Portugal

   Estimated Gypsy population: 60,000. Although there are no reports of the first Gypsies to arrive in Portugal, references to them appear in literature in 1516 and 1521. The number in the country must have been significant, since in 1525 a law on Gypsies was passed, followed by 26 subsequent edicts. A law of 1573 ordered that Gypsies be arrested and used as galley slaves. In 1579 the wearing of Gypsy dress was banned. Deportation to the colonies in Africa and South America was a common way of dealing with Gypsies in Portugal from the 16th century.

   In 1920 a law defining the role of the National Guard contained special provisions concerning Gypsies. The members of this police force were told to "exercise strict vigilance over the Gypsy population to suppress their habitual stealing" and "to detain immediately any Gypsy accused of any crime." In 1980 after the political changes in the country, the provisions of the law of 1920 were declared unconstitutional because they conflicted with paragraph 13 (against racial discrimination) of the new Portuguese constitution.

   The majority of Portugal's Gypsies live in the poorer areas of towns or on the outskirts. There was some migration to Spain during the 20th century. There is no active national Gypsy organization in Portugal, although the Catholic Church has a body working with Gypsies. Marcellino Cabeca is a leader within the community, and his son Inocencio has attended international meetings.