Population of Macedonia and Adjacent Areas

[Liberator of Makedonija]

The coastal Greeks of Varna, Bulgaria were largely Gagauz Orthodox Christians who spoke Turkish at home, and studied / learned Greek in school.



The Bilinguism in Bulgarian Lands during 15 - 19 centuries, Nadka N Nikolova

Remember reading somewhere that until the 1920s (may have been later), most of the fishermen and other merchants on the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria (including Varna) called themselves Greek/Were "Greek", can't remember the specifics. I remember it being a chapter in a book about Macedonia dedicated to exploring the development of a Bulgarian identity and essentailly how hypocritical it is for Bulgarians to dismiss a Macedonian identity when by employing their own logic, one could discredit their own identity. One of the case-in-points for this were the "Greeks" of the Black Sea who continued to dominate economic life in the region decades after the formation of the Bulgarian state.

[Carlin]

The coastal Greeks of Varna, Bulgaria were largely Gagauz Orthodox Christians who spoke Turkish at home, and studied / learned Greek in school.



The Bilinguism in Bulgarian Lands during 15 - 19 centuries, Nadka N Nikolova

[Carlin]

- A Journey Through Albania, and Other Provinces of Turkey in Europe and Asia - By John Cam Hobhouse Broughton

Pages 491 & 492:
"The country inhabited by the southern Valachi, properly so called, is composed of the contines of Macedonia, Thessaly, and Epirus; comprehending Edessa, Castoria, as well as Larissa, Pharsalia, in the low grounds of Thessaly..."


- The Pall Mall Budget: Being a Weekly Collection of Articles ..., Volume 25

[TrueMacedonian]

In 1951 Thessaly, for mother language, Turkish 0,43%, Albanian 0,02%.

If Macedonia bordered a Vlach province how in the world did we get the inflated numbers coming out of modern “greece” during the Ottoman Empire for ethnic greeks? How much of Macedonia was actually greek?

[TrueMacedonian]

Thanks.

Nearly all of the native Hellenic population of Macedonia were simply Vlachs.




Quotes/testimonies such as these are NOT OPEN to interpretation. What's more... Regarding Macedonia we do know what and who the (small) remainder of the native Hellenes were -- and these were mainly Patriarchist Macedonians and Arvanites.

This goes in the face of the modern greek of 4000 years of “Hellenic” Macedonia.

[Amphipolis]

So how many Vlachs, Albanians, Turks etc

In 1951 Thessaly, for mother language, Turkish 0,43%, Albanian 0,02%.

[Amphipolis]

In the 1951 census, mother language is recorded. Vlach is a mother language for 0,52% of people overall Greece and 2,1% in Thessaly.

[TrueMacedonian]

So how many Vlachs, Albanians, Turks etc

[Amphipolis]

Thessaly became part of Greece in 1881. In the first census (1889) it has 311k people or 14% of Greece's population.

[tchaiku]

I think Carlin would be able to help out with this question I have. Thessaly was once known as little Vlachia in the Middle Ages. Is it possible to get an exact number of the population of Thessaly leading up to independence of the ottomans? And, if possible, get an ethnic breakdown of the people’s?

It was known as Great Vlachia. In early 1800s Thessaly had a population about 200,000 people (including Turks). Not an exactly accurate estimation but somewhere close to that number.

[TrueMacedonian]

I think Carlin would be able to help out with this question I have. Thessaly was once known as little Vlachia in the Middle Ages. Is it possible to get an exact number of the population of Thessaly leading up to independence of the ottomans? And, if possible, get an ethnic breakdown of the people’s?

[Soldier of Macedon]

Yes, they are believed to be of Vlach origin (i.e. Vlach puliu = a young bird). As it states in the footnote: "Significant are names with -ul-".

If the author is referring to the -ul diminutive that is common in Romanian (e.g: Draco > Dracul), then I am not sure it applies to Pulevci, Gulovci or Tulevci, because the -ul in each of those appears to be part of the root word. Perhaps it applies to Gugulevci and Čudulovci, although the root word of the latter looks Macedonian, not to mention that all of them have Macedonian endings. As for the places, he lists names like Rusin, Kameš and Katuništa. Are these supposed to be of Vlach origin also, according to the author?

[Carlin]

PS:

Koukoudis, Asterios (2003). The Vlachs: Metropolis and Diaspora. Thessaloniki: Zitros Publications, p. 352:

"Until the Vlachs settled there, Magarevo at least was inhabited by a small number of Slavonic-speaking Christians.... Among the Vlach immigrants there were also a few small groups of Arvanite refugees, mainly from Vithkuq, who settled in Magarevo and Trnovo. By the beginning of the twentieth century, owing to intermarriage with the Vlachs, the Arvanites had ceased to speak Albanian and had been assimilated by the more numerous Vlachs."

[Carlin]

Carlin, are the place names and family names listed in the footnote supposed to be Vlach by origin?

Yes, they are believed to be of Vlach origin (i.e. Vlach puliu = a young bird). As it states in the footnote: "Significant are names with -ul-".

[Soldier of Macedon]

Miyak Village, Galichnik, many families whose names were of Vlach origin

Carlin, are the place names and family names listed in the footnote supposed to be Vlach by origin?