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Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians (), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional,
ethnographic group An ethnographic group or ethnocultural group is a group that has cultural traits that make it stand out from the larger ethnic group it is a part of. In other words, members of an ethnographic group will also consider themselves to be members of a ...
of ethnic
Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
, inhabiting or originating from the region of
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
. This is how the majority of Slavic-speaking population of Macedonia had been referred to by most of the national conscious minority among them and by outside observers, from the 10th century in a sense of a
demonym A demonym (; ) or 'gentilic' () is a word that identifies a group of people ( inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place ( hamlet, village, town, city, region, ...
at first, and from the 19th until the early 20th century in a national sense. Since 1913, the Macedonian Bulgarian population is largely concentrated in
Pirin Macedonia Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia () (''Pirinska Makedoniya or Bulgarska Makedoniya''), which today is in southwestern Bulgaria, is the third-biggest part of the geographical region of Macedonia. This part coincides with the borders of Blag ...
but much is spread across the whole of
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and the
diaspora A diaspora ( ) is a population that is scattered across regions which are separate from its geographic place of birth, place of origin. The word is used in reference to people who identify with a specific geographic location, but currently resi ...
.


History


Ottoman period

Per Apostolos Vacalopoulos, from the beginning of the 18th century, there is mention only of Bulgarians by the travellers in the area, which reveals they formed the largest Slavic community and gradually absorbed the sparse Serbian villagers here. As a result, during the 19th century, the Slavic-speakers in Ottoman Macedonia, who were already Bulgarian ''by name'', began to acquire mainly Bulgarian national identity. Although, the word Bulgarian before the 1870s had a connotation of poor, Slav-speaking peasant, since most of the Slavic population lived in the rural parts of Macedonia and were mainly
chiflik Chiflik, or chiftlik (Ottoman Turkish: ; ; , ''chiflik''; , ''čiflig''; , ''tsiflíki''; /''čitluk''), is a Turkish term for a system of land management in the Ottoman Empire. Before the chiflik system the Empire used a non-hereditary form o ...
labourers. With the
rise of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire The rise of the Western notion of nationalism in the Ottoman Empire eventually caused the breakdown of the Ottoman ''millet'' system. The concept of nationhood, which was different from the preceding religious community concept of the millet sys ...
during 19th century, rival Bulgarian, Greek and Serb nationalism used religious and educational institutions to tie Macedonia's population to their respective national cause. The classical Ottoman
millet system In the Ottoman Empire, a ''millet'' (; ) was an independent court of law pertaining to "personal law" under which a confessional community (a group abiding by the laws of Muslim sharia, Christian canon law, or Jewish halakha) was allowed to rule ...
began to degrade with the continuous identification of the religious creed with ethnic identity. In this way, in the struggle for recognition of a separate
national Church A national church is a Christian church associated with a specific ethnic group or nation state. The idea was notably discussed during the 19th century, during the emergence of modern nationalism. Samuel Taylor Coleridge, in a draft discussing ...
, the modern Bulgarian nation was created, and the religious affiliation became a consequence of national allegiance. The semi-official term ''
Bulgarian Millet Bulgarian millet () was an ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious and speech community, linguistic community within the Ottoman Empire from the mid-19th to early 20th century. The semi-official term, was used by the Sultan for the first time in ...
'', was used by the Ottoman Sultan for the first time in 1847, and was his tacit consent to a more ethno-linguistic definition of the Bulgarians as a separate ethnic group. Officially as a separate ''Millet'' were recognized the Bulgarian Uniates in 1860, and then in 1870 the Bulgarian Exarchists. The establishment of the
Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...
in 1870 indicated a period of intense antagonism in Macedonia, mainly seen as expression of "national" consciousness of Macedonian Bulgarians. However, opting for the Exarchate was far from being defined as nationally motivated, and with that as allegiance to the Bulgarian national cause.Dimitris Livanios (2008). The Macedonian Question: Britain and the Southern Balkans 1939-1949, Oxford University Press, , pp. 9-10. After the
Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...
, with the Treaty of San Stefano a Greater Bulgaria was created, including most of Macedonia in it. This decision was protested by Greece and Serbia, supported by
Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
and the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
, who were fearful of Russian influence spreading in the region through Bulgaria. Therefore, a new Treaty of Berlin was created and Macedonia was returned to the Ottomans. As a result, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia in order to validate the territorial claims, started to compete for the allegiance of the Christian population of Macedonia, most of whom was without national consciousness, by implanting in them the "proper" national sense through the churches and schools. The absence of collective ethnic identity amongst the Macedonian Slavs meant that the different national movements were able to manipulate data and information in order to pursue their nationalist agendas. The functioning of the
Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...
then aimed specifically at differentiating the Bulgarian from the
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and Serbian populations on an ethnic and linguistic basis, providing the open assertion of a Bulgarian
national identity National identity is a person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more states or one or more nations. It is the sense of "a nation as a cohesive whole, as represented by distinctive traditions, culture, and language". National identity ...
. However one basic distinction between the political agendas of local intelligentsias was clear. The Macedonian Greeks and Serbs followed, in general, the directives coming from their respective centers of national agitation, while by the Bulgarians the term ''Macedonian'' was acquiring the significance of a certain political loyalty, that progressively constructed a particular spirit of ''
regional In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
'' identity. Contemporary travellers, ethnographers and linguists, including Slovak philologist Pavel Jozef Šafárik (1842), French geologist Ami Boué (1847, 1854), French ethnographer Guillaume Lejean (1861), English travel writers Georgina Muir Mackenzie and Paulina Irby (1867), Russian ethnographer
Mikhail Mirkovich Mikhail Fyodorovich Mirkovich (September 17, 1836 – March 24, 1891) was an Imperial Russian regimental commander and ethnographer. He participated in the wars in Poland and against the Ottoman Empire. He is the son of Fedor Yakovlevich Mirkovi ...
(1867), Czech folklorist
Karel Jaromír Erben Karel Jaromír Erben (; 7 November 1811 – 21 November 1870) was a Czech folklorist and poet of the mid-19th century, best known for his collection '' Kytice'', which contains poems based on traditional and folkloric themes. He also wrote ''Pí ...
(1868), German cartographer August Heinrich Petermann (1869), German geographer
Heinrich Kiepert Heinrich Kiepert (July 31, 1818 – April 21, 1899) was a German geographer. Early life and education Kiepert was born in Berlin. He traveled frequently as a youth with his family and documented his travels by drawing. His family was friends wit ...
(1876), Austrian diplomat Karl Sax (1877), etc. clearly identified the Slavs living in the part of
Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...
currently known as
Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...
as
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...
and only referred to the Slavs living in the
Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
as
Bulgarians Bulgarians (, ) are a nation and South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and its neighbouring region, who share a common Bulgarian ancestry, culture, history and language. They form the majority of the population in Bulgaria, ...
. All of them also established the ethnographic boundary between Serbs and Bulgarians along the Šar Mountains. According to
Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...
, at the beginning of the 20th century the Macedonian Bulgarians constituted the majority of the population in the whole region of Macedonia, then part of the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
. Although wearing the mantle of national ideology, the alignment of Macedonian Slavs to different national camps was not indeed belonging to a ethnic group, but rather political and flexible option. Contemporary observers used "party", "side" and "wing" when they wanted to denote different camps. Thus, this notion had not yet developed into a clear national identity in some non-Greek speaking parts of Macedonia. Furthermore, any expression of national identity among the majority of Macedonian Slavs was very superficial and was imposed by the educational and religious propaganda or by terrorism from armed bands. Many foreign observers who visited Macedonia assumed that the local Slavs speak Bulgarian, however some observers concluded that Macedonian Slavs linguistically were not Bulgarians nor Serbs. Per John Van Antwerp Fine during the 19th century, Macedonian was merely a regional term, while the Slavic Macedonians who had a clear ethnic identity, believed they were Bulgarians. However, ethnic identity existed among small number of educated people, while the peasantry lacked any strong identity and national debates were meaningless to their concern. In the
Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria () was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War ended with a Russian victory, the Treaty of San Stefano was signed ...
the ethnic Bulgarian identification developed into a national ideology meanwhile between Macedonian Slavs the meaning remained vague, which made the divergence grow, especially in
Vardar Macedonia Vardar Macedonia (Macedonian language, Macedonian and ) is a historical term referring to the central part of the broader Macedonian region, roughly corresponding to present-day North Macedonia. The name derives from the Vardar, Vardar River and i ...
after 1913.


After the Balkan wars

The
Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...
(1912–1913) and
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914–1918) left Ottoman Macedonia divided between
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
,
Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
and
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
and resulted in significant changes in its ethnic composition. The immediate effect of the partition of Ottoman Macedonia were the nationalistic campaigns in areas under Greek and Serbian administration, which expelled Bulgarian churchmen and teachers and closed Bulgarian schools and churches. As a consequence a sizable part of the Slavic population of
Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...
and Serbian (later Yugoslav Macedonia), fled to Bulgaria or was resettled there by virtue of a population exchange agreements ( Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Politis-Kalfov Protocol). Within Greece, the Macedonian Slavs were designated "Slavophone Greeks", while within Serbia (later within
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
) they were officially treated as "South Serbs". In both countries, schools and the media were used to disseminate the national ideologies and identities, and also the languages, of the new ruling nations, the Greeks and the Serbs. These cultural measures were reinforced by steps to alter the composition of the population: Serb colonists were implanted in Yugoslav Macedonia, while in Greek Macedonia, the mass settlement of
Greek refugees Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the more than one million Greek Orthodox natives of Asia Minor, Thrace and the Black Sea areas who fled during the Greek genocide (1914-1923) and Greece's later defeat in the Greco-Turkish W ...
from
Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
definitively reduced the Slav population to minority status. In Serbian Macedonia any manifestations of Bulgarian nationhood were suppressed. Even in the so-called
Western Outlands The Western (Bulgarian) Outlands () is a term used in Bulgarian to denote several regions located in ex-Yugoslavia, today southeastern Serbia and southeastern North Macedonia, that were traditionally part of Bulgaria and which were predominant ...
ceded by
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
in 1920 Bulgarian identification was prohibited. The Bulgarian notes to the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
, consented to recognize a Bulgarian minority in Yugoslavia were rejected. The members of the Council of the League assumed that the existence of some Bulgarian minority there was possible, however, they were determined to keep Yugoslavia and were aware that any exercise of revisionism, would open an uncontrollable wave of demands, turning the Balkans into a battlefield. Belgrade was suspicious of the recognition of any Bulgarian minority and was annoyed this would hinder its policy of forced " Serbianisation". It blocked such recognition in neighboring Greece and Albania, through the failed ratifications of the Politis–Kalfov Protocol in 1924 and the Albanian-Bulgarian Protocol (1932). During the
interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...
the foreign observers proceeded with describing the Macedonian Slavs as a nationally oblivious peasantry. However, in Vardar Macedonia a Macedonian national identity started growing. On the other hand, the political organization by the Slavic immigrants from the region of Macedonia, the Macedonian Patriotic Organization promoted the idea of Macedonian Slavs being Bulgarians.


Formation of a separate Macedonian identity in Yugoslavia

Most researchers agree that the bulk of the Slavs in the region could not identify what they are, although certainly they were resentful to a Serbian identification, while some claim that they had a Bulgarian national identity until the early 1940s. As a whole the existence of an appreciable Macedonian national consciousness prior to the 1940s is questionable. When the Bulgarian troops occupied most of the area, they were greeted as liberators, pro-Bulgarian feelings among the local Slavic population prevailed in Greece and
Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...
. Although in Yugoslavia this was an effect from the previous suffering rule which had negative impact on the majority of the population. Also, in Greece afterwards efforts were undertaken by the Bulgarian authorities to instill in them a Bulgarian national identity. In Yugoslav Macedonia the Slavs were seen as "backward Bulgarians" and in a attempt to assimilate them an oppressive regime was established which as backlash stimulated the further development of a Macedonian national consciousness. After the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and Bulgarian withdrawal, a Macedonian
nation-building Nation-building is constructing or structuring a national identity using the power of the state. Nation-building aims at the unification of the people within the state so that it remains politically stable and viable. According to Harris Mylonas, ...
started within the newly formed
Socialist Republic of Macedonia The Socialist Republic of Macedonia (), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia, Yugoslav Macedonia or simply Macedonia, was one of the six constituent republics of the post-World War II Socialist Federal Republic of Y ...
.Europe since 1945
Encyclopedia by Bernard Anthony Cook. , p. 808.
The nation-building process was reinforced by strong ''Bulgarophobia'' and
Yugoslavism Yugoslavism, Yugoslavdom, or Yugoslav nationalism is an ideology supporting the notion that the South Slavs, namely the Bosniaks, Bulgarians, Croats, Macedonians (ethnic group), Macedonians, Montenegrins, Serbs and Slovenes belong to a single ...
. The new authorities began a policy of removing of any Bulgarian influence and creating a distinct Slavic consciousness that would inspire identification with Yugoslavia. There were measures taken that would overcome the pro-Bulgarian feeling among the population. It has been claimed that from 1944 till the end of the 1940s people espousing a Bulgarian ethnic identity had been oppressed. According to Bulgarian sources more than 100,000 men were imprisoned and some 1,200 prominent Bulgarians were sentenced to death. In addition, the inconsistent policy towards the Macedonian Bulgarians followed by Communist Bulgaria at that time has thrown most independent observers ever since into a state of confusion, as to the real ethnicity of the population even in Bulgarian Macedonia. Practically as a consequence the rest of this people, with exception of Bulgaria proper, were eventually Macedonized or
Hellenized Hellenization or Hellenification is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language, and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonisation often led to the Hellenisation of indigenous people in the Hellenistic period, many of the te ...
. Nevertheless, people with Bulgarian consciousness or Bulgarophile sentiments still live in
North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
and
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
. During the last years the EU membership of
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
has seen more than 50,000 Macedonians applying for Bulgarian citizenship. In order to obtain it they must sign a statement declaring they are ''Bulgarians by origin''. More than 100,000 Macedonian nationals have already received Bulgarian citizenship. However, this phenomenon can not give precise information about how many Macedonian nationals consider themselves Bulgarians in ethnic sense, because it is widely believed that this phenomenon is caused primarily for economic reasons.Michael Palairet, Macedonia: A Voyage through History (Vol. 2, From the Fifteenth Century to the Present), Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2016, , p. 347.


Historical Demographics

In the Ottoman General Census of 1881/82, the Orthodox Christian population of the kazas currently falling within the borders of the
Republic of North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...
identified, as follows:


See also

* List of Macedonian Bulgarians *
Bulgarians in Albania The Bulgarians in Albania form the largest Slavic minority of the country and live primarily in the areas of Mala Prespa, Gollobordë and Gora (region), Gora. Ethnic identity can be fluid among Albania's Slavophonic population, who might identif ...
*
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...
*
Macedonia (terminology) The name ''Macedonia'' is used in a number of competing or overlapping meanings to describe geographical, political and historical areas, languages and peoples in a part of south-eastern Europe. It has been a major source of political controver ...


References

{{Greek Macedonia Ethnic groups in Macedonia (region) History of Macedonia (region) 20th century in Bulgaria Bulgaria–North Macedonia relations 01 People from Blagoevgrad Province Ethnic groups in Greece Demographics of the Ottoman Empire Slavic ethnic groups Macedonian people of Bulgarian descent South Slavs Bulgarians from the Ottoman Empire