The Albert Pike Prophecy: Unraveling the Myth of Three Predicted World Wars

In August 1871, according to a persistent story that refuses to fade from popular imagination, a senior American Freemason allegedly mapped out the next century of human conflict with chilling precision. Albert Pike, a Confederate general turned Masonic philosopher, is said to have written to Italian revolutionary Giuseppe Mazzini predicting three world wars that would reshape global politics, religion, and society. This alleged correspondence has become a cornerstone of conspiracy theories, despite the complete absence of any verifiable historical evidence.

The Alleged Prophecy and Its Claims

The circulating version of this supposed letter presents an audacious thesis that has captivated believers for generations. According to the text, Pike outlined three global conflicts with specific purposes and outcomes. The First World War, the document claims, "must be brought about" to overthrow the Russian Tsars and establish atheistic Communism as a fortress state, manipulating tensions between British and Germanic empires to ignite the conflict.

The Second World War, according to the same text, "must be fomented" by exploiting differences between Fascists and political Zionists, with the destruction of Nazism strengthening Zionism sufficiently to establish Israel in Palestine. International Communism would rise in parallel to balance Christendom until the time came for a final upheaval.

The Third World War, still in the future within the prophecy's logic, is described as emerging from escalating tensions between Western powers aligned with political Zionism and leaders across the Islamic world. This conflict would supposedly leave nations exhausted physically, morally, and spiritually, leading to the collapse of both Christianity and atheism, followed by what the text calls a universal revelation of "the pure doctrine of Lucifer."

The Historical Figures Behind the Myth

Giuseppe Mazzini (1805–1872) was no fringe figure but one of the intellectual architects of Italian unification during the Risorgimento. A journalist, exile, and political conspirator, he founded Young Italy (Giovine Italia), a secret society dedicated to creating a unified, republican Italy. Mazzini believed in popular sovereignty, nationalism, and democratic revolution at a time when much of Europe remained under monarchic rule. He moved through networks of activists and clandestine groups, including the Carbonari, and like many 19th-century political reformers, he was associated with Freemasonry.

Albert Pike (1809–1891) built his reputation in a very different theater. Born in Massachusetts, he traveled west, became a newspaper editor and lawyer in Arkansas, fought in the Mexican–American War, and later served as a brigadier general for the Confederacy during the American Civil War. After the war, he devoted himself to Freemasonry, rising to become Sovereign Grand Commander of the Scottish Rite’s Southern Jurisdiction. In 1871, the same year as the alleged letter, he published Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry, a dense work of comparative religion and Masonic philosophy.

Both men were products of a century in which secret societies, fraternal orders, and revolutionary cells were common tools of political organization. That shared milieu, rather than documented collaboration, is the slender thread on which the later conspiracy rests.

Origins and Evolution of the Hoax

The letter did not surface in 1871, nor in Pike's lifetime, nor even during the First World War. It entered public discourse decades later through specific channels:

Late 19th Century Anti-Masonic Literature: The earliest strands trace back to Léo Taxil (real name Gabriel Jogand-Pagès), who published sensational works in the 1890s under the pseudonym "Dr Bataille" alleging that Freemasonry concealed Luciferian rituals and global conspiracies. In 1897, he publicly confessed that his revelations were fabrications intended to ridicule both Freemasons and credulous clerics.
Mid-20th Century Popularization: Canadian naval officer William Guy Carr popularized the "three world wars" version in his 1958 book Pawns in the Game, first published in 1955. Carr claimed the letter had once been catalogued and displayed in the British Museum Library, where he said it remained until 1977, but provided no archival reference, photograph, or direct quotation from an original document.

Historical Anachronisms and Lack of Evidence

Historians have identified multiple problems with the circulating text that undermine its authenticity:

Vocabulary Anachronisms: Terms such as "fascism" and "Zionism" appear in forms that post-date 1871. The word "Zionism" was coined in 1890 by Nathan Birnbaum and gained prominence after Theodor Herzl convened the First Zionist Congress in 1897. "Fascism" was coined by Benito Mussolini in 1919, while "Nazism" as a defined ideology emerged in the 20th century.
Complete Absence of Documentation: No manuscript has ever been produced. No catalogue entry confirms it. The British Museum and the British Library have both stated they have no record of the document. There is no mention of it in 19th-century records or any contemporaneous evidence at all.
Timing Issues: The text shows up in the mid-20th century, long after the events it supposedly predicted, making it more likely to be retroactive prophecy rather than genuine prediction.

Why the Myth Persists

For believers, the fact that no copy of the letter exists is part of the story. If it can't be found, they argue, that only proves it was suppressed by powerful forces. The apparent alignment with historical events—the fall of European monarchies after 1918, the rise and defeat of fascist regimes, and the establishment of Israel in 1948—gives the claim its staying power.

In contemporary terms, believers often point to ongoing tensions between Israel and Iran, the broader Israel–Palestine conflict, Western military alliances in the Middle East, and periodic flare-ups involving armed groups across the region as early signs of the kind of confrontation the prophecy describes. Some see echoes of Pike's alleged prophecy in rising tensions between Western-backed Israel and Iran-led regional forces.

However, historians maintain a clear position: there is no verified correspondence between Albert Pike and Giuseppe Mazzini outlining a three-war plan for reshaping the world. The shared revolutionary milieu of the 19th century and the later anti-Masonic hoaxes created fertile ground for this enduring conspiracy theory, but the documentary evidence simply doesn't exist to support it.