A Brief Travelling History
The Romany Gypsy people have lived in England for over 500 years and the Irish Traveller community about 150 years. It is quite difficult to understand and appreciate a different culture if one does not have enough information on that culture. Correct information diminishes prejudice.
Amongst Irish Traveller families you may hear the words ‘buffer’ or ‘countryman’ instead of ‘gorger’ (English Gypsy says usually ‘gorger’ and European Roma ‘gadje’ or ‘gaje’). Gaje/ gadje/ gorger means someone who is not Gypsy/ Roma/ Irish Traveller and over the years the word has been mistakenly used to refer to people who do not travel.
It is extremely difficult to give exact figures for how many Travellers there are in Great Britain. It is estimated that there are between 200,000 and 300,000 Gypsies and Irish Travellers living in the UK. There are no official statistics, as nobody at present ethnically monitors the community by ethnicity except schools, in pupil level annual school cencus.
The first authenticated record in England is in 1514. Life was hard for Gypsy/ Roma people in Europe before 1500. Laws were passed to expel them from Spain and Switzerland, and by 1650 most Gypsy/Roma people were slaves. In England under Queen Elizabeth I Gypsies were expelled along with all freed black slaves. Laws were passed condemning all Gypsies to death. When people were out of work, prices high and peasants were thrown off the land, it was the usual story of looking for someone to blame.
In York in 1596 magistrates made children watch while their parents were hanged just because they were Gypsies.
After 1780 anti-Gypsy legislation was gradually repealed. Gypsy people became a useful source of cheap labour in the fields, blacksmiths and entertainers. Gypsies survived on the margins of society.
After the mechanisation of farming the lifestyle of Gypsies changed drastically. Not wanted for hop or strawberry picking and other traditional trades, the people found that they had to adapt, again work was difficult to find for some families and the motorisation of families also changed travel patterns.
The mechanisation of traditional rural work started in the 1950s. The previous sources of livelihood did not provide sufficiently in the rural areas anymore. With industrialisation started the migration from rural areas. The changes in society were also reflected in the Gypsy population. Many Gypsies moved from the countryside to the cities and towns.
There have been other attempts in the past at genocide against the Gypsies/ Roma people. The latest period of persecutions occurred during World War II. At least 600,000 Roma were killed in Hitler’s gas chambers. The researchers’ latest estimates of the number of Roma/Gypsy casualties run up to two million.
Over the past decades the material well being of some Travellers has improved but there are various issues that have been identified and need addressing, for example the unusually high mortality rate and the fact that the life expectancy of Traveller men is approximately 10 years less that the national average and 12 years less for Traveller women.
About this section
Part of the text in this culture and history section comes from "Guidebook for Health and Other Professionals" from Waltham Forest Traveller Education Service, itself modified from the Finnish model “The Roma and health services” - Guide for health professionals, 2nd renewed edition 2000, produced and created by the National Board of Education, Finland.
Our thanks go to London Borough of Waltham Forest and Janette Gronfors in particularly for allowing us to use this information in support of Gypsy Roma Traveller History Month.
