by B. » Sun Mar 20, 2022 7:10 pm
aleksandrored wrote: ↑Sun Mar 20, 2022 10:14 am
Great find, thanks, I wonder how a family operated at that time, it must have been something very different.
Personally I don't think it was as different as we might think. Contemporary investigations in Sicily during the 1870s showed that aside from some differences in protocol (being able to introduce yourself as a member through a coded dialogue opposed to third party intro) it was strikingly similar in terms of the organization itself.
As Antiliar has theorized to me before, they may have abandoned the coded dialogue intros because it became publicly known and increased the likelihood of outsiders or LE being able to introduce themselves as members whereas the third party made member introduction much more secure. Hard to say exactly why/when they changed it but I agree with him it was probably a response to circumstances (like banning counterfeiting, drugs, etc.) as LE having the ability to say "I've got a tootache..." to gain a member's confidence became a huge risk after the 1870s/1880s.
[quote=aleksandrored post_id=223676 time=1647796441 user_id=5461]
Great find, thanks, I wonder how a family operated at that time, it must have been something very different.
[/quote]
Personally I don't think it was as different as we might think. Contemporary investigations in Sicily during the 1870s showed that aside from some differences in protocol (being able to introduce yourself as a member through a coded dialogue opposed to third party intro) it was strikingly similar in terms of the organization itself.
As Antiliar has theorized to me before, they may have abandoned the coded dialogue intros because it became publicly known and increased the likelihood of outsiders or LE being able to introduce themselves as members whereas the third party made member introduction much more secure. Hard to say exactly why/when they changed it but I agree with him it was probably a response to circumstances (like banning counterfeiting, drugs, etc.) as LE having the ability to say "I've got a tootache..." to gain a member's confidence became a huge risk after the 1870s/1880s.