From what I understand, the Roma had been given special privileges in the Kingdom of Bohemia around the 15-16th century, but it wasn't until the 19th century that the French popularized the term to refer to those living an artistic/unconventional lifestyle. Was there just a general ignorance in Western countries regarding the Bohemian people, that they would believe that everyone from Bohemia were Romani? There is still prevalent misappropriation of the word, at least in the Midwest United States., so I was just curious why this connotation has so strongly stuck.

Really, any information or resources on the conjoined histories of the Roma and Bohemia, or how they were perceived by the greater West would be nice to know about.