Gypsies, otherwise known as Roma, came to the Americas with the very earliest settlers. Throughout the course of the past 500 years, the Roma, their preferred name, have held on to their traditions and practices. Historical written record says that the Portugese exported Gypsies to South America. According to legend, the Portugese did the same thing in what is now South Carolina, long before the English came to settle the area.

The long tradition of Gypsies in the United States is almost as interesting as the origination of Gypsises as a people. Gypsies originated in India over 1000 years ago, migrating to Europe in the Middle Ages. No one knows for sure how or why they began to wander the globe as they have. Today, there are more than twelve million Roma located in many countries around the world. Because the Romani are almost never included on official census counts,...
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