Portuguese Gypsies, Five centuries of resistance
Nº96 MAY 2026
«Let no Gypsies enter the kingdom and see to it that those who are inside leave.» This can be read in the first written record of anti-Gypsy feeling in Portugal, signed by King Manuel I in 1526. What followed were centuries of repression and resistance. Nowadays, it is estimated that there are more than 70,000 Gypsies in Portugal. Many of them are poor. Few escape from discrimination and hate speech. But this complex and plural people have been finding other ways of surviving in recent decades.
This is a portrait of the past and the present of this minority in Portugal. It draws on historical facts and memories and active listening to the people involved (sometimes up to three generations in one family), from street markets to universities, from football elite to Gypsy encampments. It also tells how new Gypsy activism is fighting both against any kind of discrimination and against certain traditional norms.
«Let no Gypsies enter the kingdom and see to it that those who are inside leave.» This can be read in the first written record of anti-Gypsy feeling in Portugal, signed by King Manuel I in 1526. What followed were centuries of repression and resistance. Nowadays, it is estimated that there are more than 70,000 Gypsies in Portugal. Many of them are poor. Few escape from discrimination and hate speech. But this complex and plural people have been finding other ways of surviving in recent decades.
This is a portrait of the past and the present of this minority in Portugal. It draws on historical facts and memories and active listening to the people involved (sometimes up to three generations in one family), from street markets to universities, from football elite to Gypsy encampments. It also tells how new Gypsy activism is fighting both against any kind of discrimination and against certain traditional norms.
More details
Dimensions
8.5 × 130 × 200 mm
ISBN
978-989-9243-85-9
Book available only in Portuguese
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