PERHAPS there is no country in which more laws have been framed, having
in view the extinction and suppression of the Gypsy name, race, and
manner of life, than Spain. Every monarch, during a period of three
hundred years, appears at his accession to the throne to have considered
that one of his first and most imperative duties consisted in suppressing
or checking the robberies, frauds, and other enormities of the Gitános,
with which the whole country seems to have resounded since the time of
their first appearance.
They have, by royal edicts, been repeatedly banished from Spain, under
terrible penalties, unless they renounced their inveterate habits; and
for the purpose of eventually confounding them with the residue of the
population, they have been forbidden, even when stationary, to reside
together, every family being enjoined to live apart, and neither to seek
nor to hold communication with others of the race.
We shall say nothing at present as to the wisdom which dictated these
provisions, nor whether others might not have been devised, better
calculated to produce the end desired. Certain it is, that the laws were
never, or very imperfectly, put in force, and for reasons with which
their expediency or equity (which no one at the time impugned) had no
connection whatever.
It is true that, in a country like Spain, abounding in wildernesses and
almost inaccessible mountains, the task of hunting down and exterminating
or banishing the roving bands would have been found one of no slight
difficulty, even if such had ever been attempted; but it must be
remembered, that from an early period colonies of Gitános have existed in
the principal towns of Spain, where the men have plied the trades of
jockeys and blacksmiths, and the women subsisted by divination, and all
kinds of fraud. These colonies were, of course, always within the reach
of the hand of justice, yet it does not appear that they were more
interfered with than the roving and independent bands, and that any
serious attempts were made to break them up, though notorious as
nurseries and refuges of crime.
It is a lamentable fact, that pure and uncorrupt justice has never
existed in Spain, as far at least as record will allow us to judge; not
that the principles of justice have been less understood there than in
other countries, but because the entire system of justiciary
administration has ever been shamelessly profligate and vile.
Spanish justice has invariably been a mockery, a thing to be bought and
sold, terrible only to the feeble and innocent, and an instrument of
cruelty and avarice.
The tremendous satires of Le Sage upon Spanish corregidors and alguazils
are true, even at the present day, and the most notorious offenders can
generally escape, if able to administer sufficient bribes to the
ministers {153} of what is misnamed justice.
The reader, whilst perusing the following extracts from the laws framed
against the Gitános, will be filled with wonder that the Gypsy sect still
exists in Spain, contrary to the declared will of the sovereign and the
nation, so often repeated during a period of three hundred years; yet
such is the fact, and it can only be accounted for on the ground of
corruption.
It was notorious that the Gitános had powerful friends and favourers in
every district, who sanctioned and encouraged them in their Gypsy
practices. These their fautors were of all ranks and grades, from the
corregidor of noble blood to the low and obscure escribano; and from the
viceroy of the province to the archer of the Hermandad.
To the high and noble, they were known as Chalanes, and to the plebeian
functionaries, as people who, notwithstanding their general poverty,
could pay for protection.
A law was even enacted against these protectors of the Gitános, which of
course failed, as the execution of the law was confided to the very
delinquents against whom it was directed. Thus, the Gitáno bought, sold,
and exchanged animals openly, though he subjected himself to the penalty
of death by so doing, or left his habitation when he thought fit, though
such an act, by the law of the land, was punishable with the galleys.
In one of their songs they have commemorated the impunity with which they
wandered about. The escribano, to whom the Gitános of the neighbourhood
pay contribution, on a strange Gypsy being brought before him, instantly
orders him to be liberated, assigning as a reason that he is no Gitáno,
but a legitimate Spaniard:—
‘I left my house, and walked about
They seized me fast, and bound:
It is a Gypsy thief, they shout,
The Spaniards here have found.
‘From out the prison me they led,
Before the scribe they brought;
It is no Gypsy thief, he said,
The Spaniards here have caught.’
In a word, nothing was to be gained by interfering with the Gitános, by
those in whose hands the power was vested; but, on the contrary,
something was to be lost. The chief sufferers were the labourers, and
they had no power to right themselves, though their wrongs were
universally admitted, and laws for their protection continually being
made, which their enemies contrived to set at nought; as will presently
be seen.
The first law issued against the Gypsies appears to have been that of
Ferdinand and Isabella, at Medina del Campo, in 1499. In this edict they
were commanded, under certain penalties, to become stationary in towns
and villages, and to provide themselves with masters whom they might
serve for their maintenance, or in default thereof, to quit the kingdom
at the end of sixty days. No mention is made of the country to which
they were expected to betake themselves in the event of their quitting
Spain. Perhaps, as they are called Egyptians, it was concluded that they
would forthwith return to Egypt; but the framers of the law never seem to
have considered what means these Egyptians possessed of transporting
their families and themselves across the sea to such a distance, or if
they betook themselves to other countries, what reception a host of
people, confessedly thieves and vagabonds, were likely to meet with, or
whether it was fair in the _two Christian princes_ to get rid of such a
nuisance at the expense of their neighbours. Such matters were of course
left for the Gypsies themselves to settle.
In this edict, a class of individuals is mentioned in conjunction with
the Gitános, or Gypsies, but distinguished from them by the name of
foreign tinkers, or Caldéros estrangéros. By these, we presume, were
meant the Calabrians, who are still to be seen upon the roads of Spain,
wandering about from town to town, in much the same way as the itinerant
tinkers of England at the present day. A man, half a savage, a haggard
woman, who is generally a Spaniard, a wretched child, and still more
miserable donkey, compose the group; the gains are of course exceedingly
scanty, nevertheless this life, seemingly so wretched, has its charms for
these outcasts, who live without care and anxiety, without a thought
beyond the present hour, and who sleep as sound in ruined posadas and
ventas, or in ravines amongst rocks and pines, as the proudest grandee in
his palace at Seville or Madrid.
Don Carlos and Donna Juanna, at Toledo, 1539, confirmed the edict of
Medina del Campo against the Egyptians, with the addition, that if any
Egyptian, after the expiration of the sixty days, should be found
wandering about, he should be sent to the galleys for six years, if above
the age of twenty and under that of fifty, and if under or above those
years, punished as the preceding law provides.
Philip the Second, at Madrid, 1586, after commanding that all the laws
and edicts be observed, by which the Gypsies are forbidden to wander
about, and commanded to establish themselves, ordains, with the view of
restraining their thievish and cheating practices, that none of them be
permitted to sell anything, either within or without fairs or markets, if
not provided with a testimony signed by the notary public, to prove that
they have a settled residence, and where it may be; which testimony must
also specify and describe the horses, cattle, linen, and other things,
which they carry forth for sale; otherwise they are to be punished as
thieves, and what they attempt to sell considered as stolen property.
Philip the Third, at Belem, in Portugal, 1619, commands all the Gypsies
of the kingdom to quit the same within the term of six months, and never
to return, under pain of death; those who should wish to remain are to
establish themselves in cities, towns, and villages, of one thousand
families and upwards, and are not to be allowed the use of the dress,
name, and language of Gypsies, _in order that_, _forasmuch as they are
not such by nation_, _this name and manner of life may be for evermore
confounded and forgotten_. They are moreover forbidden, under the same
penalty, to have anything to do with the buying or selling of cattle,
whether great or small.
The most curious portion of the above law is the passage in which these
people are declared not to be Gypsies by nation. If they are not
Gypsies, who are they then? Spaniards? If so, what right had the King
of Spain to send the refuse of his subjects abroad, to corrupt other
lands, over which he had no jurisdiction?
The Moors were sent back to Africa, under some colour of justice, as they
came originally from that part of the world; but what would have been
said to such a measure, if the edict which banished them had declared
that they were not Moors, but Spaniards?
The law, moreover, in stating that they are not Gypsies by nation, seems
to have forgotten that in that case it would be impossible to distinguish
them from other Spaniards, so soon as they should have dropped the name,
language, and dress of Gypsies. How, provided they were like other
Spaniards, and did not carry the mark of another nation on their
countenances, could it be known whether or not they obeyed the law, which
commanded them to live only in populous towns or villages, or how could
they be detected in the buying or selling of cattle, which the law
forbids them under pain of death?
The attempt to abolish the Gypsy name and manner of life might have been
made without the assertion of a palpable absurdity.
Philip the Fourth, May 8, 1633, after reference to the evil lives and
want of religion of the Gypsies, and the complaints made against them by
prelates and others, declares ‘that the laws hitherto adopted since the
year 1499, have been inefficient to restrain their excesses; that they
are not Gypsies by origin or nature, but have adopted this form of life’;
and then, after forbidding them, according to custom, the dress and
language of Gypsies, under the usual severe penalties, he ordains:—
‘1st. That under the same penalties, the aforesaid people shall, within
two months, leave the quarters (barrios) where they now live with the
denomination of Gitános, and that they shall separate from each other,
and mingle with the other inhabitants, and that they shall hold no more
meetings, neither in public nor in secret; that the ministers of justice
are to observe, with particular diligence, how they fulfil these
commands, and whether they hold communication with each other, or marry
amongst themselves; and how they fulfil the obligations of Christians by
assisting at sacred worship in the churches; upon which latter point they
are to procure information with all possible secrecy from the curates and
clergy of the parishes where the Gitános reside.
‘2ndly. And in order to extirpate, in every way, the name of Gitános, we
ordain that they be not called so, and that no one venture to call them
so, and that such shall be esteemed a very heavy injury, and shall be
punished as such, if proved, and that nought pertaining to the Gypsies,
their name, dress, or actions, be represented, either in dances or in any
other performance, under the penalty of two years’ banishment, and a
mulct of fifty thousand maravedis to whomsoever shall offend for the
first time, and double punishment for the second.’
The above two articles seem to have in view the suppression and breaking
up of the Gypsy colonies established in the large towns, more especially
the suburbs; farther on, mention is made of the wandering bands.
‘4thly. And forasmuch as we have understood that numerous Gitános rove
in bands through various parts of the kingdom, committing robberies in
uninhabited places, and even invading some small villages, to the great
terror and danger of the inhabitants, we give by this our law a general
commission to all ministers of justice, whether appertaining to royal
domains, lordships, or abbatial territories, that every one may, in his
district, proceed to the imprisonment and chastisement of the
delinquents, and may pass beyond his own jurisdiction in pursuit of them;
and we also command all the ministers of justice aforesaid, that on
receiving information that Gitános or highwaymen are prowling in their
districts, they do assemble at an appointed day, and with the necessary
preparation of men and arms they do hunt down, take, and deliver them
under a good guard to the nearest officer holding the royal commission.’
Carlos the Second followed in the footsteps of his predecessors, with
respect to the Gitános. By a law of the 20th of November 1692, he
inhibits the Gitános from living in towns of less than one thousand heads
of families (vecinos), and pursuing any trade or employment, save the
cultivation of the ground; from going in the dress of Gypsies, or
speaking the language or gibberish which they use; from living apart in
any particular quarter of the town; from visiting fairs with cattle,
great or small, or even selling or exchanging such at any time, unless
with the testimonial of the public notary, that they were bred within
their own houses. By this law they are also forbidden to have firearms
in their possession.
So far from being abashed by this law, or the preceding one, the Gitános
seem to have increased in excesses of every kind. Only three years after
(12th June 1695), the same monarch deemed it necessary to publish a new
law for their persecution and chastisement. This law, which is
exceedingly severe, consists of twenty-nine articles. By the fourth they
are forbidden any other exercise or manner of life than that of the
cultivation of the fields, in which their wives and children, if of
competent age, are to assist them.
Of every other office, employment, or commerce, they are declared
incapable, and especially of being _blacksmiths_.
By the fifth, they are forbidden to keep horses or mares, either within
or without their houses, or to make use of them in any way whatever,
under the penalty of two months’ imprisonment and the forfeiture of such
animals; and any one lending them a horse or a mare is to forfeit the
same, if it be found in their possession. They are declared only capable
of keeping a mule, or some lesser beast, to assist them in their labour,
or for the use of their families.
By the twelfth, they are to be punished with six years in the galleys, if
they leave the towns or villages in which they are located, and pass to
others, or wander in the fields or roads; and they are only to be
permitted to go out, in order to exercise the pursuit of husbandry. In
this edict, particular mention is made of the favour and protection shown
to the Gitános, by people of various descriptions, by means of which they
had been enabled to follow their manner of life undisturbed, and to
baffle the severity of the laws:—
‘Article 16.—And because we understand that the continuance in these
kingdoms of those who are called Gitános has depended on the favour,
protection, and assistance which they have experienced from persons of
different stations, we do ordain, that whosoever, against whom shall be
proved the fact of having, since the day of the publication hereof,
favoured, received, or assisted the said Gitános, in any manner whatever,
whether within their houses or without, the said person, provided he is
noble, shall be subjected to the fine of six thousand ducats, the half of
which shall be applied to our treasury, and the other half to the
expenses of the prosecution; and, if a plebeian, to a punishment of ten
years in the galleys. And we declare, that in order to proceed to the
infliction of such fine and punishment, the evidence of two respectable
witnesses, without stain or suspicion, shall be esteemed legitimate and
conclusive, although they depose to separate acts, or three depositions
of the Gitános themselves, _made upon the rack_, although they relate to
separate and different acts of abetting and harbouring.’
The following article is curious, as it bears evidence to Gypsy craft and
cunning:—
‘Article 18.—And whereas it is very difficult to prove against the
Gitános the robberies and delinquencies which they commit, partly because
they happen in uninhabited places, but more especially on account of the
_malice_ and _cunning_ with which they execute them; we do ordain, in
order that they may receive the merited chastisement, that to convict, in
these cases, those who are called Gitános, the depositions of the persons
whom they have robbed in uninhabited places shall be sufficient, provided
there are at least two witnesses to one and the same fact, and these of
good fame and reputation; and we also declare, that the _corpus delicti_
may be proved in the same manner in these cases, in order that the
culprits may be proceeded against, and condemned to the corresponding
pains and punishments.’
The council of Madrid published a schedule, 18th of August 1705, from
which it appears that the villages and roads were so much infested by the
Gitáno race, that there was neither peace nor safety for labourers and
travellers; the corregidors and justices are therefore exhorted to use
their utmost endeavour to apprehend these outlaws, and to execute upon
them the punishments enjoined by the preceding law. The ministers of
justice are empowered to fire upon them as public enemies, wherever they
meet them, in case of resistance or refusal to deliver up the arms they
carry about them.
Philip the Fifth, by schedule, October 1st, 1726, forbade any complaints
which the Gitános might have to make against the inferior justices being
heard in the higher tribunals, and, on that account, banished all the
Gypsy women from Madrid, and, indeed, from all towns where royal
audiences were held, it being the custom of the women to flock up to the
capital from the small towns and villages, under pretence of claiming
satisfaction for wrongs inflicted upon their husbands and relations, and
when there to practise the art of divination, and to sing obscene songs
through the streets; by this law, also, the justices are particularly
commanded not to permit the Gitános to leave their places of domicile,
except in cases of very urgent necessity.
This law was attended with the same success as the others; the Gitános
left their places of domicile whenever they thought proper, frequented
the various fairs, and played off their jockey tricks as usual, or
traversed the country in armed gangs, plundering the small villages, and
assaulting travellers.
The same monarch, in October, published another law against them, from
St. Lorenzo, of the Escurial. From the words of this edict, and the
measures resolved upon, the reader may form some idea of the excesses of
the Gitános at this period. They are to be hunted down with fire and
sword, and even the sanctity of the temples is to be invaded in their
pursuit, and the Gitános dragged from the horns of the altar, should they
flee thither for refuge. It was impossible, in Spain, to carry the
severity of persecution farther, as the very parricide was in perfect
safety, could he escape to the church. Here follows part of this law:—
‘I have resolved that all the lord-lieutenants, intendants, and
corregidors shall publish proclamations, and fix edicts, to the effect
that all the Gitános who are domiciled in the cities and towns of their
jurisdiction shall return within the space of fifteen days to their
places of domicile, under penalty of being declared, at the expiration of
that term, as public banditti, subject to be fired at in the event of
being found with arms, or without them, beyond the limits of their places
of domicile; and at the expiration of the term aforesaid, the
lord-lieutenants, intendants, and corregidors are strictly commanded,
that either they themselves, or suitable persons deputed by them, march
out with armed soldiery, or if there be none at hand, with the militias,
and their officers, accompanied by the horse rangers, destined for the
protection of the revenue, for the purpose of scouring the whole district
within their jurisdiction, making use of all possible diligence to
apprehend such Gitános as are to be found on the public roads and other
places beyond their domiciliary bounds, and to inflict upon them the
penalty of death, for the mere act of being found.
‘And in the event of their taking refuge in sacred places, they are
empowered to drag them forth, and conduct them to the neighbouring
prisons and fortresses, and provided the ecclesiastical judges proceed
against the secular, in order that they be restored to the church, they
are at liberty to avail themselves of the recourse to force, countenanced
by laws declaring, even as I now declare, that all the Gitános who shall
leave their allotted places of abode, are to be held as incorrigible
rebels, and enemies of the public peace.’
From this period, until the year 1780, various other laws and schedules
were directed against the Gitános, which, as they contain nothing very
new or remarkable, we may be well excused from particularising. In 1783,
a law was passed by the government, widely differing in character from
any which had hitherto been enacted in connection with the Gitáno caste
or religion in Spain.