Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An acte for the punishement of certayne Persons calling themselves Egiptians. |
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Citation | 1 & 2 Ph. & M. c. 4 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 16 January 1555 |
Egyptians Act 1562 | |
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Act of Parliament | |
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Long title | An Act for further Punishment of Vagabonds, calling themselves Egyptians. |
Citation | 5 Eliz. 1. c. 20 |
Dates | |
Royal assent | 10 April 1563 |
The Egyptians Act 1554 is a piece of 16th-century English legislation regarding Romani and travelers within the realm. The act was passed to amend previous laws regarding the Romani people. The Egyptians Act 1530 did not cover Gypsies who were born in England or those who came to England by way of Scotland.
The act included fines on English people who were smuggling Gypsies into the country as a way to curb some of the illegal immigration. Punishments for Romani people caught in England were deportation on pain of execution. However, those who were no longer nomads and settled in one spot were not subjected to such legislation.
The primary objective of the law was to end the “naughty, idle and ungodly life and company,” of Gypsies by either forcing them to settle down, exit the realm, or face potential death at the will of the Crown. [2]
In early modern England, for both leaders and subjects of the realm alike, there was a disdain for a group of people collectively known in the eyes of the law as "Egyptians" or "Counterfeit Egyptians", but were commonly referred to as ‘Gypsies’ during this period of time. According to David Cressy of Ohio State University, the Egyptians present in England at the time personified the opposite of the status quo. They were considered ‘wanderers’, not belonging to a particular church, parish, or legitimate occupation. [1] This was a counterintuitive way of life with respect to the organization and structural hierarchy that accompanied virtually all aspects of English life at the time. The ‘Egyptians’ represented a company of people who were marginalized through law and everyday life due to their departure from the societal norms that were present in early modern England.
Though there is still debate regarding who exactly the term "Egyptian" encompassed with respect to the law, it is commonly agreed upon this was a reference to the Romani People, an Indo-Aryan, nomadic group of people who traveled across continental Europe and the Ottoman Empire. "Egyptian" was also commonly used as a self-descriptor, which adds difficulty when attempting to identify whom exactly the term was referring to. Outside of the Romani People, it is likely referring to vagabonds, wanderers, and people who lived the lifestyle similar to the Roman People within the realm at the time.
There is no concrete and reliable evidence regarding the initial arrival of Egyptians (referring to people called Egyptians, not natives of the country Egypt) in England. However, it is thought that Egyptians first arrived in the early 16th century, during the reign of Henry VII, the first Tudor. The content of gentry books owned by Sir John Arundell of Lanhere, mention him paying a fee of 20d to "the Egyptians when they danced afore me". [3] This instance occurred in 1504. The first mention of Egyptians in English publication was in 1529. A keen analysis of Thomas Moore"s Dialogue Concerning Heresies, published in 1529, alludes to the presence of a fortune-teller lodging in Lambeth, "an Egyptian", who was never known by name. This wise-woman used palmistry in her fortune telling. [4]
The practice of palmistry would be incorporated into an act in 1531 enacted by Henry VIII"s parliament as an attempt to deal with this problematic people who they described as "outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians". [5] This was the Egyptians Act 1530.
There is nearly a 70-year period from 1531 to 1598 in which Egyptians saw four different statutes that directly addressed them. Each statute, from Henry VIII's statute in 1531 to Elizabeth's statute in 1598, saw different methods of identification and punishment for the group. [6]
During the early modern period across continental Europe and the Ottoman Empire, 'Egyptians' were self-described 'wanderers', wandering the earth as a redress for sins committed back in their homeland of Egypt.
The noun 'Egyptians', as used in the statutes concerning the people, serves merely as a self-descriptor as opposed to a demonym reflecting geographical origins. The term is not an endonym as the people who self-described themselves as ‘Egyptians’ were not always of Egyptian origin. It was neither an exonym for this same reason. For those who self-presented themselves as 'Egyptian', the term was merely for purposes of self-presentation.
This is important to note as the term 'Egyptian', as used in the statutes, is not referring a to any one particular group of people, but a view and construction of a particular group shaped by legislators and governors. [7] Through the use of vague definitions surrounding itinerancy and non-nativity that could be applied with great discretion, the early modern state of England attempted to exert control over this constructed group. This is made evident through an analytical look at the language utilized in the statutes throughout the 70-year period.
"Among those who were formally identified as the undeserving poor in these laws were rogues, beggars, vagabonds and, a new category, ‘counterfeit Egyptian’, which included people who were thought to be pretending to be Gypsies." [8]
Other recent developments regarding who the term "Egyptian" encompasses, as used in the statutes, alludes to the latter group, Gypsies, migrating to a more nomadic lifestyle as a result of economic developments in 16th-century England. [8]
England was no stranger to passing acts targeting specific groups of people, like the Egyptians Act 1530. The passing of these targeted acts started long before Egyptians (people who were called Egyptians) became a problem to them and sought out to eliminate people based on different qualifications and pressing issues in the passing years.
This first recorded act passed against a group of people was in 1349 called the Ordinance of Labourers. This act was passed after the Black Plague and jobs were low so King Edward III passed this act to regulate the labor shortage, filtering out the people that didn't meet the specific qualifications noted in the act itself. [9]
After the Egyptians Act 1530 was passed, the effect that it was supposed to have did not meet the expectations the people of England thought it would over the course of a few years. Because of that, Mary I passed the Egyptians Act 1554 with hopes that it would take a larger effect on the Egyptians still lingering in England. [3]
The Egyptians Act 1530 and the Egyptians Act 1554 were the last acts passed targeting "Egyptians" in the name itself, but in the following years, issues of vagrancy were still on the rise. Due to the name of Egyptians and what the people of England thought of them, they were considered wanderers and vagrant and therefore still a pressing issue to England. For a 70 year period from 1530 to 1598, there were four statutes that addressed issues regarding vagrancy and people who called themselves "Egyptians". [10]
The Egyptians Act 1554 came shortly after the Vagabonds Act 1547 and is still related to "Egyptians" or Gypsies. This act was passed in King Edward VI's first year, targeting people in England who refused to work. The Egyptians or Gypsies were often known for being called travelers and were considered vagrant. They would travel all around England but never would settle, and the Vagrancy Act was designed to limit the traveling of all vagabonds, including the Gypsies; and if they refused to settle down, the act imposed slavery for two years as a punishment. Whatever effect the act had upon the "Egyptians" remains relatively unknown, as it was repealed just two years later in 1550. [10]
The Romani, also spelled Romany or Rromani, colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group who traditionally lived a nomadic, itinerant lifestyle. Linguistic and genetic evidence suggests that the Romani originated in the Indian subcontinent; in particular, the region of present-day Rajasthan. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed by historians to have occurred around 1000 CE. Their original name is from the Sanskrit word डोम (doma) and means a member of a Dalit caste of travelling musicians and dancers. The Roma population moved west into the Persian Ghaznavid Empire and later into the Byzantine Empire. The Roma arrived in Europe around the 13th to 14th century. Although they are dispersed, their most concentrated populations are located in Europe, especially central, eastern, and southern Europe, as well as western Asia.
The Romani people have long been a part of the collective mythology of the West, where they were depicted as outsiders, aliens, and a threat. For centuries they were enslaved in Eastern Europe and hunted in Western Europe: the Pořajmos, Hitler's attempt at genocide, was one violent link in a chain of persecution that encompassed countries generally considered more tolerant of minorities, such as the United Kingdom. Even today, while there is a surge of Romani self-identification and pride, restrictive measures are being debated and passed by democratic states to curb the rights of the Romani people.
Thieves' cant is a cant, cryptolect, or argot which was formerly used by thieves, beggars, and hustlers of various kinds in Great Britain and to a lesser extent in other English-speaking countries. It is now mostly obsolete and used in literature and fantasy role-playing, although individual terms continue to be used in the criminal subcultures of Britain and the United States.
Romanichals are a Romani subgroup within the United Kingdom and other parts of the English-speaking world. There are an estimated 500,000 Romani in the United Kingdom; almost all live in England. Most Romanichal speak Angloromani, a mixed language that blends Romani vocabulary with English syntax.
A Caveat or Warning for Common Cursitors, vulgarly called vagabonds was first published in 1566 by Thomas Harman, and although no copies of that edition survive, it must have been popular, because two printers were punished by the Stationers' Company in 1567 for pirated editions. Two editions were published in 1568, and a revised edition in 1573. It is one of the fundamental texts for rogue literature. Harman is one of the first writers to use the word rogue, which was adopted in the Poor Law legislation of 1572.
The Romani people, also referred to as Roma, Sinti, or Kale, depending on the subgroup, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group that primarily lives in Europe. The Romani may have migrated from what is the modern Indian state of Rajasthan, migrating to the northwest around 250 BC. Their subsequent westward migration, possibly in waves, is now believed to have occurred beginning in about 500 AD. It has also been suggested that emigration from India may have taken place in the context of the raids by Mahmud of Ghazni. As these soldiers were defeated, they were moved west with their families into the Byzantine Empire.
The Egyptians Act 1530 was an Act passed by the Parliament of England in 1531 to expel the "outlandish people calling themselves Egyptians", meaning Roma. It was repealed by the Repeal of Obsolete Statutes Act 1856.
In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of helping the poor. Alongside ever-changing attitudes towards poverty, many methods have been attempted to answer these questions. Since the early 16th century legislation on poverty enacted by the Parliament of England, poor relief has developed from being little more than a systematic means of punishment into a complex system of government-funded support and protection, especially following the creation in the 1940s of the welfare state.
The Norwegian and Swedish Romanisæl Travellers are a group or branch of the Romani people who have been resident in Norway and Sweden for some 500 years. The estimated number of Romanisael Travellers in Sweden is 65,000, while in Norway, the number is probably about 10,000.
The Vagabonds Act 1597 was an Act of the Parliament of England, which aimed to address concerns of vagrancy.
Scottish Travellers, or the people in Scotland loosely termed Romani persons or travellers, consist of a number of diverse, unrelated communities that speak a variety of different languages and dialects that pertain to distinct customs, histories, and traditions.
Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporary work, or social security. Historically, vagrancy in Western societies was associated with petty crime, begging and lawlessness, and punishable by law with forced labor, military service, imprisonment, or confinement to dedicated labor houses.
The Vagrancy Act 1824 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that makes it an offence to sleep rough or beg in England and Wales. The legislation was passed in Georgian England to combat the increasing number of people forced to live on the streets due to the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars and the social effects of the Industrial Revolution. Critics of the law included politician and abolitionist, William Wilberforce, who condemned the Act for making it a catch-all offence for vagrancy with no consideration of the circumstances as to why an individual might be homeless.
The Romani people are also known by a variety of other names; in English as gypsies or gipsies, and Roma; in Greek as γύφτοι (gíftoi) or τσιγγάνοι (tsiggánoi), in Central and Eastern Europe as Tsingani ; in France as gitans besides the dated terms bohémiens and manouches; in Italy as rom and sinti besides the dated terms zingari, sigani, and gitani; in Spain as gitanos; and in Portugal as ciganos.
The Treason Act 1554 was an Act of the Parliament of England. It is not to be confused with two other Acts about treason passed in the same year, 1 & 2 Ph. & M. cc. 9 and 11.
The Tudor poor laws were the laws regarding poor relief in the Kingdom of England around the time of the Tudor period (1485–1603). The Tudor Poor Laws ended with the passing of the Elizabethan Poor Law in 1601, two years before the end of the Tudor dynasty, a piece of legislation which codified the previous Tudor legislation.
In historical English law, a sturdy beggar was a person who was fit and able to work, but begged or wandered for a living instead. The Statute of Cambridge 1388 was an early law which differentiated between sturdy beggars and the infirm poor. The Vagabonds and Beggars Act 1494 listed restrictions and punishments.
The Vagabonds Act 1530 was an act passed under Henry VIII and is a part of the Tudor Poor Laws of England. In full, it was entitled "An Act directing how aged, poor and impotent Persons, compelled to live by Alms, shall be ordered; and how Vagabonds and Beggars shall be punished."
The Vagabonds Act 1547, also known as the Vagrancy Act 1547, was a statute passed in England by King Edward VI and his Lord Protector, Edward Seymour. It provided that vagabonds could be enslaved for two years and continued weekly parish collections for the poor. The enslaved vagabonds were to be fed bread and water or small drink and were allowed to be worked by beating, chaining, or other methods the master may choose. Vagabond slaves were allowed to be bought and sold just as other slaves. Also, should no private man want the vagabond slave, the slave was to be sent to their town of birth and be forced to work as a slave for that community. Vagabond children could be claimed as "apprentices" and be held as such until the age of 24 if a boy, or the age of 20 if a girl. Should they attempt to escape this apprenticeship, they were subject to enslavement for the remainder of the apprenticeship.
Romani people have been recorded in the United Kingdom since at least the early 16th century. Records of Romani people in Scotland date to the early 16th century. Romani number around est. 225,000 in the UK. This includes the sizable population of Eastern European Roma, who immigrated into the UK in the late 1990s/early 2000s, and also after EU expansion in 2004.