A letter from Vasilije Petrovic to Count Shuvalov, Macedonians seek protection, 1754!
20080318 — makedonika
Partial translation into English of the above letter:
….our brothers Christians: Albanians, Macedonians, Bosnians, Serbs and Bulgarians are looking for our protection…..
From the book “Istorija o Crnoj Gori”* By Vladike** Vasilije Petrovica printed in Moscow 10th March 1754.
*The History of Montenegro.
**Vladika/e is a Montenegrin title equivalent to “Prince-bishop”.
20080327 at 11:27
Aaah Jordan. This is a good one in all except one detail: The person making the plea does not describe himself as a “Macedonian”, nor does his name sound “Macedonian”. In all possibility, the -ic suffix belongs to a Serb or Montenegrin name.
Everyhting else seems correct. The author does not speak of obsolete people like Thracians, and the prototype proves that the person was a genuine Balkaner.
The only problem thus, is that we do not know who those Macedonians were. There might have been your folks, or Greek Macedonians, who used the legacy of Alexander the Great as well, no later than half a century later. Your author does not describe those Macedonians, and you get no proof of who these were, just a name. I am afraid that this is not sufficient evidence…
20080327 at 21:35
Nice to see that you found your way here Petros, welcome, and I sincerely hope you learn something new.
Now let me answer to your post.
Firstly Vasilije Petrovic whom has written this book that contains this letter is not a Macedonian but rather a Montenegrin. I hope that answers the first part of your post.
Secondly, Vasilije clearly differentiates between the Macedonians and the rest of the people he names.
Petros the “Greek Macedonians” that you speak of were a small minority and they were not calling themselves by the name you gave them, they were calling themselves for ROMEOI(meaning Romans), and nothing else. So please do not mislead people.
I hope I have answered your post.