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The Afro-Romani are people who are descended from both the
Romani people {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Romani people , image = , image_caption = , flag = Roma flag.svg , flag_caption = Romani flag created in 1933 and accepted at the 1971 World Romani Congress , po ...
and the
African diaspora The African diaspora is the worldwide collection of communities descended from List of ethnic groups of Africa, people from Africa. The term most commonly refers to the descendants of the native West Africa, West and Central Africans who were ...
. Notable Afro-Romani communities exist in Louisiana, United States and Cuba. There are also Romani and Dom communities throughout Africa.


Afro-Romani communities


Cuba

An Afro-Romani population exists in central
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. The Afro-Romani community in Cuba emerged due to intermarriage of enslaved and formerly enslaved Black and Romani people.


Jamaica

Enslaved British Romani people were sometimes sent to
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
during colonial rule. Some free Black Jamaicans owned Romani slaves and reports exist of Romani people as young as eleven being used for sexual purposes by both African and European slave owners. John Atkins, a British slave owner and merchant, wrote in 1722 that the " Creoles" he visited in Jamaica spoke in "a kind of Gypsy gibberish that runs smoothest in swearing."


United States

Some of the earliest Romani people to arrive in the United States were brought to Louisiana in the 1500s. An Afro-Romani community exists in
St. Martin Parish, Louisiana St. Martin Parish () is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana, founded in 1811. Its parish seat is St. Martinville, and the largest city is Breaux Bridge. At the 2020 census, the population was 51,767. St. Martin Parish is part of ...
. Afro-Romani people in Louisiana are descended from both Black and Romani enslaved people. Between 1762 and 1800, the Spanish sent Romani slaves from Spain to the
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
colony in
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...
. The Afro-Romani community of St. Martin Parish formed through the intermarriage of formerly enslaved free Black and Romani people.


See also

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Black Indians in the United States Black Indians are Native American people – defined as Native American due to being affiliated with Native American communities and being culturally Native American – who also have significant African American heritage. Historically, certa ...


References

{{African diaspora, state=expanded African-American history of Louisiana African diaspora in Cuba Multiracial affairs in North America African diaspora in Jamaica Indian diaspora in Jamaica Indian diaspora in the United States Romani