Foreign newspapers of 19th/20th c. about Macedonia

[Istor]

Macedonians? How did they recognize them?

[slavicwolf]

here are a few of my latest finds from foreign authors about the balkans

http://www.esnips.com/doc/74bc62ab-8.../modern-greece

http://www.esnips.com/doc/7c35bd60-8...balklan-ghosts
http://www.esnips.com/doc/aa2747d7-b...bf/The-Balkans
http://www.esnips.com/doc/2867a2be-f...e-to-know-1911
http://www.esnips.com/doc/94c9c035-f...c0cc/britanika
http://www.esnips.com/doc/4a2907d3-6...avs-in-amerika

just click on original size to view and read

[Tsontos]

Originally Posted by Jordan Piperkata

Taken from "The Janesville Daily Gazette" Monday, November 10, 1913.

And if this article had mentioned "Cypriots" amongst the other names (Russians, Germans etc.), would it have denoted would it have denoted ethnic Greeks, Turks or "ethnic.... Cypriots"? If it had said or "Bosnians" Croats, Serbs, Muslim Croats and Serbs?

The above article is the type of thing which gives fleeting hope to people like you who want to beleive the fantasy that a Macedonian ethnicity has always existed, at least in the early 20th century. Unfortunately for you these spasmodic references to Macedonia and Macedonians which momentarily suit your aims are drowned in a sea of historical material which show that in Macedonia there existed only two main ethnic groups (throw Turks in as well) since the middle ages: Greeks and Bulgarians. Moreover the historical material indicating the Bulgarianism of your people, language and heroes are insurmountable for you.

[Jordan Piperkata]

Originally Posted by Tsontos

And if this article had mentioned "Cypriots" amongst the other names (Russians, Germans etc.), would it have denoted would it have denoted ethnic Greeks, Turks or "ethnic.... Cypriots"? If it had said or "Bosnians" Croats, Serbs, Muslim Croats and Serbs?

The above article is the type of thing which gives fleeting hope to people like you who want to beleive the fantasy that a Macedonian ethnicity has always existed, at least in the early 20th century. Unfortunately for you these spasmodic references to Macedonia and Macedonians which momentarily suit your aims are drowned in a sea of historical material which show that in Macedonia there existed only two main ethnic groups (throw Turks in as well) since the middle ages: Greeks and Bulgarians. Moreover the historical material indicating the Bulgarianism of your people, language and heroes are insurmountable for you.

Thank you Tsontos for your interpretation of the article. Would you be so kind and interpret this article aswell.


From The Mansfield News, Sunday, April 12, 1925.

[Tsontos]

I loved this quote: "where once upon a time Alexander the Great held the pass of Thermopylae"

As for my interpretation the name Macedonian had become popular as a regional identifier not only amongst Bulgarians to describe themselves, but also among westerners to describe any race of people from the region. As the article itself says:

"People of many nations pour into Macedonia and make their homes there. "That is why", said Mr. Christoff, "we can speak several languages. There will be a Turk, then a Bulgarian, then someone else living right together and we have to learn their langauge if we want to talk."

This particular group of "Macedonians" are clearly Bulgarians. Interesting how every single name ends if -off/ -ov and not one in -ovski as well isnt it?

[Tsontos]

"Although the Macedonian Patriotic Organisation (an American offshoot of the earlier IMRO founded in 1922) claims that Macedonians are Bulgarians, its activity is centered on Macedonia. Little is said about Bulgaria. Most of the Americans born of Macedonian Bulgarian descent have hardly any knowledge of Bulgaria and increasingly identify themselves simply as Macedonians. The purely Macedonian policies of the Macedonian Patriotic Organisation have increased indirectly the Macedonisation of older, Bulgarian-orientated immigrants and their descendents"

-1980 Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, p692

[Jordan Piperkata]

Originally Posted by Tsontos

I loved this quote: "where once upon a time Alexander the Great held the pass of Thermopylae"

As for my interpretation the name Macedonian had become popular as a regional identifier not only amongst Bulgarians to describe themselves, but also among westerners to describe any race of people from the region. As the article itself says:

"People of many nations pour into Macedonia and make their homes there. "That is why", said Mr. Christoff, "we can speak several languages. There will be a Turk, then a Bulgarian, then someone else living right together and we have to learn their langauge if we want to talk."

This particular group of "Macedonians" are clearly Bulgarians. Interesting how every single name ends if -off/ -ov and not one in -ovski as well isnt it?

"People of many nations pour into Macedonia and make their homes there. "That is why", said Mr. Christoff, "we can speak several languages. There will be a Turk, then a Bulgarian, then someone else living right together and we have to learn their langauge if we want to talk."

Tsontos, if we follow your logic these men were Bulgarians, if so, why would they have to learn their own language to speak with fellow Bulgarians that move to Macedonia?

The man clearly stated THEIR language, not our language.


So the ending of a lastname is a definer of your ethicity, is that a correct assumption Tsontos?

[Tsontos]

Originally Posted by Jordan Piperkata

"People of many nations pour into Macedonia and make their homes there. "That is why", said Mr. Christoff, "we can speak several languages. There will be a Turk, then a Bulgarian, then someone else living right together and we have to learn their langauge if we want to talk."

Tsontos, if we follow your logic these men were Bulgarians, if so, why would they have to learn their own language to speak with fellow Bulgarians that move to Macedonia?

The man clearly stated THEIR language, not our language.

The 'their' clearly refers to 'someone else' who is living right together with the Bulgarian or Turk. THAT is simple grammar my friend.

This man is a Bulgarian as were the vast majority Slavs from Macedonia (a much less significant proportion was Serbian) who migrated to North America

So the ending of a lastname is a definer of your ethicity, is that a correct assumption Tsontos?

No. Im simply making the point that the communist habit of turning -ev into -evski and -ov into -ovski so as to hide one's Bulgarianism was hadnt yet come into effect hence why all these Bulgarian "Macedonian" Slavs have no -ski suffix.

[Tsontos]

Originally Posted by Tsontos

I loved this quote: "where once upon a time Alexander the Great held the pass of Thermopylae"

Just on this again isnt it marvellous how the author mentions one great ancient Greek king holding a pass which was actually held by another great ancient Greek king, Leonidas...in an article about Bulgarian immigrants in Florida! Small world huh?

[Jordan Piperkata]

Tsontos, thanks again for helping me out, specially with my gramatical missunderstanding.

Could you help me out with this complicated article aswell.