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The Greek takeover of Macedonia has little to do with the Macedonian struggle and is based on a quote taken out of context
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The '''Macedonian Struggle''' ({{lang-el|Μακεδονικὸς Ἀγών}}, ''Macedonian Struggle'', {{lang-bg|Гръцка въоръжена пропаганда в Македония}}, ''Greek armed propaganda in Macedonia'') was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between [[Greeks]] and [[Bulgarian people|Bulgarians]] in the region of Ottoman [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] between 1904 and 1908. Gradually the Greek bands gained the upper hand, paving the way for the annexation of large parts of Ottoman Macedonia by Greece during the [[Balkan Wars]] in 1912-1913.<ref name="Clogg"/>
The '''Macedonian Struggle''' ({{lang-el|Μακεδονικὸς Ἀγών}}, ''Macedonian Struggle'', {{lang-bg|Гръцка въоръжена пропаганда в Македония}}, ''Greek armed propaganda in Macedonia'') was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between [[Greeks]] and [[Bulgarian people|Bulgarians]] in the region of Ottoman [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]] between 1904 and 1908. Gradually the Greek bands gained the upper hand, but the conflict was ended by the [[Young Turks]] revolution in 1908.


==Background==
==Background==

Revision as of 16:31, 31 March 2012

The Macedonian Struggle (Greek: Μακεδονικὸς Ἀγών, Macedonian Struggle, Bulgarian: Гръцка въоръжена пропаганда в Македония, Greek armed propaganda in Macedonia) was a series of social, political, cultural and military conflicts between Greeks and Bulgarians in the region of Ottoman Macedonia between 1904 and 1908. Gradually the Greek bands gained the upper hand, but the conflict was ended by the Young Turks revolution in 1908.

Background

Greek refugees, from Strentza near Bitola/Monastiri, leaving their village in fear of the IMRO.

Since the creation of the modern Greek state in 1830, the Megali Idea, an irredentist concept of Greek nationalism, dominated Greek politics. The Megali Idea project called for the annexation of all ethnic Greek lands, including Macedonia, parts of which had participated in the Greek War of Independence in the 1820s, but remained under foreign rule. There was a rebellion in 1854 aiming to unite Macedonia with Greece, but it failed.[1] As Ottoman rule in the Balkans crumbled in the late 19th century, competition arose between Greeks and Bulgarians (and to a lesser extent also other ethnic groups such as Serbs, Aromanians and Albanians) over the multi-ethnic region of Macedonia.[2] Initially the conflict was waged through educational and religious propaganda, with a fierce rivalry developing between supporters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople, who generally identified as Greek, and supporters of the Bulgarian Exarchate, which had been established by the Ottomans in 1870.[2] In 1894, an organization known as the as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was founded by Bulgarian anti-Ottoman revolutionaries in Thessaloníki, with the aim of liberating Macedonia and Thrace from Ottoman rule. Initially IMRO was declared as a Bulgarian organization, but later it was opened to all ethnic groups in Macedonia and IMRO's claimed that it was fighting for the autonomy of Macedonia and not for annexation to Bulgaria. In practice, most of the followers of the IMRO were Bulgarians,[3] though they also had some Aromanian supporters (for example Pitu Guli, Mitre The Vlach, Ioryi Mucitano, Alexandar Coshca).[4] Many of the members of the organization saw Macedonian autonomy as an intermediate step to unification with Bulgaria,[5][6] but others saw as their aim the creation of a Balkan federal state, with Macedonia as an equal member.[7] Serbia and especially Greece opposed the IMRO movement. The Greeks of Macedonia had no interest in autonomy, but desired enosis (union) with Greece, which cause was supported by the Greek government. A vicious guerrilla war broke out between Bulgarian and Greek armed bands within Ottoman Macedonia in 1904, ending in 1908 when the Young Turks movement came into power in the Ottoman Empire with its initially democratic and modernization agenda.

Causes

Seal of the Greek Macedonian Committee depicting Alexander the Great and Byzantine Emperor Basil II.

The defeat of Greece in the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 was a loss that appalled Greeks.[8] The Ethniki Eteria was dissolved by Prime Minister Theotokis. In order to strengthen Greek efforts for Macedonia, the Makedoniko Komitato (Μακεδονικό Κομιτάτο, meaning "Macedonian Committee") was formed in 1903, under the leadership of wealthy publisher Dimitrios Kalapothakis; its members included Ion Dragoumis and Pavlos Melas.[9]

Pavlos Melas

As noted above , the guerrillas of the IMRO were fighting against the Ottoman authorities with the slogan "autonomy for Macedonia". IMRO had declared as its intention the uniting of all "disgruntled elements in Macedonia and the Adrianople region, regardless of their nationality". But gradually, increasing tensions emerged between the followers of the Patriarchate of Constantinople (the Patriarchalists, mostly, but not only, Greeks) and those of the Bulgarian Exarchate; the Greeks of Macedonia had no interest in autonomy, but desired enosis (union) with Greece. There were also great social differences between the ethnic groups in Macedonia; Greeks generally were urban businessmen and Bulgarians were mostly rural farmers.[10]

The situation in Macedonia became heated and started to affect European public opinion. In April 1903, a group called Gemidzhii with some assistance from the IMRO blew up the French ship Guadalquivir and the Ottoman Bank in the harbour of Thessaloniki. In August 1903, IMRO managed to organise an uprising (the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising) in Macedonia and the Adrianople Vilayet. After the forming of the short-lived Krushevo Republic, the insurrection was suppressed by the Ottomans with the subsequent destruction of many villages and the devastation of large areas in Western Macedonia and around Kırk Kilise near Adrianople.

Early stage

Ion Dragoumis

The Bishop of Kastoria, Germanos Karavangelis sent to Macedonia by the ambassador of Greece Nikolaos Mavrokordatos and the consul of Greece in Monastiri, Ion Dragoumis, realised that it was time to act in a more efficient way and started organising Greek opposition.

Fighters from Veria.
The band of Lazaros Apostolidis from Kastoria.
Pericles Drakos with co-fighters.

While Dragoumis concerned himself with the financial organisation of the efforts, the central figure in the military struggle was the very capable Cretan officer Georgios Katehakis (Γεώργιος Κατεχάκης in Greek).[11] Katehakis later became a war hero in the Balkan Wars and World War I, and was Defense Minister in the interwar years. Bishop Germanos Karavangelis animated the Greek population against the IMRO and formed committees to promote the Greek national interests. Taking advantage of the internal political and personal disputes in IMRO, Katehakis and Karavangelis initially succeeded to recruit some IMRO former members and to organize guerilla groups, that were later reinforced with people sent from Greece and thus were mainly composed of ex-officers of the Hellenic Army, volunteers brought from Crete, from the Mani area of the Peloponnese, as well as Macedonian Greeks, such as Evangelos Natsis from the village of Asprogia, Lazaros Apostolidis from Kastoria, Captain Giaglis from Ierissos, Konstantinos Kottas from the village of Roulia, Florina Prefecture (a former adherent of the IMRO), Michael Sionidis, Captain Ramnalis, Pantelis Papaioannou, Stefanos Papagalos from Veria, Dimitrios Dalipis from Kastoria, Pericles Drakos from Kavala, Christos Dellios, Christos Argyrakos and many more.

The fighters for the Greek cause labelled themselves Makedonomachoi (Μακεδονομάχοι - Macedonian Fighters) and were portrayed by Greek writer Penelope Delta in her novel Τά μυστικά τοῦ Βάλτου (Ta Mystiká tou Váltou - The Secrets of the Swamp), as well as in the book of memoirs Ὁ Μακεδονικός Ἀγών (The Macedonian Struggle) by Germanos Karavangelis, while on the other side, the fighters of IMRO and their activities are depicted in the book Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars, written by Albert Sonnichsen, an American volunteer in the IMRO during the Macedonian Struggle.

Official Greek involvement

File:Paulos Melas Statue, Drama.jpg
Statue of Pavlos Melas, Drama.

The Greek state became concerned, not only because of Bulgarian penetration in Macedonia, but also due to the Serbian interest, which was concentrated mainly in Skopje and Bitola area. The rioting in Macedonia and especially the death of Pavlos Melas in 1904 (he was the first Greek officer to enter Macedonia with guerrillas and was killed in battle with the Ottoman army) caused intense nationalistic feelings in Greece. This led to the decision to send more guerrilla troops in order to thwart Bulgarian efforts to bring all of the Slavic-speaking majority population of Macedonia on their side.

Tellos Agras in the middle, with Nikiforos (Ioannis Demestichas) to his left and Kalas (Constantine Sorros).

The Greek General Consulate in Thessaloniki, under Lambros Koromilas, became the centre of the struggle, coordinating the guerrilla troops, distributing military materiel and nursing the wounded. Fierce conflicts between the Greeks and Bulgarians started in the area of Kastoria, in the Giannitsa Lake area, and elsewhere. War crimes were committed by both sides during the Macedonian struggle. One of the notable cases was the massacre[12] at the village Zagorichani (today Vasiliada, Greece), which was predominantly populated by Bulgarians,[13][14] near Kastoria on 25 March 1905, where 60 villagers were killed by Greek bands.[15] There were also attacks by Andartes on many other Bulgarian villages in the central parts of Macedonia in 1905, often with many casualties inflicted upon the peaceful population.[16]

Both guerrilla groups had also to confront the Turkish Army, though the Ottoman administration often ignored the activity of the Greek guerrillas.[17] These conflicts ended after the revolution of "Young Turks" in July 1908, as they promised to respect all ethnicities and religions, and to provide a constitution.

Consequences

The success of Greek efforts in Macedonia was an experience that gave confidence to the country. It helped develop an intention to annex Greek-speaking areas, and bolster Greek presence in the still Ottoman-ruled Macedonia.

The events in Macedonia that time gave rise to pogroms against the ca. 70,000-80,000 strong Greek communities that lived in Bulgaria.[15]

See also

References

  1. ^ Crisis of the Ottoman Empire: prelude to collapse, 1839-1878, 2000, pages 249-252
  2. ^ a b Clogg, Richard. A Concise History of Greece. Cambridge University Press, 1992. 257 pages. pp 74-75.
  3. ^ History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume 2, Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey 1808-1975, by Stanford J. Shaw, 1977, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521291668, p. 209.
  4. ^ Minov, Nikola. The Aromanians and IMRO. Macedonian Historical Review. Vol.2.2011, p. 181-200.
  5. ^ Идеята за автономия като тактика в програмите на национално-освободителното движение в Македония и Одринско (1893-1941), Димитър Гоцев, 1983, Изд. на Българска Академия на Науките, София, 1983, c. 34.; in English: The idea for autonomy as a tactics in the programs of the National Liberation movements in Macedonia and Adrianople regions 1893-1941", Sofia, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Dimitar Gotsev, 1983, p 34. Among others, there are used the memoirs of the IMRO revolutionary Kosta Tsipushev, where he cited Delchev, that the autonomy then was only tactics, aiming future unification with Bulgaria. (55. ЦПА, ф. 226); срв. К. Ципушев. 19 години в сръбските затвори, СУ Св. Климент Охридски, 2004, ISBN 954-91083-5-X стр. 31-32. in English: Kosta Tsipushev, 19 years in Serbian prisons, Sofia University publishing house, 2004, ISBN 954-91083-5-X, p. 31-32.
  6. ^ Таjните на Македониjа. Се издава за прв пат, Скопjе 1999. in Macedonian - Ете како ја објаснува целта на борбата Гоце Делчев во 1901 година: "...Треба да се бориме за автономноста на Македанија и Одринско, за да ги зачуваме во нивната целост, како еден етап за идното им присоединување кон општата Болгарска Татковина". In English - How Gotse Delchev explained the aim of the struggle against the Ottomans in 1901: "...We have to fight for autonomy of Macedonia and Adrianople regions as a stage for their future unification with our common fatherland, Bulgaria."
  7. ^ The last interview with the leader of IMRO, Ivan Michailov in 1989 - newspaper 'Democratsia', Sofia, January 8, 2001, pp. 10-11.
  8. ^ Clogg, Richard. A Concise History of Greece. Cambridge University Press, 1992. 257 pages. pp 71.
  9. ^ Konstantinos Vakalopoulos, Historia tou voreiou hellenismou, vol 2, 1990, pages 429-430
  10. ^ 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Macedonia
  11. ^ Bulgarian Historical Review, vol 31, 1-4, 2003, p 117 "Only a few days later -on November 1- Katehakis arrived in Macedonia as Melas' successor
  12. ^ Papers by command, Volume 137; Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons; 1906; p.24
  13. ^ Mapping migration in Kastoria, Macedonia
  14. ^ Macedonia and its Christian population; D.M. Brancoff; 1905; p.182
  15. ^ a b The Macedonian question, 1893-1908, from Western sources;Nadine Lange-Akhund; 1998 p.279
  16. ^ Macedonia; its races and their future; Henry Noël Brailsford; 1906; p.215-216
  17. ^ A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, Şükrü Hanioğlu, 2010, p.134
  • Koliopoulos, Ioannis: History of Greece from 1800, Nation, State and Society, Thessaloniki, 2000 ISBN 960-288-072-4
  • Dakin, Douglas: "The Greek Struggle in Macedonia 1897-1913" Thessaloniki, 1966 ISBN 960-8303-2-6
  • Vakalopoulos, Apostolos: "History of the Greek Nation 1204-1985" (in Greek language)
  • Karavangelis, Germanos: "The Macedonian Struggle" (Memoirs)
  • Sonnichsen, Albert: Confessions of a Macedonian Bandit: A Californian in the Balkan Wars, The Narrative Press, ISBN 1-58976-237-1 (the Macedonian struggle from a perspective of an American volunteer in IMRO)
  • Rappoport, Alfred: [http://www.abebooks.de/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=966647133&searchurl=an%3DAlfred%2BRappoport%26ph%3D2%26sortby%3D3%26tn%3DAu%2BPays%2BDes%2BMartyrs
  • Richards, Louise Parker (1903). "What the Macedonian Trouble Is". The World's Work: A History of Our Time. VII: 4066–4073. Retrieved 10 July 2009. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  • Au pays des martyrs. Notes et souvenirs d'un ancien consul-général d'Autriche-Hongrie en Macédoine (1904–1909)]. Librarie Universitaire J. Gamber, Paris, 1927. Memoirs of the General Consul of Austro-Hungary in Macedonia. Cat. No. 7029530203814

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