Nagy_Pal_Erdely_cigany_nepessege

The study presents a historical demographic analysis of the Roma population in Transylvania during the second half of the eighteenth century, based on tax records, Roma censuses, and statistics. For a few decades after the mid-eighteenth century, the Roma population underwent a process of settlement and growth. However, from the 1780s onwards, the pace of growth slowed down, and the changes became wrought with geographical inequalities. An undetermined portion of the Roma population remained outside censuses. The sources indicate that the Roma population, comprising around 60,000 individuals, accounted for about 4% of Transylvania’s total population. Regarding their status, the majority of this Roma population were serfs, the rest were cottars. In terms of lifestyle, a larger proportion had settled, while a smaller portion remained nomadic. In Transylvania, Roma people were generally divided into two categories: the settled and the tent-dwelling. Another distinguishing feature was whether they fell under the jurisdiction of the state treasury. Approximately fifty occupations and sources of income can be identified during the examined period, with many disparities. Most Roma heads of families were blacksmiths, cobblers, or musicians. A significant portion of the families had no specific trades and primarily earned a living as day-labourers and casual workers. The positions of the Roma population were determined by their place within the Estates system and their own internal divisions. Changes were influenced by migration, territorial reconfigurations, as well as structural transformations of society and economy, urban immigration, and searching for employment