The Macedonian island of Taso

[Liberator of Makedonija]

To my knowledge, the only island in Macedonia is Taso/Тasos (Thassos in Greek).

I was hoping someone might have some information on the history and ethnology of this island. Macedonian wikipedia mentions that the island used to be of mixed ethnicity and that the Macedonian population were persecuted during the Balkan Wars but I was hoping for some more informaiton and evidence.

Macedonian toponyms are also welcome, I know the main settlement on the island is called 'Боровец' ('Limenas' in Greek) but if anyone knows the Macedonian names for the other settlements that would be great.

[Amphipolis]

Macedonian toponyms are also welcome, I know the main settlement on the island is called 'Боровец' ('Limenas' in Greek)

No, it's not. Never heard of this before and couldn't find anything that confirms or suggests it (Google produces nothing). Thasos (by 1900) was a small island with pure Greek population of about 15,000 people and a small presence of Turks (0,3%). Bulgarian statistics should confirm that.

During Metaxas dictatorship, it was used for political exiles.

[Amphipolis]

There's a toponym Vulgaro (close to the village Rahoni). There's an excellent research in Greek about it, but the file doesn't open. I managed to (somehow) read lot of it in its cache form where some of the Greek characters were corrupted. It has an extended history of the related nearby villages since around 1000 A.D., it probably relates the name with the existence of a Bulgarian “metohi” (distant property of a Bulgarian Monastery) but it doesn't produce a definite conclusion (or at least one I managed to read).

This is very good, detailed and extended including the life and times of Bulgarian monks, relocations, destructions and new names per century etc.

https://www.library.teikav.edu.gr/thasiaka/thasiakafiles/t12/t12a02.pdf

Another extended article by Hionis mentioned in the Macedonian Wikipedia sources about the Thasian involvement in Macedonian Struggle is also very interesting. Murders of Bulgarians are mentioned, while most of the time it refers to activities of Thasians outside Thasos (e.g. in the districts of Kavala or Serres) I believe some of them are inside Thasos. That may include again Bulgarian and Romanian “metohia” in Thasos as targets. This file also has problems. Actually both files are from the same library (Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Institute of Technology) that doesn't seem to function at the moment.

http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:rEKer2A6KIIJ:www.library.teikav.edu.gr/thasiaka/thasiakafiles/t1/t1a12.pdf+&cd=3&hl=bg&ct=clnk&gl=bg

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[Karposh]

I don’t know enough about the island of Thasos except for its close proximity to Macedonia which, in a way, makes it Macedonia’s very own version of Australia’s Tasmania. We don’t hear enough about it as a topic of interest and I always assumed that it was simply because Macedonians have never set foot on it before.

My first reaction, when I read LoM’s suggestion that ethnic Macedonians lived on the island as recently as the Balkan Wars was to scoff at the idea. I checked Macedonian Wikipedia and, sure enough, that is exactly what they claim - that before the Balkan Wars, when the Macedonian population was expelled, Thasos had an ethnically mixed population. I checked Bulgarian Wikipedia, which is a lot more extensive than the Macedonian entry, and although I couldn’t be bothered reading through all of it, they seem to corroborate the idea that on Thasos, besides the Greeks, there also lived a Bulgarian population (i.e. Macedonian population).

Macedonian Wikipedia backs its claim with the following reference to a book by Κωνσταντίνος Χιόνης, Η ΘΑΣΟΣ ΚΑΙ Η ΔΡΑΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΟΑΣΙΩΝ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΙΚΟ ΑΓΩΝΑ. I clicked on the link but I wasn’t able to make out the microscopic text that came up so I can’t shed anymore light on the matter.

[vicsinad]

Thasos (by 1900) was a small island with pure Greek population of about 15,000 people and a small presence of Turks (0,3%).

Many Greeks also call Greece a land with a pure Greek population. I always pause any time I see the phrase "pure [insert ethnicity] population", but I take special precaution when a Greek says it.

Also, why am I not surprised? Many Greeks today don't even acknowledge that Macedonians exist in Macedonia; they would never acknowledge that Macedonians exist anywhere outside of Macedonia.

[Amphipolis]

This is an ethnic map of Bulgarian propaganda. As you can see it mentions Voulgaro (as Volgaro) in Thasos, but generally leaves Thasos and parts of Pieria (Olympus) outside Macedonia for obvious reasons.



And a second Bulgarian one.



This one has more toponyms (including Volgaro for Rahoni) but no Боровец for Limenas or Thasos. Actually there's no name there (it should be in the NE coast).



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[Liberator of Makedonija]

I don’t know enough about the island of Thasos except for its close proximity to Macedonia which, in a way, makes it Macedonia’s very own version of Australia’s Tasmania. We don’t hear enough about it as a topic of interest and I always assumed that it was simply because Macedonians have never set foot on it before.

I brought it up because I noticed it is often forgotten and there was a lack of information on it.

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Macedonian Wikipedia backs its claim with the following reference to a book by Κωνσταντίνος Χιόνης, Η ΘΑΣΟΣ ΚΑΙ Η ΔΡΑΣΗ ΤΩΝ ΟΑΣΙΩΝ ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟ ΜΑΚΕΔΟΝΙΚΟ ΑΓΩΝΑ. I clicked on the link but I wasn’t able to make out the microscopic text that came up so I can’t shed anymore light on the matter.

I looked into this source and have listed parts that may be of interest:


'Slavism was removed from Thassos in 1912-1913.'


'Bulgarians [Macedonians?] were arrested in 1912-1913'

'When roasting the lamb, which he did a Bulgarian stones [???], Tyrnavo the Psarianos with knife killed the Bulgarian'


'He was the first murder of a Bulgarian [Macedonian?] in Thassos'


'These events occured in Thassos and 10 Romanian monks whish to use it as a nest for Romanian propoganda'


'The burning of the dependency of Third-party belt graph in St. George, where three monks lived Bulgarians and prosecution 12-13 some other Bulgarian [Macedonian?], which were of distributed in cho- lds of Thassos.


'Romanian dependency on the river and the Bulgarian St George [???]'


'Limited only to the murder of some Bulgarians [Macedonians?]'


'Three Bulgarian [Macedonian?] brothers, who were tailors'



'....and in 1917, arrested the Bulgarians [???]'


'What I see on the island of Thassos is Turks, tyrants who's brutal hand spreads on the beautiful arms [Halkidik?] and defiles thy breasts. Pure Greeks, instead to live free you again become slaves'


'Every Bulgarian [Macedonian?] guerilla leaves without looking behind......Bulgarian rifles......Only Greeks are world renowned.


'As the Turkish police used trusted Albanians'


It should be noted that this source is written in Greek so it would be better for someone with greater knowledge of that language to have a look at it but this is the stuff I found of interest, roughly translated.

[Amphipolis]

I'll give you the translation of the key sentence that provides the number of Bulgarians in Thassos. Metochia are external properties of monasteries (Bulgarian and Romanian Monasteries of Athos in this case).

"Mavromichalis called Psarianos and asigned him the blowing of the Romanian metohi in Potamia, the burning of Zographos metohi at St. George, where 3 Bulgarian monks lived and the persecution of about 12-13 other Bulgarians, who were dispersed in the villages of Thassos".

This is during the Macedonian Struggle (1907-08 I think), it provides the names and professions of Bulgarians that were assassinated or escaped, the assassins, the villages etc.



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[Skolovranec]

No, it's not. Never heard of this before and couldn't find anything that confirms or suggests it (Google produces nothing). Thasos (by 1900) was a small island with pure Greek population of about 15,000 people and a small presence of Turks (0,3%). Bulgarian statistics should confirm that.

During Metaxas dictatorship, it was used for political exiles.

Bulgarian statistics claim there were over 21.000 people there. One side here is lying, you can't both be right.

I'd also point that there are around 13.000 residents there present-day. What happened since 1900? Population burnout?

[Amphipolis]

Bulgarian statistics claim there were over 21.000 people there. One side here is lying, you can't both be right

Where did you see that?

[Skolovranec]

Where did you see that?

Over here. I don't understand Bulgarian super-well, but I think it explicitly states that there are over 21.000 residents there. It includes statistics for other regions in present-day Greece.

[tchaiku]

Over here. I don't understand Bulgarian super-well, but I think it explicitly states that there are over 21.000 residents there. It includes statistics for other regions in present-day Greece.

He meant which source. (You probably knew this)

[Skolovranec]

He meant which source. (You probably knew this)

Sources are there as you can see for yourself. If you know Bulgarian well maybe you could help out on shedding more light on the details of the info provided there.

[Amphipolis]

Google translation, this is interesting actually. Census in 1941 by the occupying Bulgarian forces.

By administrative districts the population is distributed: Xanthi - 72 821, of which Bulgarian Christians - 1740; With turbulent consciousness -23 938, Greeks - 45 588 and others 1555; Gumyurdzhinska - 99,563, of which Bulgarian Christians - 730, Muslim Bulgarians - 6,138, Turcized consciousness - 47,214, Greeks - 42,214 and others 3267; Dadeagachka - Bulgarian Christians - 2670, with Turcized Consciousness - 1819, Greeks - 20,137 and others 1003; Serska - 80 190, of which Bulgarians - 11 000, Greeks - 67 963 and others - 1237; Demirhisarski - 33,800, of which Bulgarians - 10,820, Greeks - 22,295 and others - 685; Dramska - 128 463, of which Bulgarians - 11 068, Greeks and others - 117 395; Ziljahovska - 33 434, of which Bulgarians - 4710, Greeks and others - 28 724; Kavalska - 64 419, of which Bulgarians - 1000, Greeks - 59 433, with Turcized Consciousness - 9 and others - 3977; Thassos Island - 21 273, of which Bulgarians - 3 and Greeks - 21 270; Governmental - 37 133, of which Bulgarians - 10, with Turkish consciousness - 5, Greeks - 36 822 and others 296 [33] ; Sarasambanska - probably 52,725. This first census organized in a hurry is undoubtedly burdened by imprecision and inaccuracy. It takes place on a voluntary recording of nationality. The census allows the Bulgarian government to get a more realistic picture of the population in the region and the various mood trends among the different ethnic groups.

From a demographic point of view, the area is a very colorful picture, the main tone of which is given by the Greek national group. For its part, however, this ethnic group is not united. The majority of this population are migrants from Eastern Thrace, Asia Minor, Caucasus, Black Sea coast, etc., people with different education, different culture, customs, customs, etc. And with a different concept of labor, hygiene, family and public life - something that brings even greater diversity and diversity to the national composition of the area. [34]