Gypsies: A Short History
Roma (Gypsies) originated in the Punjab region of northern India as a nomadic people and entered Europe between the eighth and tenth centuries C.E. They were called “Gypsies” because Europeans mistakenly believed they came from Egypt. This minority is made up of distinct groups called “tribes” or “nations.”The word Gyosy is considered a racial slur by some Roma groups .
Most Roma speak some form of Romany, a language closely related to the modern Indo-European languages of northern India, as well as the major language of the country in which they live. It is generally agreed that Roma groups left India in repeated migrations and that they were in Persia by the 11th century, in southeastern Europe by the beginning of the 14th, and in western Europe by the 15th century. By the second half of the 20th century they had spread to every inhabited continent.
The exotic stereotype of the nomadic Gypsy has often disguised the fact that fewer and fewer may have remained truly migratory, although this point is controversial. It is clear, however, that Roma nomadism has been largely insular in character. All nomadic Roma migrate at least seasonally along patterned routes that ignore national boundaries. They also follow along a chain, as it were, of kin or tribal links.
The Roma in Europe
The Roma’s own supposed disposition to wander has been forcibly furthered by exile or deportation. Only 80 years after their first appearance in western Europe in the 15th century, they fell under the penalty of banishment in almost all the nations of western Europe.
Throughout the late medieval and early modern period the Romani were subject to profound legal oppression across Europe. In England and Wales they were treated under the brutal sixteenth-century vagrancy laws, and were specifically covered by the 1597 Vagrants Act. By the eighteenth century the normal punishment for vagrancy included whipping, a week’s imprisonment and removal to one’s place of “settlement”. Most Romani could not claim a legal “settlement”, so their treatment under the Act was problematic and varied. The Romani were also affected by government attempts to regulate pedlars and hawkers by the issuing of licences. With the evolution of the Poor Law following 1834, the issue of “settlement” became less important, but vagrancy laws continued to have their impact.
All unsettled confederations who live among settled peoples seem to become convenient scapegoats. So it is with the Roma, who have regularly been accused by the local populace of many evils as a prelude to later official and legal persecution. Their relations with the authorities in the host country have been marked by consistent contradiction. Official decrees were often aimed at settling or assimilating them, yet local authorities systematically refused them the bare hospitality of a campsite.
In 1939, about 1 to 1.5 million Roma lived in Europe. About half of all European Roma lived in eastern Europe, especially in the Soviet Union and Romania. Hungary, Yugoslavia, and Bulgaria also had large Romani communities. In prewar Germany there were at most 35,000 Roma, most of whom held German citizenship. In Austria, there were approximately 11,000 Roma. Relatively few Roma lived in western Europe.
During the Holocaust the Nazis murdered an estimated 400,000 Roma. French laws in modern times forbade them campsites and subjected them to police supervision, yet they were taxed and drafted for military service like ordinary citizens. Spain and Wales are two countries often cited as examples where Roma have become settled, if not wholly assimilated. In modern times the socialist countries of eastern Europe attempted programs of enforced settlement to end Roma migration.
Roma Culture
Traditionally the Roma have pursued occupations that allowed them to maintain an itinerant life on the perimeters of settled society. The men were livestock traders, animal trainers and exhibitors, tinkers (metalsmiths and utensil repairmen), and musicians; the women told fortunes, sold potions, begged, and worked as entertainers and circus performers . Before the advent of veterinary medicine, many farmers looked to Roma livestock dealers for advice on herd health and husbandry.
Significant Romani populations are found in the Balkans, in some central European states, in Spain, France, Russia and Ukraine. In the European Union, there are an estimated 6 million Romanis. Outside Europe there may be several million more Romani, in particular in the Middle East and the Americas.
Some Roma are Christian and some are Muslim, having converted during the course of their migrations through Persia, Asia Minor, and the Balkans.
Discrimination:
For centuries, Roma were scorned and persecuted across Europe. Zigeuner, the German word for Gypsy, derives from a Greek root meaning untouchable
In Europe, Romani are associated with poverty, blamed for high crime rates, and accused of behaving in ways that are considered antisocial or inappropriate by the rest of the European population.Partly for this reason, discrimination against the Romani has continued to be practiced to the present day, although efforts are being made to address it.
Amnesty International reports continued to document instances of Antizigandiscrimination during the late 20th century, particularly in Romania, Serbia,] Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia,and Kosovo.The European Union has recognized that discrimination against Romani must be addressed, and with the national Roma integration strategy they encourage member states to work towards greater Romani inclusion and upholding the rights of the Romani in the European Union.
Migration beyond Europe
Since the 19th century, some Romani have also migrated to the Americas. There are an estimated 1 million Roma in the United Statesand between 800,000 and 1 million in Brazil, most of whose ancestors emigrated in the 19th century from eastern Europe. Brazilian Romani are mostly descendant from German/Italian Sinti (in the South/Southeast regions), and Roma and Calon people. Brazil also includes a notable Romani community descended from Sinti and Roma deportees from the Portuguese Empire during the Portuguese Inquisition. In migrations since the late 19th century, Romani have also moved to other countries in South America and Canada. Though often confused with Irish Travellers and the Yenish people in western Europe, the Romani are culturally different.
The Roma Today
Despite these challenges to getting an accurate picture of the Romani dispersal, there were an estimated 10 million in Europe (as of 2019),although some Romani organizations have given earlier estimates as high as 14 million.Significant Romani populations are found in the Balkans, in some central European states, in Spain, France, Russia and Ukraine. In the European Union, there are an estimated 6 million Romanis.
Outside Europe there may be several million more Romani, in particular in the Middle East and the Americas.
Destinations: Europe / Asia / Middle East
