The mafia in Siciliy appears to have its origins in the 19th Century brotherhoods that formed in Palermo and other Sicilian cities. The Sicilian economy was largely dependent on Sulphur mining and Lemon orchards which were prone to corrupt management. The brotherhoods effectively formed as crude workers unions to protect their members interests and ensure that they would not lose their jobs. However the brotherhoods often went further, delving into bribery, extortion, vandalism of rival companies property and even murder, all in the name of protecting their own interests and expanding their influence. The mafia grew out of these organisations and retained many of their traditions. By the early 1900's, the mafia had become an integral part of the struggling Sicilian economy, effectively having a stranglehold over many local communities. While this was beneficial to the mafiosa, it slowed economic growth in Sicily, further increasing the regions economic problems and influencing many Sicilians to emigrate to the Americas.

Christopher Duggan in "The Force of Destiny" suggests that the Mafia were an invention of the Piedmontese in the 1860s. Following, and during, the Brigand war of the early 1860s, the Piedmontese government imposed anti-democratic rule on Southern Italy and Siciliy leading to violent responses from the inhabitants. The first suggestions of the existence "the mafia" were in the mid 60's as "a canard being used to explain the unrest and justify severe repressive measures" in the aftermath of the rising in Palermo.