Travellers Through Time: A Gypsy History

Harte, secretary of the Romany & Traveller Family History Society, debuts with an uneven history of the Romany people in England from the 15th century to today. Also known as Roma or Travelers, the English Romany are part of a traditionally nomadic ethnic group that began migrating westward from India around 1000 CE, forming a large European diaspora. The majority of Harte’s narrative focuses on the 19th century, when social prejudice against Romany people first emerged. According to Harte, while many localities had vague policies against “vagrancy” in the medieval and early modern periods, these regulations were not any harsher than other laws meant to control the poor, such as bans on poaching. However, after the enclosure of the commons began in 1797—a process whereby powerful landlords acquired, or enclosed, previously public land—prejudice became commonplace. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, brutal persecution of Travelers occurred throughout the British kingdom, including raids on settlements, mass roundups, and hangings. There’s a wealth of documentation, by Harte has a tendency to jump from minutiae to minutiae, such as traditional cooking methods or complicated family lineages. The result is more of an archival wander than a comprehensive history. (May)