Stavros Kotsopoulos ( el, Σταύρος Κωτσόπουλος) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece 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 ...

revolutionary chieftain of the

Macedonian Struggle The Macedonian Struggle ( bg, Македонска борба; el, Μακεδονικός Αγώνας; mk, Борба за Македонија; sr, Борба за Македонију; tr, Makedonya Mücadelesi) was a series of social, po ...

and the North Epirote Struggle, an irregular fighter in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

, and a member of the resistance in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. He was also known by his

nom-de-guerre A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individu ...

, Kapetan Banitsiotis.

Biography

He was born and raised in Banitsa (now

Vevi Vevi ( el, Βεύη, before 1926: Μπάνιτσα - ''Banitsa'', before 1928: Μπάνιτσα - ''Banitsa''; Macedonian and bg, Баница, ''Banica'' or ''Banitsa'') is a village located in the municipal unit of Meliti in Florina regiona ...

) of

Florina Florina ( el, Φλώρινα, ''Flórina''; known also by some alternative names) is a town and municipality in the mountainous northwestern Macedonia, Greece. Its motto is, 'Where Greece begins'. The town of Florina is the capital of the Fl ...

in the 1870s. He started his armed activities very early against the

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

Komitadjis Komitadji, Comitadjis, or Komitas ( Bulgarian, Macedonian and sr, Комити, Serbian Latin: ''Komiti'', ro, Comitagiu, gr, Κομιτατζής, plural: Κομιτατζήδες, tr, Komitacı, sq, Komit) means in Turkish "committee mem ...

. After he performed several operations, he was wanted by the

Ottoman Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

authorities and chased by Bulgarian armed groups. For this reason, he fled to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

in 1905. His intense actions against the Bulgarians (immigrants from

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 traditional geographic reg ...

) and the constant clashes in which he participated made him wanted even in the United States. He escaped back to Macedonia. He was enlisted in the group of chieftain Nikolaos Andrianakis for the period 1907–1908. In 1908, he was arrested by the Ottoman authorities and imprisoned in Monastir (now

Bitola Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba (North Macedonia), Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of th ...

). He was sentenced to death by the Ottoman court, but before his execution he managed to escape again and flee abroad. In 1909 he returned to Macedonia, head of an armed group consisting of 6 Cretans. His squad acted against the Bulgarian groups until the liberation of the region in 1912, killing the most dangerous Komitadjis in the area of his hometown, Banitsa. Later, he fought for the Independence of Northern Epirus (1914), during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and during the Axis occupation of Greece, developing strong resistance actions against the

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = Flag of Italy, The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , ...

(who occupied the

Prespa Prespa ( mk, Преспа, sq, Prespa, el, Πρέσπα) is a region shared between North Macedonia, Albania and Greece. It shares the same name with the two Prespa lakes which are situated in the middle of the region. The largest town is ...

region) and the

Germans , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

from 1941 to 1944."Ιστορικά Βεύης", Σ. Τριανταφυλλίδης, Florina 1958, p. 35-41

Sources & References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kotsopoulos, Stavros Greek people of the Macedonian Struggle Prisoners and detainees of the Ottoman Empire Greek Macedonians Macedonian revolutionaries (Greek) People from Meliti (municipal unit) 1870s births Year of death missing