brothel operators who agreed to pay the women’s head tac, passage fees, and other expenses
- in return, the merchant had the right to her body service
- the women agreed to pay a certain sum at a certain time, to repay the passage money and the head tax and 7% interest
23
Q
Human smuggling
A
- 50$ a head to smuggle humans from Canada to the US
- Gud Brede, who began running whiskey from Montana to Alberta in 1880
- human smuggling became organized as the numbers of Chinese men illegally spirited into the US
24
Q
White slave trade
A
- white reffered to the skin color of the women invilved since many of the victims were european
- contrast with the black trade where african people were foricbly transported to the new world
- the term white may have had greater emtional impact in an era when european identity was closely tied to race
- by framing the issue as a threat to white women, it might have elicited greater outrage and cocern among the public
25
piracy
Pirates are criminals on the high seas, who attack ships and coastal areas to steal cargo and valuables, using violence to carry out their criminal activities.
26
banditry
- bandito - meaning the banned person
- time bandits became fixtures of the mala vita (criminal life)
- Robinhood principle
- Like the pirates, the bandits had internal organization, a charismatic leader, and codes of conduct. Many had been soldiers and thus had access to sophisticated weapons and armors. The leader was typically well connected to the social elites
27
The Neopolitan Camorra
- Camorra, originally a hand game
- While in jail, the Camorristi (“gamblers”) formed a brotherhood, practicing extortion within the prison walls. Extortion became the mainstay criminal activity not only of the Camorra but of all the Mafias.
- The word that came to be used for extortion money was pizzo - the pizzo was a sort of “tax” that the Camorristi imposed on prisoners, to which the prison authorities acquiesced to guarantee peace and quiet in the prisons.
28
The Sicilian Mafia
- emerged later than Cammora
- The unification of Italy in 1861 was key event that allowed various bandit gangs to unify a criminal organization after they were co-opted to help in the military efforts at unification
- To survive the mafia must continue to control territories, extort money and corrupt officials
- A criminal clan called cosca - refers to the fact that the mafia uses tactics and strategies that shelter or protect from outside forces
- Requires veneer of legitimacy - members present themselves as fighters against corrupt legal systems - and at same time act in blatant self interests - gaining power through extortion
29
Cosa Nostra
- Mafia crime in the United States - 1891 New Orleans when a group of Sicilian gangsters assassinated the chief of police
- They were arrested by eventually acquitted because they had bribed and threatened witnesses - who ended up not pronouncing them guilty
- Causes great uproar in city - leading to the first act of ethnic cleansing in the US against a group that was not Black people
30
2 events that revided the mafia in America
1. prohibition
2. Mussolini's crackdown on mafiosi in Sicily
