What was organized crime in pre-industrial societies like?

indistinguishable from government

>>2781947
I think the Yakuza existed before the Meiji restoration and have been around for over 200 years. It's not very insightful but maybe read about them.

File: guangzhou-militia-2-1855-1850.jpg (101KB, 1391x853px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2781947
Those aren't outlaws, they're village militia from the last decades of the Qing Dynasty. Children to be exact. Which makes them the police.

That guy even has a "rank badge" which is like a proto-dog tag indicating your rank/army unit.

>>2781962
will correct filename

>>2781947
Also to answer your question: depends.

But from what I know of Renaissance Italy and Imperial China: it was family centric. China famously had the Zheng family of smugglers and pirates in Fujian. They were so influential that the last Ming Emperor made them admirals instead to put them into good use.

>>2781970
I don't care if it's bronze age china or medieval finland, I wanna learn ANYTHING you know.

File: Mercenaries, Pirates, Bandits, and Empires.jpg (39KB, 319x499px) Image search: [Google]

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>>2781993
Fine. Read this book you nigger.

>>2781998
thanks, nignog