Racism against Travellers in England goes back to Tudor times. The Gypsies first arrived in England from France in the Middle Ages. They were regarded as a dark people who had come from somewhere strange. Severe laws were brought in very soon after their arrival. Parliament passed the Egyptians Act in 1530. The Act said Gypsies were criminals. In 1547, Edward VI imposed a law that forced Gypsies to be rounded up, branded, and enslaved. A few years later, the death penalty was imposed on the Gypsies You could be hanged for being a Gypsy or even for associating with Gypsies, and a number of people died. Gypsies faced violence and expulsion in many other European countries. They had arrived in the Balkans by the 14th century and in Germany, Italy, France, Spain and Portugal by the 15th century. In some cities, such as Paris, the church ordered gypsy parties to leave because they read palms and told people’s fortunes. They became convenient scapegoats. This deep prejudice against Travellers has been carried forward to today. The 18th and 19th centuries saw a terrible phase across Europe as governments tried to force Travellers to “assimilate”. In some cases, they took gypsy children away from their parents and handed them to non-Travellers. The gypsies are still not fully accepted in 2013 as people refer to them as "gypo's"