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Simple Hobbits Have Lots of Friends

© Michael Martinez

When Frodo Baggins returns to find that "Pimple" has taken over control of the Shire, he makes the comment that maybe it's time the Family dealt with the annoying little upstart. It's reported to Pippin Took that his father said, "If anyone is going to play boss around here, it should be ME." Clearly, there is an undertone to these Hobbit families and their financial arrangements that we haven't explored before. The real Mafia was started by rebel Sicilians in the 9th century (or was that the 13th century?). They were a secret society who resisted the Arab conquest (or was that the Norman French conquest?). Through the centuries, the organization built up its tradition of family trust and honor, and maintained great secrecy. They began sending pictures of black hands to wealthy Sicilians in the 1700s, demanding money in exchange for protection. The consequence of withholding payment was to be targeted for kidnappings, murder, vandalism. Mafia dons began fleeing to the United States to escape imprisonment starting around the year 1901. By 1924, Benito Mussolini decided to stamp out the Mafia, and Mafiosi fled to the United States in droves. The United States stumbled upon the Mafia in the late 1800s in New Orleans, when New Orleans Police Chief David Hennessey investigated the murder of an Italian immigrant and was subsequently assassinated. 12 men were hung by a vigilante organization in retaliation for the assassination, and President Harrison compensated the families of the men for the lynchings. Saruman's emblem was the white hand. The white hand does not appear inside the Shire, but it does reach out and entangle itself in Shire politics and economics in Mafia-like secrecy. Saruman seized control over Dunland, had at least one highly-placed spy in the Rohirric government, and established contacts and a foothold in the Shire. One might ask if he was also shaking down the simple fishermen of Anfalas and controlling the trade (or lack thereof) coming down Anduin. Isengard was in a position to influence a lot of people and places. Like the Mafia, who were originally bands of freedom fighters (or thugs, in some people's opinions) resisting foreign invaders, Saruman established himself in Isengard as a force for good, resisting Sauron's efforts to take control over all of Middle-earth. But when one begins to acquire power and gain influence over people, it can become a very intoxicating experience. Power corrupts, and people are corruptible. Saruman gave in to temptation and began building up his own organization. He made contact with one or more local bands of Orcs and recruited them into his scheme. He organized the Dunlendings and set about building them into a powerful army.