Balkan Wars - Supplement
Political circumstances on the Balkans in the early XX
The Ottoman Empire in the dawn of the XX was rahter weak, both economically and politically. The recent Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 that costed them huge portions from the Balkan peninsula was a huge blow to the Empire. Foreign capital (railways, factories, mines exploitation) was beginning to enter Turkey as well, but it was badly lagging behind other developed European neighbours. A new citizen class appeared (the Young Turks) opting for liberal far-fetched reforms, who eventually (1908) took power and overthrew the sultan, but proved not much better than the previous regimes.
Bulgaria, Serbia and Montenegro got their independence on the Berlin Congress (1878) and in each there were small Balkan dynsties whose interests mingled with the interests of the two great powers interested for the Balkans (Austria and Russia). Although initially the Obrenovic dynasty ruled Serbia (which were pro-Austrian), in 1903 a new dynasty, Karagorgevic, gains power after the assasination of king Alexandar I Obrenovic and Petar I Karagorgevic is made king. He led strong pro-Russian policy, which would cause the increaisng animosity with Austria leading to WW1 later.
Bulgaria’s king Ferdinand came from a German dynasty, what explains his inclination towards Austria. What’s more important about Bulgaria was the annexation of the autonomous principality of East Rumelia (South-central Bulgaria) in 1886, which caused dissatisfactin in Russia and Turkey, since the principality was created on the Berlin Congress as means to hold Bulgarian territorial pretensions at bay.
Greece in 1913 was a kingdom under the protection of the Western powers (traditionally, Britain).
Whats common for all Balkan nations are the strong nationalist movements, who taught by the guiding example of their bigger European patrons, each craved for a piece of “empire” for themselves. Thus, Bulgaria dreamt of Great Bulgaria (having acquired East Rumelia) encompassing all of Macedonia, Thrace and Dobruja; Serbia wanted to exapnd southward to Kosovo and Macedonia, gain Bosnia and Vojvodina from Austro-Hungary; Greece had her eyes on Epirus, Macedonia, Thrace, all the Aegean islands across the sea including the Western coast of Asia Minor (Ionia) – the Megali idea.
Macedonia in the early XX
In Macedonia, even before the Balkan Wars errupted, all three neighbouring nations led propagandas in order to recruit the local populace for their causes, telling them they are Greeks, Serbians and Bulgarians respectivly. The foreign propagandas, in the absence of administrative apparatus were carried out through church missionaries and the so called church-school regions. These regions ever since the end of the Ohrid Archiepiscopy (run by Slavic Macedonian episcopes) in 1767, were under the rule of the Constantinopole Patriarchy (Greek clergy). (The Turkish authorities allowed relative religious freedom and independence throughout their reign, so they generally didn’t care about the affairs in the Christian world.) These church-school regions were places where one could get education (religious indeed, but that also included learning how to read and write). Starting in the end of XVIII, Greek language and alphabet started to replace Old Church Slavonic and the Cyrilic in the churhc schools. Thus, Greek language and clergy restricted any development of independent Macedonian thought during the first half of the XIX. However, in the second half of XIX, members of Macedonian inteligentsia who studied in Russia, began to see the need for reimplementing Slavic language in the churches and education system. In 1860 they file a request to the Turkish sultan for reestablishing the Ohrid Archiepiscopy and for changeing the Greek clergy in Macedonia. The two brothers (Miladinovi) which lead this initiative were imprisoned in Istanbul and died there in 1862. The so called anti-phanariotic struggle doesn’t stop however and even intensifies as Bulgaria (who gained independence in 1878, don’t forget) opens up to be new centre for Macedonian intellectuals who get education in Slavic there. They have big support from local populace who give money to open new schools and churches, where education and church service is carried out in common language. Other (Slavic) Macedonians yet, stick to Greek Patriarchist clergy. The Bulgarian Exarchy (Church) supports the Macedonian intellectuals in their struggle against Greek and they begin a bitter church struggle in Turkish Macedonia to win more church-school regions. The Macedonian population support is undecided between the two blocks, but still leaning towards the Exarchy. Even the Serbian church opened schools and sent missionaries to Macedonia to spread Serbian language and culture. What this seemingly “noble” struggle for education in fact meant, was preparing the terrain for the future conquerings of Macedonia (which each neighbour viewed as its own natural right) in order to rally the population for their causes and enforce Greek/Bulgarian/Serbian national consciousness.
Macedonian resistance
The Macedonian emigration formed numerous communities in other countries that promoted Macedonian culture and the idea for Macedonian autonomy or Balkan federation of equal peoples etc. Most notable are the Macedonian society in Sofia (1891), the Young Macedonian Literary Society (issued a paper “Vines”
in Sofia, the Macedonian Socialist Group, also Sofia; in Serbia: teachers community “Vardar” (1893), Macedonian club (1902), a student community in Belgrade who issued a paper to be forbidden soon. Then there are others in Switzerland (Secret Macedonian Revolutionary Cometee – 1900), Russia (Secret Macedonian Revolutionary Society – 1900) and others.
Most notable was the formation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) in 1893 in Solun (Thesaloniki) in Macedonia, which organized an armed struggle for the liberation of Macedonia and its autonomy. In 1895 in Sofia the Supreme Cometee of IMRO (an external body of IMRO) was formed, supported by Bulgaria which had on its agenda a unification with Bulgaria after the initial autonomy. The political disvision within the IMRO started to boil up to the point where they started to assasinate each other until the pro-Bulgarian wing completely overtook the organization in 1912, if i’m not mistaken about the year.
However, two notable events did happen in 1903 which greatly increased European interest for the Balkans and contributed to the general climate which led to the Balkan Wars. First in 1903, were the terrorist attacks of a young group of Macedonian anarchists, who bombed the bank and railway in Solun (Thessaloniki), in order to send a message to the European public about the urgency of the Maceodnian question. And later that year on 2. August 1903, the Ilinden Uprising happened, which created the Krusevo Republic, which lasted for 10 days before the insurrection being bloodily quelled by the Turkish army. The people who organized the uprising were aware of the multicultural character of Macedonia, so they called for all “the Macedonians and their brothers: Albanians, Vlachs, Turks” to join them in their fight for freedom. The uprising had a republican, liberal and socialist character, which was the reason that even some Turks supported the insurgents.
Awakened European interest and new Balkan constellations
Even on the Berlin Congress there were ideas about Macedonian autonomy, proposed by Austria, but weren’t effectualized.
After the Ilinden Uprising, the European powers (Russia and Austria) considered giving Macedonia autonomy, but since no real war had been fought, it was hard to extort such concessions from Turkey. On the so called Mirtzstadt treaties (1903), several acts regarding Macedonia were brought: that urgent reforms are needed (Turkey didn’t comply, of course), foreign millitary officers were sent to Macedonia to observe the situation, but nothing substantional improved. In 1908 (Ravel Treaty), Macedonian autonomy again was brought up by England and Russia, but nothing happened.
This was enough for the Balkan petty monarchies to prepare for conquest war. Montenegro, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria allied themselves in the “Balkan League” and attacked Turkey with much success. Initially Serbia and Bulgaria made an agreement for conquering Macedonia and drew the division line (cutting present territory of Republic of Macedonia diagonally in half). However, as soon as the millitary clashes began and Serbia got the bigger piece of the cake, Bulgaria began complaining. Serbia wouldn’t want to step back its armies and Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece (summer 1913 - Second Balkan War). Unsuccessfully. The final border lines dividing Macedonia in three, were drawn in Bucharest in August 1913.
The political conditions in Macedonia (1913-1945)
Macedonians were the majority in all three parts of Macedonia, prior to the Balkan Wars. Other population included Turks, Greeks (south), Vlachs, Albanians (west), Armenians, Roma etc. In
all three parts of Macedonia an aggressive assimilatinist policy was implemented.
Greece: Macedonian language was forbidden for every kind of use, even domestic, Macedonian culture was supressed, toponymes were changed from Slavic to Greek (Solun - Thessaloniki, Voden – Edessa, Kukus – Kilkis, Ber – Veria, Lerin – Florina etc), personal names were changed to Greek version, taxes imposed. With the Ney and Laussane (1923) Treaty 90,000 Macedonians (Slavs from the Greek conquered Macedonia) were forcably moved to Bulgaria; 40,000 (Slavic) Macedonian muslims were moved to Turkey (along with 300,000 Turks from all Greece) and in their place over
one million Greek colonists from Asia Minor were brought and given free land. Cultural terror over the Macedonians was especially present during the reign of the totalitarian dictator Ioanis Metaxas (1936) supported by Britain. During the Greek Civil War (1946-1949) Macedonians massively supported the Greek Communist Party (which promised them right of self-determination, even autonomy). Total of 150,000 died in the war after the defeat of GCP, among them many Macedonians, another around 70,000 Macedonians were forced to emigrate to USSR or Yugoslavia, but a large number also stayed there living without any minority rights.
Serbia: Serbian conquered Macedonia declared “Vardar banovina”; Serbian propaganda through papers, schools and church (Serbian language and national identity), surnames changed from –ski to –ic ending, around 4,200 Serbian famillies colonized in Macedonia and given free land
Bulgaria: anarchy in the Bulgarian Macedonia part under the troops of pro-Bulgarian IMRO, huge poverty, hardly any schools altogether, cultural propaganda.
). I know there are still many people (especially in the US, but also elsewhere), who still adhere to the concept of races, but for many people (especially here in Germany, understandably) it has become discredited. I don't allege that you imply one race to be superior, of course. But the concept of races can be ideologically abused quite easily, leading to chauvinism or racism. That's why I don't like talking of races.
It was meant to illustrate how absurd race theory can get. And how do you want to know if the proto-Slavs were tall or blond-haired or whatever? And if you talk about Bulgarian culture or identity you're completely right, but what does that have to do with race?
