IDEAS ABOUT THE ETHNOGENESIS OF THE MACEDONIAN PEOPLE BEFORE 1944

Abstract

This paper analyzes the key texts written by Macedonians, appearing in the period before 1944, that treat and argue upon the idea of a Macedonian nation, its appearance and development from an ethno-national position. In other words, it elaborates upon the idea of the ethnogenesis of the Macedonian people and nation. The paper analyzes the context and conditions in which this idea and the related concepts were developed and presented, emphasizing the absence of external support, domestic and supportive national institutions and the conditions of aggressive expansionism of the neighboring nationalisms. The authors focus their attention no particular texts, such as: the essay on the Macedonian question, written by Slavejkov, Pulevski's History, Misirkov's 'On Macedonian Affairs', and two texts written by Vasil Ivanovski. The fate and fortunes of these works: being unpublished, attempts to be destroyed, written in prison or published in distant foreign countries are analyzed as symptoms, which are indicating the conditions of the development of the Macedonian nation in the century before the creation of the Macedonian state.   

Keywords:

Macedonian nation, conditions, ethnogenesis,  lack of support and institutions, neighboring nationalisms.