Romani people in Portugal Romani people in Portugal The Romani people in Portugal are known by non-Romani ethnic Portuguese as (), but are also alternatively known as , , and . As implied by some of their most common local names, the native Portuguese Romani belong to the Iberian Kale (Kalos) group, like most of the fellow Lusophone Brazilian , and the Spanish Romani people, known as , that share their same ethnic group. Their presence in the country goes back to the second half of the 15th century when they crossed the border from neighbouring Spain. Early on, due to their sociocultural differences,
Border Reivers were other factors which promoted a predatory mode of living in the Borders. A system of inheritance called gavelkind meant that estates, and particularly land, were divided equally between all sons on a man's death; although this was considered more fair than primogeniture, it also meant that many people owned insufficient land to survive. Also, much of the border region is mountainous or open moorland, unsuitable for arable farming but good for grazing. Livestock was easily rustled and driven back to raiders' territory by mounted reivers who knew the country well. The raiders also often removed easily portable household goods