The orgin of Gypsies have been argued and debated since their arrival in the Middle East around 1000AD. From reasearch into their language the best bet is that Gypsies orginanted in Northern India, yet the reason why they left their home remains a mystery.
The Romani (Gypsies) moved into North Africa and Europe shortly after their arrival in the Middle East. They were a rather intelligent group, using their intellect to impress the uneducated locals by giving themselves false titles. They claimed they were ejected from their homeland "Little Egypt" and even gained succor from the Pope.
After having about 400 years of having protection from the Church, the European countries grew fearful of the Romani. The first country to do so was Spain in 1490, many Gypsies were accused of false crimes and no longer allowed to roam around Spanish territory. This created a dominio effect that spread throughout Europe. Rumors continued to spread of child theft, and cannibalism which gave the word "Gypsie" its bad reputation.
The peak of this Romani hatred was in Nazi Germany in World War 2. The Nazi's decieded to attempt to exterminate the Gypsies all together. Over two million Romani perished, 500,000 of the deaths were directly from Nazi death camps.
Fortunately, the outlook for the Romani is good. The U.N., European Commission, and other international organizations are putting pressure on countries to accept the resilient Romani into society. In addition European Romani have formed the Roma National Congress to represent their interests, and their hope for change.
Here's a link to a 2 minitue quick animated video of Romani History:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6wSLfGBVGY
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/american-gypsies/articles/a-history-of-the-romani-people/
http://www.opensocietyfoundations.org/voices/gypsies-roma-travellers-animated-history
http://www.scottishgypsies.co.uk/early.html
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