CONSPIRACY CLAIM #12

Albert Pike never sent Mazzini any letter about plans for world wars. The story has been debunked many times, and as you’ll see below, the so-called letter has some basic problems that make it impossible to be genuine.

Where did the story come from?

It starts with William Guy Carr, a Canadian naval officer turned conspiracy author. In his book “Pawns in the Game” — first published in 1955, with a widely circulated edition in 1958 — he claimed that Albert Pike wrote to Giuseppe Mazzini in 1871 predicting three global wars, complete with their causes, participants and outcomes. Carr said he had heard of the letter from a Chilean cardinal, but he never produced it. The idea behind it traces back to the writings of Leo Taxil (Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès), which Taxil himself later admitted were a hoax.

A little history

Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872)

Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian patriot, political activist and writer who played a pivotal part in the Risorgimento, the movement to unify Italy. Here’s his life in brief:

1. Early Life: Born in Genoa, Mazzini trained in law, but politics pulled him in early, carried along by the wave of nationalism and liberal revolutions sweeping Europe.
2. Giovine Italia: In 1831, Mazzini founded “Giovine Italia” (Young Italy), a secret society that set out to turn Italy into a unified, democratic republic. It drew in many young intellectuals and activists.
3. Exile: His revolutionary activities kept Mazzini in exile for much of his life, in European cities including London and Geneva. Even from abroad, he kept inspiring and organising revolutionary movements.
4. Philosophy: Mazzini’s vision for Italy was moral and spiritual as well as political. He believed in a “Duty” towards God and humanity and saw nationalism as a means to achieve broader human brotherhood. He championed the rights of the individual and emphasized the role of the people in shaping nations.
5. Legacy: His own attempts at revolution often failed, but his ideas shaped the whole process of Italian unification. He is remembered as a symbol of the struggle for freedom and unity in Italy.

The Carbonari

Mazzini is often taken for a Freemason because of his links with the ‘Carbonari’, a secret revolutionary society that began in the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Sicily in the early 19th century and played a significant part in the Risorgimento. But the Carbonari were not Freemasonry, and no record of Mazzini’s initiation into a Masonic lodge has ever been produced. A few older reference books, such as William R. Denslow’s 10,000 Famous Freemasons, list him as a Mason anyway; the Grand Orient of Italy’s own published articles question whether he was ever a regular Mason at all.

Either way, it makes no difference to the letter. A letter Pike never wrote can’t have been sent to anyone — Mason or not.

A closer look at the Carbonari:

1. Origins: The exact origins of the Carbonari are somewhat obscure, but it’s believed they evolved from earlier ‘secret’ societies. The name “charcoal burners” is thought to be symbolic, representing the members’ desire to “burn away” the existing political order and replace it with a new one.
2. Structure and Rituals: The Carbonari had a hierarchical structure and rituals that were influenced by Freemasonry, but were not masonic, nor were they recognized by mainstream Freemasonry. Carbonari members were organized into small covert cells, and they used secret signs and passwords for identification.
3. Goals: The primary goal of the Carbonari was to promote liberal and nationalistic ideals and to oppose the conservative regimes that ruled much of Italy at the time. They sought constitutional reforms and the removal of foreign rulers, particularly the Austrians who controlled large parts of northern Italy.
4. Activities: The Carbonari took part in several uprisings in the 1820s, most notably in Naples and the Papal States. Some of these revolts succeeded at first; all were eventually put down by conservative forces.
5. Notable Members: Many prominent figures of the Risorgimento had associations with the Carbonari, including Giuseppe Mazzini, as previously mentioned. However, as the 19th century progressed and the movement for Italian unification gained momentum, the importance of the Carbonari diminished, and they were eventually superseded by other groups and political movements.
6. Legacy: Despite their eventual decline, the Carbonari played a crucial role in the early stages of the Risorgimento. They helped to spread liberal and nationalistic ideas throughout Italy and laid the groundwork for the more organized and successful efforts to unify the country in the 1850s and 1860s.

Albert Pike (1809-1891)

1. Early Life and Education:
   • Born: December 29, 1809, in Boston, Massachusetts.
   • Educated at local schools. He passed Harvard’s entrance exams in 1825 but couldn’t afford the tuition, so he never attended (Harvard later gave him an honorary Master of Arts, in 1859).
2. Military Career:
   • Served as a brigadier general for the Confederate Army during the American Civil War.
   • Before the war he worked as a journalist and a lawyer.
3. Freemasonry:
   • Initiated into Western Star Lodge No. 2 in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1850.
   • Became extremely active and influential in Freemasonry.
   • Elected Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction in 1859.
   • Held the position of Sovereign Grand Commander for 32 years until his death in 1891.
   • Revised the Scottish Rite rituals, creating a new standard for the rituals which are still used today.
4. Literary Contributions:
   • A prolific writer, with more than a dozen books to his name, including:
     – Morals and Dogma: (1871) This is perhaps his most famous work, detailing the teachings of the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry.
     – Book of the Words (Sephar H’Debarim): This work delves into the etymology and symbolic meanings of words used in Masonic rituals.
     – Legenda and Readings of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry: A collection of lectures related to the degrees of the Scottish Rite.
     – Esoterika: A work that delves into the symbolic and esoteric aspects of Masonry.
     – Prose Sketches and Poems Written in Western Country: (1834) – A collection of Pike’s early poetry and prose.
     – Indo-Aryan Deities and Worship as Contained in the Rig-Veda: Pike’s exploration of Vedic hymns and their relevance to Masonic symbolism.
     – The Point Within the Circle: Freemasonry Veiled in Allegory and Illustrated by Symbols: Another of Pike’s works on Masonic symbolism.
     – Maxims of the Kabalists: Pike’s exploration of Kabbalistic teachings and their relevance to Masonry.
     – The Book of Apadno: A work that delves into the esoteric teachings of various religious traditions.
     – Historical Inquiry In Regard to the Grand Constitutions of 1786: A historical exploration of a significant Masonic document.
     – Meaning of Masonry: Pike’s exploration of the philosophical underpinnings of the Masonic tradition.
   • Also known for his poetry, particularly the song “Dixie to Arms!”
5. Death and Legacy:
   • Died on April 2, 1891, in Washington, D.C.
   • Buried at Oak Hill Cemetery, but his remains were later moved to the House of the Temple, the headquarters of the Southern Jurisdiction of the Scottish Rite.
   • Remembered as one of the most influential figures in American Freemasonry.
6. Statues and Memorials:
   • A statue of Pike, erected by the Freemasons in 1901 in honour of his contributions to Freemasonry, stands in Judiciary Square in Washington, D.C.
   • His Confederate past has made the statue controversial: protesters pulled it down in June 2020, and it was restored and reinstalled in October 2025.
7. Other Notable Facts:
   • Pike is said to have been able to read and write sixteen languages.
   • He was a 33° Mason — the highest degree of the Scottish Rite, an honour rather than a rank above other Masons.
   • Beyond Freemasonry, he wrote extensively on subjects such as Native American languages and cultures.

Who’s who in this story

Giuseppe Mazzini: no record has ever been produced of his initiation into Freemasonry.
Albert Pike: 33rd degree Scottish Rite.

The “letter” under the microscope

1. Origin of the Claim:
   • The alleged Pike/Mazzini letter first gained wide attention through William Guy Carr’s book, “Pawns in the Game” — but Carr never produced an original source for it.
2. No Original Document:
   • Nobody has ever produced an original copy. Every reference to it rests on later claims, not on primary sources.
3. Taxil Hoax Connection:
   • The closest known source of the alleged letter’s content is from Leo Taxil’s (Marie Joseph Gabriel Antoine Jogand-Pagès) writings, which were later admitted to be a hoax.
   • Taxil wrote to poke fun at both Freemasonry and the Catholic Church, and he openly admitted making his claims up.
4. Absence in Archives:
   • The British Museum, often said to hold the letter, has stated in writing that it has never held any such document.
5. Historical Inaccuracies:
   • The alleged letter is full of references and ideas that would have been out of place, or simply unknown, in 1871 — the fingerprints of a later fabrication.
6. Character of Pike:
   • Albert Pike, a Confederate general and prominent Freemason, left a mountain of writing. Nothing in any of his known works resembles the content of the alleged letter to Mazzini.
7. Mazzini’s Relevance:
   • Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian revolutionary and nationalist. While he had correspondences with many influential figures of his time, there’s no historical record or evidence of a close association with Pike that would warrant such a detailed and strategic letter.
8. Absence in Masonic Records:
   • Freemasons are enthusiastic record-keepers, yet there’s no trace of this letter in any official or unofficial Masonic archive.
9. Modern Usage:
   • The alleged Pike/Mazzini letter is often used by conspiracy theorists to “prove” that world events are controlled by secret societies. But with no original source and no corroborating evidence, the letter simply doesn’t hold up.
10. Taxil’s Admission:

• Leo Taxil publicly admitted in 1897 that his claims about Freemasonry, including stories similar in nature to the Pike/Mazzini letter, were all fabrications. This casts significant doubt on any claims derived from or related to his works.

What’s wrong with the history?

1. Specific Mention of World Wars:
   • Nobody in 1871 talked about a “World War”. The term only came into common use with the First World War (at the time called the Great War), to describe how global that conflict was.
2. Nations and Alliances:
   • The letter allegedly predicts the roles of specific nations in the World Wars, including Germany — which had only just been unified, in 1871, and had yet to play a significant role on the world stage.
3. Nazism and Zionism:
   • The ideologies of Nazism and Zionism, as we understand them, did not exist in 1871. Nazism emerged in the early 20th century, while political Zionism took shape in the late 19th century.
4. Concept of Fascism:
   • Fascism as a political ideology and movement did not emerge until the early 20th century, primarily in Italy under Benito Mussolini.
5. Detailed Nature of Conflicts:
   • The letter’s alleged descriptions of the causes and outcomes of the World Wars are far too detailed for a 19th-century prediction. They read like a look back, written after the events had happened.
6. Communism’s Role:
   • While early forms of socialist and communist thought existed in 1871, the specific role of Bolsheviks and the nature of the Russian Revolution of 1917 would have been impossible to predict with the detail allegedly present in the letter.
7. Middle Eastern Conflict:
   • The detailed predictions about conflict in the Middle East and the role of Islam in global conflict are out of context for the 1871 geopolitical landscape.
8. Illuminati Reference:
   • By 1871, the Bavarian Illuminati had been gone for nearly a century. Dragging it into 20th-century global plots is an anachronism.

Put all of that together and the picture is clear: the alleged Pike/Mazzini letter isn’t a genuine 19th-century document. It’s a later fabrication.

Context check:

• With its detailed predictions of 20th-century wars and political movements, the alleged letter reads like history written with hindsight, not a genuine 19th-century document.

In short: the alleged 1871 letter from Albert Pike to Giuseppe Mazzini predicting three world wars has no credible primary source, has ties to a known hoax, and is full of history that hadn’t happened yet.

The letter is fake, and the three-world-wars version of it starts with William Guy Carr. Full stop.

Above: William Guy Carr, the author who launched the three-world-wars conspiracy theory in his book ‘Pawns In The Game’.