ABSTRACT
This book began with a historical analysis, in Chapter 2, of the reaction of the British State to the several groups which sought asylum in Britain from the Tudor to the Victorian periods. The treatment of gypsies was first contrasted with that given to European Huguenot refugees; while the gypsies were ordered to be expelled from the Kingdom, the Huguenots were positively welcomed. The contrast lay not only in the actual reception of the two groups, but also in their subsequent acknowledgment in the legal literature. This latter aspect has influenced modern perceptions of the law as being racially neutral since only the positive treatment by the State, which reflected the experience of European refugees, tended to be recorded. While gypsy experiences have been treated with silence, the Huguenots were metamorphosed into the exemplary group of refugees to which the State extended the principle of asylum and their experience was encoded into a foundation myth for the right of asylum in Britain. The economic benefits arising from Huguenot migration were emphasised, while such considerations did not seem to feature at all in the case of the gypsies. The experiences of gypsy groups in the Tudor period augured the harsh reactions to Asian people in subsequent periods right up to the late 20th century.
