Here are what British diplomats wrote to their chief of diplomacy in the early 20th century: "Bulgarians appeal to Europe to give Macedonians reforms - autonomy, kingdom or republic, no matter what, only they can return to their own Country - they came to seek freedom, and they took the bread from the mouths of the Bulgarians. "
At the end of the XIX century, after the Berlin Congress (1878), characteristic of the history of the Balkan Peninsula was the emergence and development of the Macedonian question. According to the decisions of this congress, Macedonia remained within the framework of the Ottoman Empire, and the agreement reached in Berlin, Macedonia and other parts of European Turkey, to which Art. 23, provided partial administrative autonomy, but the Ottoman government did not intend to enforce this article. At that time in the neighborhood of Macedonia the countries of Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria were created, and their great state aspirations were directed precisely on the territory of Macedonia. But these states, both militarily and economically, were still very weak to take military action to conquer new territories, That is why they started fierce religious and linguistic propaganda for gaining the Macedonian Christian population. The Bulgarian, Greek and Serbian governments did not save money to open as many Bulgarian, Serbian or Greek schools and churches as they were, and soon there were armed conflicts between supporters of these foreign propaganda. In such conditions in 1893, the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization was formed in Macedonia, and in 1895 in Sofia, with the unification of the Macedonian societies, the Supreme Macedonian Committee was formed, which expressed the demands of the Macedonian immigrants in Bulgaria in relation to Macedonia. These revolutionary movements, clashes and fights at the end of the XIX and early XX centuries led to the famous Ilinden uprising.
About the events in the so-called. European Turkey, of which Macedonia was part, was especially interested in Britain. She sought to strengthen her diplomatic missions in this part of the Balkans to closely monitor events and defend British interests in other European countries.
The collection "British documents for the history of Macedonia" (1901-1904) contains interesting information about the economic and political situation, the revolutionary movement, religious conflicts, etc. sent by the British diplomatic representatives to its foreign ministry.
In these documents, as well as in the entire documentation of that time, the members of the Christian Slavic population were named as Bulgarians, Greeks or Serbs, depending on the power under which the church was located - the Bulgarian Exarchate, the Greek Patriarchate or the Serbian Orthodox Church, because The Ottoman state divided its subjects to religious, not to ethnic communities, and their basic identity was the religious, not the national. In addition, they often gave inaccurate interpretations and assessments of events in Macedonia; however, in some reports, we find terms such as "Macedonians", "Macedonian people", "autonomous state of Macedonia", "Principality of Macedonia", and so on.
Here are two such documents:
In the first, which is a letter from the British Ambassador to Vienna Francis Plankett to the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Great Britain, the Marquis of Lensdon, March 9, 1901, makes a clear distinction between Bulgarians and Macedonians who are undesirable in Bulgaria, They took the bread from the mouth of the Bulgarians. "
At the beginning of the letter, Ambassador Plancett addresses the Lensdown Marquess with the words: "Please allow me to give you a brief excerpt from a report published today in the" Information "newspaper, which lists the number of officers, officers, etc. , Who were born Macedonians, and what influence this has on the government and administration in the Principality (Bulgarian). "
An article from the article reads: "The statistical data on the number of Macedonians living in Bulgaria throw a clear light on the Macedonian question. According to the latest population census in the Principality, it is 3,500,000 people, and since the last census in 1890, there has been an increase of 600,000 people. The increase is mainly due to the emigration from Macedonia and the Odrino vilayet. The emigrants did not carry anything besides their knowledge of various types of trade, in which they competed with the Bulgarians. Twenty thousand Macedonians settled in Sofia, 8,000 in Plovdiv, and in other cities, the number of Macedonian settlements is in proportion. Statistics show that one-third of the officers in the Bulgarian army are Macedonians. Of the 86,000 teachers there are 2,600 Macedonians, and among 38,000 officers 15. 000 are Macedonians. Four of the eight metropolitans are Macedonians by birth, and of the total number of 3,112 priests, 1,262 are Macedonians. Furthermore, every year, in search of happiness, 200 to 300 Macedonian students from the schools in the Exarchate come to Bulgaria. In that way, it is clear that the Macedonian question has long since stopped being a political issue for Bulgaria. It looks more like a question with an internal economic character.
Therefore, Bulgarians appeal to Europe to give Macedonians reforms - autonomy, kingdom or republic, no matter what, only they can return to their own country - they came to seek freedom, and they took the bread from the mouths of Bulgarians. Europe must sooner or later hear these appeals because there is no force in the country that can stop the Macedonian officer, soldier or teacher from crossing the border from where the uprising did not just break out. "
Political autonomy for Macedonia
In a letter from the British Consul General in Sofia, F.H. Eliot, to the State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia. Britain, the Marquis of Lensdaun, 26 juni1901 year, noted that the country's movement needs to distance itself from Bulgarian aspirations and "to achieve political autonomy, a contingency plan for a federation with all Balkan countries."
Here's what the Consul F. H. Eliot wrote to the Marquis of Lensdown:
"The new President of the Macedonian Committee, Professor Mihajlovski, delivered a speech on 22 May, from which I provide you with the following summary: The Macedonian movement must itself prevent and avoid any attempt to use force that could lead to disaster. The efforts of the Macedonians should lead in that direction and show the whole world that they do not have pan-Arab aspirations and that they are struggling only to receive the autonomy stipulated in art. 23 of the Berlin Treaty ". He further cites Mihajlovski's words: "Let there be no aspirations to merge with Bulgaria, to have full equality of the rights of the entire population in Macedonia, to achieve political autonomy, with a possible plan for a federation with all the Balkan states - this should be the political Conviction of all Macedonians. The reason for the failure, Both in Bulgaria and Macedonia, is the endless internal party struggle in Bulgaria. In the future, a clear line should be drawn between the Bulgarian and Macedonian affairs. The Macedonian interfering in Bulgarian party politics must stay away from the struggle for the liberation of Macedonia, and the Bulgarian who dedicates himself to the Macedonian cause must turn his back on the external and internal aspirations of Bulgaria. "
