Kresna Uprising, San Stefano Treaty and Berlin Congress (1878)

[Carlin]

Originally Posted by Liberator of Makedonija

Still seeking more information on the supposed "Greek" uprising that was taking place near the border with Thessaly just prior to Kresna. English wikipedia lists three seperate "Greek" uprisings in Macedonia from 1854-1878

LoM, would you be able to post the wikipedia links?

Regarding the "1878 Greek Macedonian rebellion" (link here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1878_G...nian_rebellion) it is stated that (...I haven't been able to research the other parts yet):

"The uprising began on Mount Vourinos led by Anastasios Picheon. On February 18, 1878, rebels from different parts of western Macedonia, formed in the Vourinos settlement, the "Provisional Government of Macedonian province of Elimeia" seeking the abolition of the Treaty of San Stefano and the Association of Macedonia with Greece. The summer of 1878, about 15,000 armed men escalated a guerrilla war in the mountains of Western Macedonia from Kozani to Bitola."

Also, "In northern Macedonia, rebellions went as far as Veles, where the chieftain Katrakos was acting with 50 men. After the suppression of the uprising, many Velesians were forced to resort to Thessaloniki."

1) What do we know about Anastasios Picheon or Pichion?

We know that:
- Anastasios Pichion or Picheon was a Greek of Vlach descent.
- He was born in Ohrid during the Ottoman period. He studied in Ohrid and Bitola. He had Margaritis Dimitsas (also a 'Vlach') as his teacher, in whose private school, in Bitola, he taught for a while and helped his teacher in writing various of his studies.

URL:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastasios_Pichion

2) What do we know about the residents "of the mountains of Western Macedonia from Kozani to Bitola"? Well, the Greeks were mostly of Vlach extraction in all these parts. I assume I don't have to bother about Bitola. Regarding Kozani, we have the following eyewitness testimony from basically the exact same time period. While visiting the town of Kozani in 1880, British diplomat and historian Sir Ignatius Valentine Chirol, noted that “In the 900 houses of this city there are scarcely twenty where around the family fireside any other language is spoken than the old Latin-sounding Wallach. (Still) the prosperous townsfolk would be deeply hurt if any doubt were hinted as to the genuineness of their Hellenism”.

3) In terms of "northern Macedonia" where "rebellions went as far as Veles, where the chieftain Katrakos was acting with 50 men" the only Greeks of Veles and nearby areas were also basically Vlachs, although I don't know much about this chieftain Katrakos. It's possible he might have been a native of Veles or from somewhere else (like Kosmas Doumpiotis, who is mentioned to have started the revolution on Olympus in 1878. Doumpiotis was from Skopelos, an island in the western Aegean Sea; perhaps his ancestors were from Macedonia or Epirus... Doumpiotis is very similar to Vlach name Doumpa or Dumba).

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Still interesting how these events have been almost completely overlooked in our history.

[Liberator of Makedonija]

What an interesting figure, anyone know more about him?

https://mk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%92...B8%D0%B5%D0%B2

[Liberator of Makedonija]

Partially relevant

Mario Hristovski's video on Dimitar Berovski mentions an organisation he founded in Solun known as 'Macedonian Dawn' - only references I have found are from Bulgarian sources which claim it was called "Bulgarian Dawn", there does not appear to be any Macedonian study on this group.