Правна рамка на българските търговски агентства и консулства (1891 – 1918)

Author(s): Aleka Strezova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2023

The article examines the legal regulation of the service in the Bulgarian trade agencies/consulates for the period from 1891 to 1918. The attempts at bilateral negotiations on the subject with the Ottoman Empire are examined, the two normative acts fixing the rights and duties of the consular representatives are highlighted: the Regulations for the Organization of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1897)and the Law on the Structure and Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1907). A detailed structure of the royal consulates can also be traced in the state budgets, where staffing and assignments are detailed. The departmental legislation set the framework for a modern consular service on a par with other European countries.

Изграждане на мрежата от български търговски агентства в Османската империя в края на XIX век – предизвикателства, проблеми, решения

Author(s): Angel Zlatkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2023

The article examines the challenges in the construction of the network of Bulgarian trade agencies in the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 19th century. Although they officially have consular functions, the Bulgarian representations are an important part of Prime Minister Dr. Konstantin Stoilov’s strategy for solving the Bulgarian national question and the accession of Macedonia to the Principality of Bulgaria. Their task is to counteract the development of foreign propaganda in European Turkey and to become a coordination and management center of Bulgarian legal and illegal organizations. Therefore, the Bulgarian trade agents encountered opposition not only from the Ottoman authorities, but also from the consuls of the neighboring Balkan states and Russia – contenders for the distribution of the Ottoman heritage in the Balkans. The author uses the rich archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Denominations in Sofia to show the solutions of the Prime Minister to the main problems and to analyze the result of their implementation.

Монография за българо-френските отношения

Author(s): Stoyan Nikolov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 5/2023

LES CAPITULATIONS FRANCO-OTTOMANES ET LES INSTITUTIONS ÉDUCATIVES ET CULTURELLES DANS LES BALKANS (XIXе – XXе SIÈCLES)

Author(s): Raïa Zaïmova / Language(s): French Issue: 4/2023

The capitulations between France and the Ottoman Empire (1535 – 1536) opened the way of trade and navigation, as well as of the Catholic missions in the Levant. The training of consuls and dragomans in Eastern languages began in the 17th – 18th century, when Capuchins and Jesuits were the main school teachers in Constantinople and Paris. The beginning of the Ottoman Empire’s decline forced its rulers to turn to France, with which they had not had military conflicts and which was famous with the scientific and technological progress. Although the diplomatic relations between the two countries were unequal and inconsistent by the end of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, France managed to gain advantage over the other Western countries and to implement its own education system within the Eastern Empire. Thanks to the capitulations, which had been renewed many times over the years, Catholic missions opened their schools and enjoyed respect of the Ottoman rulers. In the period after the Crimean War, the education following European patterns gained popularity. The Catholic Congregations that had been created, along with some secular ones, attracted the attention of both foreigners and Ottoman subjects. « The Enlightenment Language » opened up an opportunity for modernization of mentality and, at the same time, provoked nationalist reactions from the students. French cultural and educational institutions underwent significant changes after the collapse of Turkey and the creation of national Balkan states.

LA RELIGION AU SERVICE DE LA DIPLOMATIE : LAZARISTES AU COURS DES GUERRES BALKANIQUES (1912 – 1913)

Author(s): Biljana Stojić-Radović / Language(s): French Issue: 4/2023

In the presented article the author researched the role and the position of catholic mission Lazarists based in Macedonia during the Balkan Wars (1912 – 1913). The articles explore the relations of Serbia toward this catholic community but take into consideration the entanglements of the other states involved in the Balkan Wars: Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro, and the Ottoman Empire. Special attention is given to the mission’s humanitarian work conducted during the war operations, as well as its complex position during the Second Balkan war and the problems they have faced after the Wars in Serbia and Greece. A great part of the article is dedicated to France’s attitude and aims to protect Lazarists’ work in the Ottoman Empire and accordingly its religious diplomacy. For two centuries in the Ottoman Empire Lazarists had been closely tied with the French diplomatic network benefiting from diplomatic protection while working in promoting French culture along with Catholicism. France used all diplomatic resources to (re)assure the continuity of its cultural influence after 1913 and the decay of Ottoman rule in the Balkans. The article is based on documents from the Diplomatic archive and the Archives of Congregation of the Mission.

Архиепископ Алойзие Степинац и укрепването на комунистите на власт в Хърватия през 40-те години на ХХ век

Author(s): Irina Ognyanova-Krivoshieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

Already during the Second World War, when it gradually imposed its power over vast Croatian territories, then within the boundaries of the Independent State of Croatia, and especially after its end, when it officially solidified its power, the Yugoslav Communist Party (YKP) began political repressions and trials against all its political opponents, one of which was the Catholic Church. Thousands of clergymen were sent to prisons, camps or were physically liquidated, and churches were massively destroyed in the spirit of the atheistic policy of the regime. Over time, Communist attacks on the head of the Roman Catholic Church, Zagreb Archbishop Aloysius Stepinac, escalated and culminated in the Stalinist political trial of September 1946. The reason for that was that the Archbishop did not give in to the pressure of the authorities, did not disconnect the ties of the Catholic Church in Croatia with Vatican and became a symbol of the Croatian nation and its struggle for independence and statehood.

Македонските българи между Цариградската патриаршия и Българската екзархия в края на XIX век. Случаят „Брусник“

Author(s): Angel Zlatkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

Towards the end of the 19th century, approximately . of the Orthodox Bulgarians in the historical-geographic region of Macedonia remained loyal to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, which served the Greek national idea. In the past, as well as today, this fact has raised the question of the national affiliation of the Bulgarian-speaking population in the European domains of the Ottoman Empire. Why did these people, despite the long-term efforts of the Bulgarian Exarchate to attract them to itself, remain loyal to the Patriarchate? The author points out the unequal position of the two church institutions in the Ottoman administrative system as a leading factor that hindered the normal functioning of the Bulgarian Church and severely limited its ability to guarantee the political, religious and cultural-educational rights of the Bulgarian exarchists. On the border between the two centuries, at the center of the struggle for the distribution of the Ottoman heritage in the Balkans, the Bulgarians in Macedonia were faced with a difficult choice, on which depended not only their personal well-being, but sometimes even their lives.

Д-р Васил Радославов – максималист и авантюрист

Author(s): Rumyana Parvanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

Book Review

ФАКТОРИТЕ НА ИКОНОМИЧЕСКИЯ РАСТЕЖ И ПЕРИОДИЗАЦИЯТА НА СТОПАНСКАТА ИСТОРИЯ НА БЪЛГАРИТЕ В ОСМАНСКАТА ИМПЕРИЯ (XV–XX ВЕК)

Author(s): Ivan Roussev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The article proposes a concept for the economic history periodization of the Bulgarians in the Ottoman empire (15th –20th centuries), made on the basis of the main economic growth factors: the growth of the productivity of labour and capital; technical progress, a consequence of the Industrial Revolution achievements, of the development of knowledge, science and education; the human capital; the emergence of modern institutions, stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit of the population and innovation. In an attempt to substantiate the main periods through which the economic development of the Bulgarians passed through the era have been observed the periodizations already made of the history of the Ottoman empire and of Bulgarian history in the 15th –20th centuries. Considering the presence or absence of the above-mentioned factors we can fix one main internal border – the beginning of the 19th century. It distinguishes two separate periods in the Bulgarian economic history during the ottoman rule, respectively: 15th – 18th centuries and 19th –beginning of 20th centuries.

ОТНОШЕНИЕТО КЪМ ЛИХВАРИТЕ И ЛИХВАТА В ОСМАНСКА БЪЛГАРИЯ ПРЕЗ XIX ВЕК. ПРАВОСЛАВНАТА ПЕРСПЕКТИВА

Author(s): Hristiyan Atanasov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

This article delves into a prevalent question within the realms of economic history and theory: How were usury and interest perceived? It primarily explores the religious and moral viewpoints concerning lending with interest from the vantagepoint of Orthodox Christianity – the dominant religious denomination in Ottoman Bulgaria. The article provides both direct and indirect evidence of the strong religious aversion to usury during the studied period, an attitude that significantly influenced the mindset of the populace. Furthermore, this research examines indications of evolving perspectives over time. In the nineteenth century, the predominant moral disapproval of usury began to wane, influenced by Western liberalism and rationalism. Nonetheless, it remained the dominant and defining perspective.

ИКОНОМИЧЕСКОТО РАЗВИТИЕ В БЪЛГАРСКИТЕ ИДЕИ И ПРОЕКТИ ЗА ДЪРЖАВНО УСТРОЙСТВО И УПРАВЛЕНИЕ ПРЕЗ XIX ВЕК ДО 1879 ГОДИНА

Author(s): Petko St. Petkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The article examines the ideas and projects for the economic development of Bulgarians, including the factors of economic growth or regression, which are present in the program documents of Bulgarian public and political figures and organizations until 1879. Instead of a complex of factors supporting future economic growth, some of these documents contain a sharp critical attitude to the causes of economic backwardness (the lack of guarantees for legal order in the Ottoman state, the discriminatory attitude towards non-Muslims, the heavy tax burden, etc.). The manifestations of economic divination, containing realistic and well-grounded ideas for economic prosperity, stand out: the program of Sophronius Vrachanski from 1811,the part of the memoir from 1867 on the importance of the state budget as an instrument of effective economic management, the economic nationalism of Georgi St. Rakovski, the sensible idea, implemented in the practice of the Exarchate, to manage the nonspiritual secular affairs of the Bulgarians by a special institution, the Mixed Council, operating both at the central level and in each diocese.

КЪДЕ И ЗАЩО В БЪЛГАРСКИТЕ ЗЕМИ ЛИПСВА ИКОНОМИЧЕСКИ РАСТЕЖ ПРЕЗ ЕПОХАТА НА ВЪЗРАЖДАНЕТО

Author(s): Ivaylo Naydenov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

In the 18th and 19th centuries, there were regions and settlements in the central part of the Balkans that were not characterized by dynamic economic, social and public development. As examples, the regions of Pernik, Radomir, Tran, Godech,Kustendil, etc., where the processes of renewal and economic growth character is tic of the Bulgarian National Revival period are absent. The answer to the question is not one-sided. Probably the factors are many and interrelated – the absence or weak development of market relations; the lack of or the weak entrepreneurial class (of Bulgarians, Greeks, merchants from Dubrovnik, Jews) to stimulate the production and exchange of goods and services in long run (from the 15th to the 19th century); the lack of powerful local commercial houses; the lack of social/entrepreneurial networks that contribute to the exchange of goods, financial resources and information between the regions of Pernik, Radomir, Tran, Breznik, etc., and distant regions; the complete lack of or the weak contacts with nearby and distant lands; the existence of restrictive agrarian regime based on chiflik holdings; the lack of local markets and fairs where more intensive commercial exchange could take place; the existence of particular economic and social atmosphere that stimulate anachronistic way of thinking, and it serves as an obstacle to the economic growth. The idea of the presented text is to provide a more realistic view of the socio-economic transformations that took place during the Bulgarian National Revival

КОНСУЛСТВАТА КАТО ФАКТОРИ НА ИКОНОМИЧЕСКИЯ РАСТЕЖ В БЪЛГАРСКОТО ВЪЗРАЖДАНЕ

Author(s): Simeon Simeonov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

This article sheds light on the role of consular institutions as factors of economic growth in the Bulgarian lands before the Liberation from Ottoman rule. Based on a comparative study covering some of the most influential consular representatives in Bulgaria, the article outlines the challenges facing foreign consulates in decades marked by imperial decline, relentless reforms and economic turmoil. Particular emphasis is placed on the interrelationship between political, diplomatic, societal and economic imperatives – as institutions operating in different public spheres, consulate soften had to find a balance between these disparate fields of action. In what way and to what extent did consulates prioritize economic activities and were their economic designs crowned with success? What were their economic goals and how did they contribute to achieving economic growth? Finally, what importance can be attached to consular services in the context of different Bulgarian urban economies – and are they representative of the wider Balkan context? The article conceives of consulates as important institutions in the international infrastructure of the Balkans, which fostered the integration of the region into European commercial networks and the modern international community in the late nineteenth century.

ЗЕМЯТА КАТО ФАКТОР ЗА ИКОНОМИЧЕСКИЯ РАСТЕЖ. ПРЕПЛЕТЕНИ ТРАЕКТОРИИ НА ЕДРОТО ЗЕМЕВЛАДЕНИЕ В БЪЛГАРИЯ ОТ XIX И XX ВЕК

Author(s): Nikolay Todorov,Petar Dobrev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Both Bulgarian and Western historiography have so far mostly ignored the capitalist estates in Bulgaria (the so-called çiftliks) in the 19th and 20th centuries. And while çiftliks were indeed relatively few in number, recent research shows their undeniable influence and persistence. Our work in the Bulgarian and Ottoman archives complements this trend, and in this article we examine some of the areas of successful large-scale landholding and hence the question of land as a factor in economic growth. By analysing the regions of Vidin, Burgas and Dobrudja, we try to answer the question of why çiftliks developed successfully only in certain areas of the country and, consequently, what determined their failure in other, otherwise fertile regions. In our work, we look for the interplay of historical, demographic, geographical and economic factors that make land a profitable economic investment in some places and make agrarian capitalism impossible elsewhere. Our reasoned assumption is that the Ottoman context is crucial for the development of çiftliks after 1878: the different forms of land use in the regions we examine in the late nineteenth century predetermined economic development after 1878 as well. For this purpose, we use Ottoman records of the temettüat defterleri type, which particularly fully show the state of agriculture in the 1840s, as the starting point of our study. We focus mainly on three zones - Vidin, Dobrudja and Burgas - the choice being dictated by the fact that in all three zones there were favourable conditions for large-scale agriculture, but only the two seaside districts developed such agriculture after the Bulgarian liberation, while in Vidin it was completely absent. This is determined by the fact that in the first two zones, during Ottoman times, the peasants owned the land, while in Vidin they were only tenants. It is interesting also to note that in Burgas there was a predominance of Muslim-owned çiftliks which after the Liberation of Bulgaria were bought or taken over by Christians, while in Dobrudja state protections helped the development of Christian-owned çiftliks even before 1878. With quantitative data we also show that in Dobrudja and Burgas çiftliks were economically viable and market-oriented agrarian structures, which in addition influenced the overall economic growth.

ПЕРИФЕРИЯ ИЛИ ПОЛУПЕРИФЕРИЯ? КОГА БЪЛГАРСКИТЕ ЗЕМИ СА ВКЛЮЧЕНИ В СВЕТОВНИЯ КАПИТАЛ?

Author(s): Aleksandar Zlatanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The paper aims to review several perspectives on when and how the Bulgarian lands (Ottoman Rumelia) were integrated into the world system of capital? And in what capacity – as periphery, semi-periphery, or something else? For this purpose the prism of the so-called world-system analysis will be used. World-systems theory was developed in the early 1970s by the American sociologist and historian Immanuel Wallerstein (1930 – 2019). The theory was influenced by various world-renowned scholars such as C. Polanyi, N. Kondratiev, I. Prigozhin, A. Smith, J. Schumpeter, etc., but above all by the tradition of the French Annales School and Braudel’s concept of the „longue durée“. In 1976 Wallerstein founded the „Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems and Civilizations“ at Binghamton University, which with its academic journal „Review“, became the most influential intellectual centre for the application of world-system analysis. At the end of the 1970s, Wallerstein posed for the first time the research questions: when exactly and how was the Ottoman Empire incorporated into the system of global capital? Was this incorporation a singular event, or were the different regions of the empire – Rumelia, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt – incorporated at different times? A few years later, from the early 1980s, Wallerstein, and his collaborator Reşat Kasaba, answered these questions by placing the full incorporation of the Ottoman Empire into world-economy in the period 1750–1839. By reviewing Wallerstein and Kasaba’s main arguments, as well as the data and research that has accumulated, we will try to find out whether their claims are still valid today or need some refinement? The paper aims to review several perspectives on when and how the Bulgarian lands (Ottoman Rumelia) were integrated into the world system of capital? And in what capacity – as periphery, semi-periphery, or something else? For this purpose the prism of the so-called world-system analysis will be used. World-systems theory was developed in the early 1970s by the American sociologist and historian Immanuel Wallerstein (1930 – 2019). The theory was influenced by various world-renowned scholars such as C. Polanyi, N. Kondratiev, I. Prigozhin, A. Smith, J. Schumpeter, etc., but above all by the tradition of the French Annales School and Braudel’s concept of the “longue durée”. In 1976 Wallerstein founded the “Fernand Braudel Center for the Study of Economies, Historical Systems and Civilizations” at Binghamton University, which with its academic journal “Review”, became the most influential intellectual centre for the application of world-system analysis. At the end of the 1970s, Wallerstein posed for the first time the research questions: when exactly and how was the Ottoman Empire incorporated into the system of global capital? Was this incorporation a singular event, or were the different regions of the empire – Rumelia, Anatolia, Syria, Egypt – incorporated at different times? A few years later, from the early 1980s, Wallerstein, and his collaborator Reşat Kasaba, answered these questions by placing the full incorporation of the Ottoman Empire into world-economy in the period 1750–1839. By reviewing Wallerstein and Kasaba’s main arguments, as well as the data and research that has accumulated, we will try to find out whether their claims are still valid today or need some refinement?

ОБРАЗОВАНИЕ И ИКОНОМИКА В БЪЛГАРИЯ 1879–1912 ГОДИНА

Author(s): Pencho D. Penchev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The education system after the Liberation of Bulgaria in 1879was nationalized and centralized. As a result, the number of literate Bulgarians increased, but the system became detached from the social necessities and began to work in its own favor. At least for the considered period of 1879–1912, no visible positive consequences of the government education policy on the overall economic development of the country can be established, i.e. education fails to become a factor accelerating economic modernization. The underdeveloped agrarian economy of Bulgaria turned the primary schools literally into tombs for teachers and students, while the specialized professional schools produced mainly civil servants and clients of the corrupt political system. Compulsory education in a certain sense emerges as a tax that does not bring a prospect of improvement in the material situation of ordinary people, but strengthens their poverty. The general conclusion of the historical reconstruction is that in the conditions of post-liberation Bulgaria, education perhaps brings some social benefits, but the facts convincingly show that the thesis of its universal benefit cannot be accepted.

ПЕЧАТЪТ КАТО ВЪЗМОЖНОСТ ЗА РЕФОРМИРАНЕ НА БЪЛГАРСКОТО ЗЕМЕДЕЛИЕ ПРЕЗ 80-ТЕ –90-ТЕ ГОДИНИ НА ХІХ ВЕК

Author(s): Yordanka Krivoshieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The purpose of the present study is to show the features, essence and meaning of the press, organized and supported by the idealism and patriotism of the young, highly educated and economically far-sighted Bulgarian intelligentsia. The Bulgarian agricultural periodical and book press from the last two decades of the 19th century introduces the novelties of modern agriculture, highlights the advantages of the economy based on scientific knowledge and the use of agricultural machinery. Economic reforms are the work of an enlightened society that respects and values agricultural labour. The seal suggests the importance of constant, daily work and emphasizes personal initiative. The conservative rural population did not sufficiently benefit from the knowledge and ideas for rational organization of the farm that the agricultural press offered. A certain apathy about the press also shows part of the agricultural intelligentsia. Incorrect subscribers and officials create difficulties for its normal functioning and distribution. The published books do not receive the necessary attention due to the mistrust of the peasants towards the people of intellectual work. All this limits the usefulness of the press and slows down there form process. Newspapers, magazines and books on agricultural issues from the last two decades of the 19th century represent a national treasure that has not lost its relevance. The chronological, systematic, comparative and analytical method was used for the research.

ОПИТИ ЗА СТИМУЛИРАНЕ НА ЧАСТНАТА СТОПАНСКА ИНИЦИАТИВА В БЪЛГАРИЯ ПРЕЗ 80-ТЕ ГОДИНИ НА ХХ ВЕК

Author(s): Kostadin Paev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The apparent lagging behind of the socialist economy in the late 1970s forced the government to take steps towards expanding the possibilities of exercising private initiative in the various areas of the economy in the 1980s. All reformist attempts are confronted with the limited possibilities of the system. Experiments with mixed state-private forms of economic activity also do not achieve the expected result. The range of activities and persons admitted to private business is gradually expanding. This is mainly done through the issuance of new regulations. Key in this respect remains the issue of wage labor, which for ideological reasons is not allowed outside the family community. The study examines the legal regulation of private practice in trade, services, and retail production, excluding agriculture and the liberal professions. In the early 1980s, there was an intensification of the state's policy of stimulating private economic activity in the three spheres, given the lack of sufficient satisfaction of citizens with consumer goods and services. The Communist Party, which defines the general directions of development of the Bulgarian economy, falls into a vicious circle between the needs of society, the desire to satisfy them and the limited capabilities of the political regime. In the 1980s, two periods emerged in the policy of the State in this respect: from 1980 to 1986 and from 1987 to 1989. In the first period, the following main trends emerge: expanding the circle of persons allowed to carry out private commercial activity; the range of activities carried out is expanded too; as the main participants in private business and small production, in addition to parents and children, it is allowed to hire close relatives up to the second degree. At the end of this period in 1986, about 20 % of the country's population received additional income from private activities, but almost half of this income is from renting out premises, while persons engaged in trade, services, and retail manufacturing made up only 1% of the population. In the second period, a new step is made by regulating the performance of private work by citizens in five main areas: transport, pedagogical, administrative-legal and design services, and development of software products and software services. Again, however, the opportunities for hiring individuals are limited within the family circle. It was only with the issuance of Decree 56 on business activity at the beginning of 1989 that conditions for transition to a capitalist market economy were created.

ФАКТОРИТЕ НА ИКОНОМИЧЕСКИ РАСТЕЖ НА СТАРОПЛАНИНСКИТЕ СЕЛИЩА ПРЕЗ XIX ВЕК

Author(s): Gergana Georgieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The research focuses on several important economic centers from the region of Stara Planina – Tryavna, Elena, Kotel and Gabrovo, which show intensive economic development at the end of the 18th and in the 19th centuries. Thus, those urban centers became engines of the economic development 3of the Bulgarian lands and initiators of the processes of cultural, religious and political emancipation among the Bulgarians in the 19th century. The most important factors for their economic growth appeared to be the commercial activities and crafts – they boost the process of capital accumulation. The population increase in the 18th and 19th centuries was another factor for economic growth. The reforms initiated by Sultan Mahmud II at the beginning of the 19th century also had a positive effect on the economic development of the pre-Balkan settlements and coincided with the period of capital accumulation among Bulgarians.

The Songs of the Lost Land: Re-envisioning the Turkish Folk Songs from Adakele through Previous Compilations and Research Studies

Author(s): Cenk Güray,Duygu Günever / Language(s): Turkish,English Issue: 1/2021

Adakale, a center of Turkish culture in the Balkans since the 15th century, has witnessed the establishment of cultural communication between the Balkan people sharing the multicultural life symbolized by the River Danube. After the “loss” of Adakale by being submerged in 1970, music and literature were the only media reflecting this memory. The past studies of Turkish folk poetry and music compiled from the Adakale region will be evaluated within this work. Possible methods of re-envisioning the melodies of the compiled lyrics whose melodies are lost will be discussed by utilizing compilations made from other regions of the Balkan Peninsula and using the folk melodies in Turkey that originated from the Balkan lands.