Romani (Gypsy) culture and social issues.

Cronologia degli zingari dal 400 al 1600 | dal 1600 al 1899 | dal 1900 ad oggi
    The history of the Roma is one of continuous struggle and persecution. Since their entry into Europe, the Roma have been outlawed, enslaved, hunted, tortured, and murdered. From the time of the Slobuzenja (Abolition of Romani Slavery) in 1856, to the present day, the Roma have fought for their just social and human rights, largely to the deaf ears of world governments and an indifferent public.
    The use of the names Rom, Roma, Romani, or the double 'r' spelling, are used when possible, instead of the names 'Gypsy' and 'Gypsies'. However, it may be necessary to use Gypsy and Gypsies within a cultural or historical context. Romanichal, Gitanos, Kalé, Sinti, Manush, and others do not use Roma when referring to themselves, but to others. For the purpose of this timeline, Roma is used when possible. Rom, Roma, and Romani should not connected or confused with the country of Romania, or Rome the city. These names have separate, distinct etymological origins and are not related.

 

    Before AD 400. Some Indians become nomadic craftsmen and entertainers.

    430-443. The Persian poet Firdawsi reports in the Shah-Nameh (Book of Kings), written c.1000, how the Persian Shah Bahram Gur persuades the Indian King Shangul to send him 10,000 Luri musicians to be distributed to the various parts of the Persian kingdom.

    820-834. Zott state established on the banks of the River Tigris

    855. The Persian chronicler Tabari relates how large numbers of Zott are taken prisoner when the Byzantines attack Syria.

    1001-1026. Sindh and the Panjab in India are invaded some seventeen times by a mixed army of Turko-Persian Ghaznivid troops led by King Mahmud from Ghazni (present-day eastern Iran). Indian resistance, in the form of the Rajput warriors, is fierce, but King Mahmud is victorious and takes half a million slaves.

    c.1000. Roma reach the Byzantine Empire (modern Greece and Turkey).

    c.1200. The canonist Theodore Balsamon describes the canon LXI of the Council in Trulho (692) which threatens a six-year excommunication for any member of the Church (including Athinganoi) from displaying bears or other animals for amusement or by telling fortunes.

    1290. Romani shoemakers are recorded in Greece residing on Mount Athos.

    c.1300. The Romani Aresajipe; the arrival of Roma in Europe.

    Romani groups begin to be enslaved in southeast Europe.

    1322. Roma are recorded on the island of Crete.

    1348. Roma are recorded in Prizren, Serbia.

    1362. Roma are recorded in Dubrovnik, Croatia.

    1373. Roma are recorded on the island of Corfu.

    1378. Roma are recorded living in villages near Rila Monastery, Bulgaria.

    1384. Romani shoemakers are recorded in Modon, Greece.

    1385. The first recorded transaction of Roma slaves in Romania.

    1387. Mircea the Great of Wallachia indicates that Roma have been in that country for over one hundred years.

    1383. Roma are recorded in Hungary.

    c.1400. In Bulgaria, Roma are reported "living in large numbers" along the Albanian coast.

    1407. Roma are recorded at Hildesheim, Germany.

    1416. Roma are expelled from the Meissen region of Germany.

    1417-1423. King Sigismund of Hungary issues safe-conduct orders at Spis Castle for travelling Roma.

    1418. Roma are recorded in Colmar, France.

    1419. Roma are recorded in Antwerp, Belgium.

    1420. Roma are recorded in Deventer, Holland.

    1422. Roma are recorded in Rome and Bologna

    1423. Roma are recorded in Spissky, Slovakia.

    1425. Roma are recorded in Zaragoza, Spain.

    1427. Hundreds of Roma arrive at the gates of Paris. The city sends them on to the town of Pontoise in less than a month.

    1445. Prince Vlad Dracul of Wallachia transports some 12,000 persons "who looked like Egyptians" from Bulgaria for slave labour.

    1447. First record of Roma in Catalonia.

    1449. Roma are driven out of the city of Frankfurt-am-Main.

    1468. Roma are recorded in Cyprus.

    1471. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Lucerne, Switzerland.

    17,000 Roma are transported into Moldavia by Stephan the Great for slave labour.

    1472. Duke Friedrich of the Rhine Palatinate asks his people to help Roma pilgrims.

    1476 and 1487. King Matthias of Slovakia issues safe-conduct orders for travelling Roma.

    1482. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in state of Brandenburg.

    1485. Roma are recorded in Sicily.

    1489. Roma musicians are reported on Czepel Island, Hungary.

    1492 and 1496. King Vladislav of Slovakia issues safe-conduct orders for travelling Roma.

    1492. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Spain.

    1493. Roma are expelled from Milan.

    1496-1498. The Reichstag (parliament) in Landau and Freiburg declares Roma traitors to the Christian countries, spies in the pay of the Turks, and carriers of the plague.

    1498. Four Gypsies accompany Christopher Columbus on his third voyage to the New World.

    1499. Medina del Campo in Spain orders Gitanos to find a trade and master, cease travelling with other Gitanos, all within sixty days. Punishment for failure to obey is 100 lashes and banishment. Repeat offences are punished by amputation of ears, sixty days in chains, and banishment. Third-time offenders become the slaves of those who capture them.

    1500. At the request of Maximilian I, the Augsburg Reichstag declares Roma traitors to the Christian countries, and accuses them of witchcraft, kidnapping of children, and banditry.

    c. 1500. Gitano influence on Andalusian flamenco song and dance begins. Although flamenco is not a Gitano invention, the art of flamenco later becomes forever associated with the Gitanos from the 19th century onwards.

    1501. Roma are recorded in Russia.

    1504. Roma are prohibited by Louis XII from living in France. The punishment is banishment.

    1505. Roma are recorded in Scotland, probably from Spain.

    1510. Roma are prohibited by the Grand Council of France from residence. The punishment is banishment. A second offence results in hanging.

    1512. Roma are first recorded in Sweden on 29 September. A company of about 30 families, lead by a "Count Anthonius" arrives in Stockholm, claiming that they came from "Little Egypt". They are welcomed by the city and given lodging and money for their stay. A few years later, King Gustav Vasa (1521-1560), suspects that the Roma are spies and orders that they be driven out from the country.

    Roma are expelled from Catalonia.

    1523. Prague officially allows nomads to remain. The welcome does not last long.

    1525. Charles V issues an edict in Holland ordering all those that call themselves Egyptians to leave the country within two days.

    1526. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Holland and Portugal.

    1530. The first law expelling Gypsies from England is introduced. Henry VIII forbids the transportation of Gypsies into England. The fine is forty pounds for ship's owner or captain. The Gypsy passengers are punished by hanging.

    1531. The Augsburg Reichstag forbids the issuing of passports to Roma.

    1536. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Denmark.

    1538. Deportation of Roma in Portugal to colonies begins.

    1539. Roma are prohibited by Frances I from residence in France. The punishment is banishment. A second offence results in corporal punishment.

    1540. Gypsies are allowed to live under their own laws in Scotland.

    1541. Roma are blamed for outbreak of fires in Prague. This sets the stage for future anti-Gypsy legislation.

    The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Scotland.

    1547. Edward VI of England institutes law requiring that Gypsies be seized and "branded with a 'V' on their breast, and then enslaved for two years." If escapees are caught they will be branded with an "S" and made slaves for life.

    Andrew Boorde authors an encyclopedia in England entitled The Fyrst Boke of the Introduction of Knowledge. It has a chapter on Romani, which includes some of the earliest specimens of the language.

    1549. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Bohemia.

    1554. In the reign of Philip and Mary, an Act is passed which decrees that that the death penalty shall be imposed for being a Gypsy, or anyone who "shall become of the fellowship or company of Egyptians."

    1557. The first anti-Gypsy laws are passed in Lithuania.

    In the reign of Sigismund Augustus, the first law ordering Roma to be expelled is passed by the Warsaw Seym (parliament).

    1559. Roma are recorded on the Finnish island of Ĺland.

    1560. The Archbishop of the Swedish Lutheran Church forbids priests to have any dealings with Roma. Their children are not to be christened and their dead not to be buried.

    1560 and others. Spanish legislation forbids Gitanos of travelling in groups of more than two. Gitano "dress and clothing" is banned. Punishment for wearing Gitano clothing and travelling in groups of more than two is up to eighteen years in the galleys for those over fourteen years of age. This legislation is later altered to change the punishment to death for all nomads, and the galleys reserved for settled Gitanos.

    1561. Roma are prohibited by Charles IX of France from residence. The punishment is banishment. A second offence results in the galleys and corporal punishment. Men, women and children have their heads shaved.

    1562. An Act is passed in England "for further punishment of Vagabonds, calling themselves Egyptians." Any Gypsy born in England and Wales is not compelled to leave the country if they quit their idle and ungodly life and company. All others should suffer death and loss of lands and goods.

    1563. The Council of Trent in Rome affirms that Roma cannot be priests.

    1568. Pope Pius V orders the expulsion of all Roma from the domain of the Roman Catholic Church.

    1573. Gypsies in Scotland are ordered to leave the country or settle down.

    1578. At the General Warsaw Seym, King Stephen Báthory pronounces an edict threatening sanctions against anyone who harbours Roma on their lands. They are punished as accomplices of outlaws.

    1579. Augustus, elector of Saxony, orders the confiscation of Romani passports and banishes them from Saxony.

    Gypsies are recorded in Wales. Wearing of Romani dress is banned in Portugal.

    1580. Roma are recorded on the Finnish mainland.

    1586. Nomadic Roma are ordered expelled from Belarus.

    1589. In Denmark, the death penalty is ordered for any Roma not leaving the country.

    1595. Stefan Razvan, the son of a Roma slave and free woman, becomes ruler of Moldavia in April. He is deposed four months later and murdered in December of the same year.

    1596. 106 men and women are condemned to death at York just for being Gypsies, but only nine are executed. The others prove they were born in England.