Chapter 17

The authorized and fullest biography of Sir John A. Macdonald is one written by his private secretary, Joseph Pope. Others have been written by his nephew, Colonel J. Pennington Macpherson, and by J. E. Collins. A bright and amusing anecdotal life has been compiled by E. D. Biggar. A condensed biography by G. R. Parkin forms one of the “Makers of Canada” series (Toronto, 1907; new ed., 1909).

The authorized and fullest biography of Sir John A. Macdonald is one written by his private secretary, Joseph Pope. Others have been written by his nephew, Colonel J. Pennington Macpherson, and by J. E. Collins. A bright and amusing anecdotal life has been compiled by E. D. Biggar. A condensed biography by G. R. Parkin forms one of the “Makers of Canada” series (Toronto, 1907; new ed., 1909).

(G. R. P.)

MACDONALD, JOHN SANDFIELD(1812-1872), Canadian statesman, was born at St Raphael, Glengarry county, Ontario, on the 12th of December 1812. He was admitted to the bar in 1840, and settled in Cornwall. In the same year he married Miss Waggaman, the daughter of an American senator from Louisiana. In 1841 he was elected to the Canadian parliament for Glengarry, which seat he held for sixteen years. In 1842 he joined the Reformers in the cry for constitutional government, and from 1852 to 1854 was Speaker of the house. He was always uncertain in his party allegiance, and often attacked George Brown, the Liberal leader. Indeed, he well described himself as “the Ishmael of parliament.” In 1862 he was called on by Lord Monck, the governor-general, to form a ministry, which by manifold shifts held office till February 1864. In the debates on federation he opposed the measure, but on its passage was in 1867 entrusted by the Conservatives with the task of organizing the provincial government of Ontario. He ruled the province with economy and efficiency, but was defeated in December 1871 by the Liberals, resigned the premiership, and died on the 1st of June 1872.

MACDONALD, LAWRENCE(1799-1878), British sculptor, was born at Findo-Gask, Perthshire, Scotland. In early life he served as a mason’s apprentice. Having shown an aptitude for stone carving, he became an art student at the Trustees’ Academy, Edinburgh. By the help of friends he was enabled to visit Rome, where together with other artists he helped to found the British Academy of Arts. He returned to Edinburghin 1826. In 1829 he was elected a member of the Scottish Academy. From 1832 until his death his home was in Rome. Among his ideal works may be mentioned “Ulysses and his Dog Argos,” “Andromeda chained to the Rock,” “Eurydice,” “Hyacinth,” a “Siren,” and a “Bacchante.”

MACDONELL, JAMES(1841-1879), British journalist, was born at Dyce, Aberdeenshire. In 1858, after his father’s death, he became clerk in a merchant’s office. He began writing in theAberdeen Free Press; in 1862 he was appointed to the staff of theDaily Reviewat Edinburgh, and at twenty-two he became editor of theNorthern Daily Express. In 1865 he went to London to accept a position on the staff of theDaily Telegraph, which he retained until 1875, being special correspondent in France in 1870 and 1871. In 1873 he became a leader-writer onThe Times. He died in London on the 2nd of March 1879. His posthumousFrance since the First Empire, though incomplete, gave a clever and accurate account of the French politics of his time.

MACDONNELL(orMacdonell),ALESTAIR(i.e.Alexander)RUADH(c.1725-1761), chief of Glengarry, a Scottish Jacobite who has been identified by Andrew Lang as the secret agent “Pickle,” who acted as a spy on Prince Charles Edward after 1750. The family were a branch of the clan Macdonald, but spelt their name Macdonnell or Macdonell. His father was John, 12th chief of Glengarry, a violent and brutal man, who is said to have starved his first wife, Alestair’s mother, to death on an island in the Hebrides. Alestair ran away to France while a mere boy in 1738, and there entered the Royal Scots, a regiment in the French service. In 1743 he commanded a company in it, and in 1744 was sent to Scotland as a Jacobite agent. In January 1745 he was sent back with messages, and was in France when Prince Charles Edward landed in Scotland. Late in 1745 he was captured at sea while bringing a picquet of the Royal Scots to help the prince. He remained a prisoner in the Tower for twenty-two months, and when released went abroad. In 1744 his father had made a transfer to him of the family estates, which were ruined. Alestair, who still affected to be a Jacobite, lived for a time in great poverty. In 1749 he was in London, and there is good reason to believe that he then offered his services as a spy to the British government, with which he communicated under the name of Pickle. His information enabled British ministers to keep a close watch on the prince and on the Jacobite conspiracies. Though he was denounced by a Mrs Cameron, whose husband he betrayed to death in 1752, he never lost the confidence of the Jacobite leaders. On the death of his father, in 1754, he succeeded to the estates, and proved himself a greedy landlord. He died on the 23rd of December 1761.

See Andrew Lang,Pickle the Spy(1897) andThe Companions of Pickle(1898).

See Andrew Lang,Pickle the Spy(1897) andThe Companions of Pickle(1898).

MACDONNELL, SORLEY BOY(c.1505-1590), Scoto-Irish chieftain, son of Alexander Macdonnell, lord of Islay and Kintyre (Cantire), was born at Ballycastle, Co. Antrim. From an ancestor who about a hundred years earlier had married Margaret Bisset, heiress of the district on the Antrim coast known as the Glynns (or Glens), he inherited a claim to the lordship of that territory; and he was one of the most powerful of the Scottish settlers in Ulster whom the English government in the 16th century found difficulty in bringing into subjection. Many attempts were made to drive them out of Ireland, in one of which, about 1550, Sorley Boy Macdonnell was taken prisoner and conveyed to Dublin Castle, where, however, his confinement was brief. The chief rivals of the Macdonnells were the Mac Quillins who dominated the northern portion of Antrim, known as the Route, and whose stronghold was Dunluce Castle, near the mouth of the Bush. Sorley Boy Macdonnell took an active part in the tribal warfare between his own clan and the Mac Quillins; and in 1558, when the latter had been to a great extent overcome, his elder brother James committed to him the lordship of the Route, his hold on which he made good by decisively defeating the Mac Quillins in Glenshesk. Sorley Boy was now too powerful and turbulent to be neglected by Queen Elizabeth and her ministers, who were also being troubled by his great contemporary, Shane O’Neill; and the history of Ulster for the next twenty years consists for the most part of alternating conflict and alliance between Macdonnells and O’Neills, and attempts on the part of the English government to subdue them both. With this object Elizabeth aimed at fomenting the rivalry between the two clans; and she came to terms sometimes with the one and sometimes with the other. Sorley Boy’s wife was an illegitimate half-sister of Shane O’Neill; but this did not deter him from leaguing himself with the government against the O’Neills, if by so doing he could obtain a formal recognition of his title to the lands of which he was in actual possession. In 1562 Shane O’Neill paid his celebrated visit to London, where he obtained recognition by Elizabeth of his claims as head of the O’Neills; and on his return to Ireland he attacked the Macdonnells, ostensibly in the English interest. He defeated Sorley Boy near Coleraine in the summer of 1564; in 1565 he invaded the Glynns, and at Ballycastle won a decisive victory, in which James Macdonnell and Sorley Boy were taken prisoners. James soon afterwards died, but Sorley Boy remained O’Neill’s captive till 1567, when Shane was murdered by the Macdonnells at Cushendun (seeO’Neill). Sorley Boy then went to Scotland to enlist support, and he spent the next few years in striving to frustrate the schemes of Sir Thomas Smith, and later of the earl of Essex, for colonizing Ulster with English settlers. Sorley Boy was willing to come to terms with the government provided his claims to his lands were allowed, but Essex determined to reduce him to unconditional submission. John Norris was ordered to proceed by sea from Carrickfergus to Rathlin Island, where Sorley Boy’s children and valuables, together with the families of his principal retainers, had been lodged for safety; and while the chieftain was himself at Ballycastle, within sight of the island, the women and children were massacred by the English. Sorley Boy retaliated by a successful raid on Carrickfergus and by re-establishing his power in the Glynns and the Route, which the Mac Quillins made ineffectual attempts to recover. Macdonnell’s position was still further strengthened by an alliance with Turlough Luineach O’Neill, and by a formidable immigration of followers from the Scottish islands. In 1584 Sir John Perrot determined to make a further effort to subdue the turbulent chieftain. After another expedition to Scotland seeking help, Sorley Boy landed at Cushendun in January 1585, and his followers regained possession of Dunluce Castle. In these circumstances Sir John Perrot opened negotiations with Sorley Boy, who in the summer of 1586 repaired to Dublin and made submission to Elizabeth’s representative. He obtained a grant to himself and his heirs of all the Route country between the rivers Bann and Bush, with certain other lands to the east, and was made constable of Dunluce Castle, For the rest of his life Sorley Boy gave no trouble to the English government. He died in 1590, and was buried in Bonamairgy Abbey, at Ballycastle. He is said to have married when over eighty years of age, as his second wife, a daughter of Turlough Luineach O’Neill, a kinswoman of his first wife; and two of his five daughters married members of the O’Neill family. Sorley Boy had several sons by his first marriage, one of whom, Randal, was created earl of Antrim (q.v.), and was ancestor of the present holder of that title.

See G. Hill,An Historical Account of the Macdonnells of Antrim(London, 1873); Richard Bagwell,Ireland under the Tudors(3 vols., London, 1885-1890);Calendar of State Papers: Carew MSS.i., ii., (6 vols., 1867-1873); Donald Gregory,History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland1493-1625 (London, 1881); Sir J. T. Gilbert,History of the Viceroys of Ireland(Dublin, 1865).

See G. Hill,An Historical Account of the Macdonnells of Antrim(London, 1873); Richard Bagwell,Ireland under the Tudors(3 vols., London, 1885-1890);Calendar of State Papers: Carew MSS.i., ii., (6 vols., 1867-1873); Donald Gregory,History of the Western Highlands and Isles of Scotland1493-1625 (London, 1881); Sir J. T. Gilbert,History of the Viceroys of Ireland(Dublin, 1865).

(R. J. M.)

MACDONOUGH, THOMAS(1786-1825), American sailor, was born in the state of Delaware, his father being an officer of the Continental Army, and entered the United States navy in 1800. During his long service as a lieutenant he took part in the bombardment of Tripoli, and on a subsequent occasion showed great firmness in resisting the seizure of a seaman asan alleged deserter from the British navy, his ship at the time lying under the guns of Gibraltar. When war with England broke out, in 1812, he was ordered to cruise in the lakes between Canada and the United States, with his headquarters on lake Champlain. He was instrumental in saving New York and Vermont from invasion by his brilliant victory of lake Champlain gained, on the 11th of September 1814, with a flotilla of 14 vessels carrying 86 guns, over Captain George Downie’s 16 vessels and 92 guns. For this important achievement New York and Vermont granted him estates, whilst Congress gave him a gold medal.

MacDOWELL, EDWARD ALEXANDER(1861-1908), American musical composer, was born in New York City on the 18th of December 1861. His father, an Irishman of Belfast, had emigrated to America shortly before the boy’s birth. He had a varied education in music, first under Spanish-American teachers, and then in Europe, at Paris (Debussy being a fellow pupil), Stuttgart, Wiesbaden and Weimar, where he was chiefly influenced by Joachim, Raff and Liszt. From 1879 to 1887 he lived in Germany, teaching and studying, and also appearing as solo pianist at important concerts. In 1884 he married Marian Nevins, of New York. In 1888 he returned to America, and settled in Boston till in 1896 he was made professor of music at Columbia University, New York. He resigned this post in 1904, and in 1905 overwork and insomnia resulted in a complete cerebral collapse. He died on the 24th of January 1908. MacDowell’s work gives him perhaps the highest place among American composers. Deeply influenced by modern French models and by German romanticism, full of poetry and “atmosphere,” and founded on the “programme,” idea of composition, it is essentially creative in the spirit of a searcher after delicate truths of artistic expression. His employment of touches of American folk-song, suggested by Indian themes, is characteristic. This is notably the case with his orchestralIndian Suite(1896) andWoodland Sketchesfor the piano. His first concerto, in A minor, for piano and orchestra, and first pianoforte suite, were performed at Weimar in 1882. His works include orchestral suites and “poems,” songs, choruses, and various pieces for pianoforte, his own instrument; they are numbered fromop.9 toop.62, his first eight numbered works being destroyed by him.

See Lawrence Gilman,Edward MacDowell(1906).

See Lawrence Gilman,Edward MacDowell(1906).

McDOWELL, IRVIN(1818-1885), American soldier, was born in Columbus, Ohio, on the 15th of October 1818. He was educated in France, and graduated at the U. S. military academy in 1838. From 1841 to 1845 he was instructor, and later adjutant, at West Point. He won the brevet of captain in the Mexican War, at the battle of Buena Vista, and served as adjutant-general, chiefly at Washington, until 1861, being promoted major in 1856. In 1858-1859 he visited Europe. Whilst occupied in mustering volunteers at the capital, he was made brigadier-general in May 1861, and placed in command during the premature Virginian campaign of July, which ended in the defeat at Bull Run. Under McClellan he became a corps commander and major-general of volunteers (March 1862). When the Peninsular campaign began McDowell’s corps was detained against McClellan’s wishes, sent away to join in the fruitless chase of “Stonewall” Jackson in the Shenandoah Valley, and eventually came under the command of General Pope, taking part in the disastrous campaign of Second Bull Run. Involved in Pope’s disgrace, McDowell was relieved of duty in the field (Sept. 1862), and served on the Pacific coast 1864-68. He became, on Meade’s death in November 1872, major-general of regulars (a rank which he already held by brevet), and commanded successively the department of the east, the division of the south, and the division of the Pacific until his retirement in 1882. The latter years of his life were spent in California, and he died at San Francisco on the 4th of May 1885. As a commander he was uniformly unfortunate. Undoubtedly he was a faithful, unselfish and energetic soldier, in patriotic sympathy with the administration, and capable of great achievements. It was his misfortune to be associated with the first great disaster to the Union cause, to play the part of D’Erlon at Quatre-Bras between the armies of Banks and McClellan, and finally to be involved in the catastrophe of Pope’s campaign. That he was perhaps too ready to accept great risks at the instance of his superiors is the only just criticism to which his military character was open.

MACDUFF,a police burgh and seaport of Banffshire, Scotland. Pop. (1001), 3431. It lies on the right bank of the mouth of the Deveron, 1 m. E. of Banff and 50¼ m. N.W. of Aberdeen by the Great North of Scotland railway. The site was originally occupied by the fishing village of Doune, but after its purchase by the 1st earl of Fife, about 1732, the name was altered to Macduff by the 2nd earl, who also procured for it in 1783 a royal charter constituting it a burgh. In honour of the occasion he rebuilt the market cross, in front of the parish church. The harbour, safer and more accessible than that of Banff, was constructed by the duke of Fife, and transferred to the burgh in 1808. The inhabitants are chiefly employed in the herring fishery, but there is some boat-building, besides rope-and-sail making, manure works, saw-mills and oilcake mills. A stone bridge across the Deveron communicates with Banff. Good bathing facilities, a bracing climate and a mineral well attract numerous visitors to Macduff every summer. The burgh unites with Banff, Cullen, Elgin, Inverurie, Kintore and Peterhead (the Elgin burghs) in returning one member to parliament.

McDUFFIE, GEORGE(1788-1851), American political leader, was born in Columbia county, Georgia. He Was admitted to the bar in 1814, and served in the South Carolina General Assembly in 1818-1821, and in the national House of Representatives in 1821-1834. In 1821 he published a pamphlet in which strict construction and states’ rights were strongly denounced; yet in 1832 there were few more uncompromising nullificationists. The change seems to have been gradual, and to have been determined in part by the influence of John C. Calhoun. When, after 1824, the old Democratic-Republican party split into factions, he followed Andrew Jackson and Martin Van Buren in opposing the Panama Congress and the policy of making Federal appropriations for internal improvements. He did not hesitate, however, to differ from Jackson on the two chief issues of his administration: the Bank and nullification. In 1832 he was a prominent member of the South Carolina Nullification Convention, and drafted its address to the people of the United States. He served as governor in 1834-1836, during which time he helped to reorganize South Carolina College. From January 1843 until January 1846 he was a member of the United States Senate. The leading Democratic measures of those years all received his hearty support. McDuffie, like Calhoun, became an eloquent champion of state sovereignty; but while Calhoun emphasized state action as the only means of redressing a grievance, McDuffie paid more attention to the grievance itself. Influenced in large measure by Thomas Cooper, he made it his special work to convince the people of the South that the downfall of protection was essential to their material progress. His argument that it is the producer who really pays the duty of imports has been called the economic basis of nullification. He died at Cherry Hill, Sumter district, South Carolina, on the 11th of March 1851.

MACE(Fr.masse, O. Fr.mace, connected with Lat.mateola, a mallet), originally a weapon of offence, made of iron, steel or latten, capable of breaking through the strongest armour.1The earliestceremonialmaces, as they afterwards became, though at first intended to protect the king’s person, were those borne by the serjeants-at-arms, a royal body-guard established in France by Philip II., and in England probably by Richard I. By the 14th century a tendency towards a more decorative serjeant’s mace, encased with precious metals, is noticeable. The history of the civic mace (carried by the serjeants-at-mace) begins aboutthe middle of the 13th century, though no examples of that period are in existence to-day. Ornamented civic maces were considered an infringement of one of the privileges of the king’s serjeants, who, according to the Commons’ petition in 1344, were alone deemed worthy of having maces enriched with costly metals. This privilege was, however, granted to the serjeants of London, and later to those of York (in 1396), Norwich (in 1403/4) and Chester (in 1506). Maces covered with silver are known to have been used at Exeter in 1387/8; two were bought at Norwich in 1435, and others for Launceston in 1467/8. Several other cities and towns had silver maces in the next century, and in the 16th they were almost universally used. Early in the 15th century the flanged end of the mace,i.e.the head of the war mace, was borne uppermost, and the small button with the royal arms in the base. By the beginning of the Tudor period, however, these blade-like flanges, originally made for offence, degenerated into mere ornaments, while the greater importance of the end with the royal arms (afterwards enriched with a cresting) resulted in the reversal of the position. The custom of carrying the flanged end upward did not die out at once: a few maces were made to carry both ways, such as the beautiful pair of Winchcombe silver maces, dating from the end of the 15th century. The Guildford mace is one of the finest of the fifteen specimens of the 15th century. The flanged ends of the maces of this period were often beautifully pierced and decorated. These flanges gradually became smaller, and later (in the 16th and early 17th centuries) developed into pretty projecting scroll-brackets and other ornaments, which remained in vogue till about 1640. The next development in the embellishment of the shaft was the reappearance of these small scroll-brackets on the top, immediately under the head of the mace. They disappear altogether from the foot in the last half of the 17th century, and are found only under the heads, or, in rarer instances, on a knob on the shaft. The silver mace-heads were mostly plain, with a cresting of leaves or flowers in the 15th and 16th centuries. In the reign of James I. they began to be engraved and decorated with heraldic devices, &c. As the custom of having serjeants’ maces ceased (about 1650), the large maces, borne before the mayor or bailiffs, came into general use. Thomas Maundy was the chief maker of maces during the Commonwealth. He made the mace for the House of Commons in 1649, which is the one at present in use there, though without the original head with the non-regal symbols, the latter having been replaced by one with regal symbols at the Restoration. There are two maces in the House of Lords, the earliest dating from the reign of William III. The dates of the eight large and massive silver-gilt maces of the serjeants-at-arms, kept in the jewel-house at the Tower of London, are as follows: two of Charles II., two of James II., three of William and Mary, and one of Queen Anne (the cypher of George I. was subsequently added to the latter). All the foregoing are of the type which was almost universally adopted, with slight differences, at the Restoration. The civic maces of the 18th century follow this type, with some modifications in shape and ornamentation. The historic English silver maces of the 18th century include the one of 1753 at Norfolk, Virginia, and that of 1756 of the state of South Carolina, both in the United States of America; two, made in 1753 and 1787, at Jamaica; that of 1791 belonging to the colony of Grenada, and the Speaker’s mace at Barbados, dating from 1812; and the silver mace of the old Irish House of Commons, 1765-1766, now in the possession of Lord Massereene and Ferrard.

Among other maces, more correctly described as staves, in use at the present time, are those carried before ecclesiastical dignitaries and clergy in cathedrals and parish churches and the maces of the universities. At Oxford there are three of the second half of the 16th century and six of 1723-1724, while at Cambridge there are three of 1626 and one of 1628, but altered at the Commonwealth and again at the Restoration. The silver mace with crystal globe of the lord high treasurer of Scotland, at Holyrood Palace, was made about 1690 by Francis Garthorne. The remarkable mace or sceptre of the lord mayor of London is of crystal and gold and set with pearls; the head dates from the 15th century, while the mounts of the shaft are early medieval. A mace of an unusual form is that of the Tower ward of London, which has a head resembling the White Tower in the Tower of London, and which was made in the reign of Charles II. The beautiful mace of the Cork gilds, made by Robert Goble of Cork in 1696 for the associated gilds, of which he had been master, is in the Victoria and Albert Museum, where there is also a large silver mace of the middle of the 18th century, with the arms of Pope Benedict XIV., which is said to have been used at the coronation of Napoleon as king of Italy at Milan in 1805.

Bibliography.—Jewitt and Hope,Corporation Plate and Insignia of Office, &c. (2 vols., 1895); J. R. Garstin,Irish State and Civic Maces, &c. (1898); J. Paton,Scottish History and Life(1902); J. H. Buck,Old Plate(1903), pp. 124-140; Cripps,Old English Plate(9th ed., 1906), pp. 394-404; E. Alfred Jones,Old Plate at the Tower of London(1908); ed., “Some Historic Silver Maces,”Burlington Magazine(Dec. 1908).

Bibliography.—Jewitt and Hope,Corporation Plate and Insignia of Office, &c. (2 vols., 1895); J. R. Garstin,Irish State and Civic Maces, &c. (1898); J. Paton,Scottish History and Life(1902); J. H. Buck,Old Plate(1903), pp. 124-140; Cripps,Old English Plate(9th ed., 1906), pp. 394-404; E. Alfred Jones,Old Plate at the Tower of London(1908); ed., “Some Historic Silver Maces,”Burlington Magazine(Dec. 1908).

(E. A. J.)

1The mace was carried in battle by medieval bishops (Odo of Bayeux is represented on the Bayeux tapestry as wielding one) instead of the sword, so as to conform to the canonical rule which forbade priests to shed blood.—[Ed.]

1The mace was carried in battle by medieval bishops (Odo of Bayeux is represented on the Bayeux tapestry as wielding one) instead of the sword, so as to conform to the canonical rule which forbade priests to shed blood.—[Ed.]

MACEDO, JOSÉ AGOSTINHO DE(1761-1831), Portuguese poet and prose writer, was born at Beja of plebeian family, and studied Latin and rhetoric with the Oratorians in Lisbon. He became professed as an Augustinian in 1778, but owing to his turbulent character he spent a great part of his time in prison, and was constantly being transferred from one convent to another, finally giving up the monastic habit to live licentiously in the capital. In 1792 he was unfrocked, but by the aid of powerful friends he obtained a papal brief which secularized him and permitted him to retain his ecclesiastical status. Taking to journalism and preaching he now made for himself a substantial living and a unique position. In a short time he was recognized as the leading pulpit orator of the day, and in 1802 he became one of the royal preachers. Macedo was the first to introduce from abroad and to cultivate didactic and descriptive poetry, the best example of which is his notable transcendental poemMeditation(1813). His colossal egotism made him attempt to supersede Camoens as Portugal’s greatest poet, and in 1814 he producedOriente, an insipid epic notwithstanding its correct and vigorous verse, dealing with the same subject as theLusiads—Gama’s discovery of the sea route to India. This amended paraphrase met with a cold reception, whereupon Macedo published hisCensura dos Lusiadas, containing a minute examination and virulent indictment of Camoens. Macedo founded and wrote for a large number of journals, and the tone and temper of these and his political pamphlets induced his leading biographer to name him the “chief libeller” of Portugal, though at the time his jocular and satirical style gained him popular favour. An extreme adherent of absolutism, he expended all his brilliant powers of invective against the Constitutionalists, and advocated a general massacre of the opponents of the Miguelite régime. Notwithstanding his priestly office and old age, he continued his aggressive journalistic campaign, until his own party, feeling that he was damaging the cause by his excesses, threatened him with proceedings, which caused him in 1829 to resign the post of censor of books for the Ordinary, to which he had been appointed in 1824. Though his ingratitude was proverbial, and his moral character of the worst, when he died in 1831 he left behind him many friends, a host of admirers, and a great but ephemeral literary reputation. His ambition to rank as the king of letters led to his famous conflict with Bocage (q.v.), whose poemPena de Taliãowas perhaps the hardest blow Macedo ever received. His malignity reached its height in a satirical poem in six cantos,Os Burros(1812-1814), in which he pilloried by name men and women of all grades of society, living and dead, with the utmost licence of expression. His translation of theOdesof Horace, and his dramatic attempts, are only of value as evidence of the extraordinary versatility of the man, but his treatise, if his it be,A Demonstration of the Existence of God, at least proves his possession of very high mental powers. As a poet, his odes on Wellington and the emperor Alexander show true inspiration, and the poems of the same nature in hisLyra anacreontica, addressed to his mistress, have considerable merit.

SeeMemorias para la vida intima de José Agostinho de Macedo(ed. Th. Braga, 1899);Cartas e opusculos(1900);Censuras á diversas obras(1901).

SeeMemorias para la vida intima de José Agostinho de Macedo(ed. Th. Braga, 1899);Cartas e opusculos(1900);Censuras á diversas obras(1901).

(E. Pr.)

MACEDONIA,the name generally given to that portion of European Turkey which is bounded on the N. by the Kara-Dagh mountain range and the frontier of Bulgaria, on the E. by the river Mesta, on the S. by the Aegean Sea and the frontier of Greece, and on the W. by an ill-defined line coinciding with the mountain chains of Shar (ancientScardus) Grammus and Pindus. The Macedonia of antiquity was originally confined to the inland region west of the Axius, between that river and the Scardus range, and did not include the northern portion, known as Paeonia, or the coast-land, which, with the eastern districts, was inhabited by Thracian tribes; the people of the country were not Hellenic. In modern Macedonia are included the vilayet of Salonica (Turk.Selanik), the eastern and greater portion of the vilayet of Monastir (sanjaks of Monastir, Servia [Turk.Selfije], and part of that of Kortcha), and the south-eastern portion of the vilayet of Kossovo (sanjak of Usküb). The greater part of Macedonia is inhabited by a Slavonic population, mainly Bulgarian in its characteristics; the coast-line and the southern districts west of the Gulf of Salonica by Greeks, while Turkish, Vlach and Albanian settlements exist sporadically, or in groups, in many parts of the country.

Geographical Features.—The coast-line is broken by the remarkable peninsula of Chalcidice, with its three promontories of Athos (ancientActe), Longus (Sithonia) and Cassandra (Pallene). The country is divided into two almost equal portions by the river Vardar (Axius), the valley of which has always constituted the principal route from Central Europe to the Aegean. Rising in the Shar mountains near Gostivar (BulgarianKostovo), the Vardar, flowing to the N.E., drains the rich elevated plain of Tetovo (Turk.Kalkandelen) and, turning to the S.E. at the foot of Mt Liubotrn, traverses the town and plain of Usküb, leaving to the left the high plateau of Ovchepolye (“the sheep-plain”); then flowing through the town of Veles, it receives on its right, near the ruins of the ancient Stobi, the waters of its principal tributary, the Tcherna (Erigon), which drains the basin of Monastir and the mountainous region of Morichovo, and after passing through the picturesque gorge of Demir-Kapu (the Iron Gate) finds its way to the Gulf of Salonica through the alluvial tract known as the Campania, extending to the west of that town. The other important rivers are the Struma (Strymon) and Mesta (Nestus) to the east, running almost parallel to the Vardar, and the Bistritza in the south, all falling into the Aegean. (The Black Drin, issuing from Lake Ochrida and flowing N.W. to the Adriatic, is for the greater part of its course an Albanian river.) The Struma, which rises in Mt Vitosha in Bulgaria, runs through a narrow defile till, within a short distance of the sea, it expands into Lake Tachino, and falls into the Aegean near the site of the ancient Amphipolis. The Mesta, rising in the Rhodope range, drains the valley of Razlog and forms a delta at its entrance into the Aegean opposite the island of Thasos. The Bistritza, which has its source in the eastern slope of Mt Grammus, receives early in its course the outflow from Lake Castoria on the left; it flows to the S.E. towards the frontier of Greece, where its course is arrested by the Cambunian mountains; then turning sharply to the N.E., and passing through the districts of Serfije and Verria, it reaches the Campania and enters the Gulf of Salonica at a point a few miles to the S.W. of the mouth of the Vardar. The valleys of most of the rivers and their tributaries broaden here and there into fertile upland basins, which were formerly lakes. Of these the extensive plateau of Monastir, the ancient plain of Pelagonia, about 1500 ft. above the sea, is the most remarkable; the basins of Tetovo, Usküb, Kotchané, Strumnitza, Nevrokop, Melnik, Serres and Drama furnish other examples. The principal lakes are Ochrida (Lychnitis) on the confines of Albania; Prespa, separated from Ochrida by the Galinitza mountains, and supposed to be connected with it by a subterranean channel; Castoria, to the S.E. of Prespa; Ostrovo, midway between Prespa and the Vardar; Tachino (Cercinitis) on the lower course of the Struma; Beshik (Bolbe), separating the Chalcidian peninsula from the mainland, and Doiran (probablyPrasias), beneath the southern declivity of the Belasitza mountains; the smaller lakes of Amatovo and Yenije are in the alluvial plain on either side of the lower Vardar. Lake Ochrida (q.v.) finds egress into the Black Drin (Drilon) at Struga, where there are productive fisheries. The lacustrine habitations of the Paeonians on Lake Prasias described by Herodotus (v. 16) find a modern counterpart in the huts of the fishing population on Lake Doiran. The surface of the country is generally mountainous; the various mountain-groups present little uniformity in their geographical contour. The great chain of Rhodope, continued to the N.W. by the Rilska and Osogovska Planina, forms a natural boundary on the north; the principal summit, Musalla (9031 ft.), is just over the Bulgarian frontier. The adjoining Dospat range culminates in Belmeken (8562 ft.), also just over the Bulgarian frontier. Between the upper courses of the Mesta and Struma is the Perim Dagh or Pirin Planina (Orbelos) with Elin (8794 ft.), continued to the south by the Bozo Dagh (6081 ft.); still further south, overlooking the bay of Kavala, are the Bunar Dagh and Mt Pangaeus, famous in antiquity for its gold and silver mines. Between the Struma and the Vardar are the Belasitza, Krusha and other ranges. West of the Vardar is the lofty Shar chain (Scardus) overlooking the plain of Tetovo and terminating at its eastern extremity in the pyramidal Liubotrn (according to some authorities, 10,007 ft., and consequently the highest mountain in the Peninsula; according to others 8989, 8856, or 8200 ft.). The Shar range, with the Kara Dagh to the east, forms the natural boundary of Macedonia on the N.W.; this is prolonged on the west by the Yaina-Bistra and Yablanitza mountains with several summits exceeding 7000 ft. in height, the Odonishta Planina overlooking Lake Ochrida on the west,the Morova Planina, the Grammus range, and Pindus with Smolika (8546 ft.). The series of heights is broken by the valleys of the Black Drin and Devol, which flow to the Adriatic. Between the Vardar and the plain of Monastir the Nija range culminates in Kaimakchalan (8255 ft.); south-west of Monastir is Mt Peristeri (7720 ft.) overlooking Lake Prespa on the east; on the west is the Galinitza range separating it from Lake Ochrida. Between Lake Ostrovo and the lower Bistritza are the Bermius and Kitarion ranges with Doxa (5240 ft.) and Turla (about 3280 ft.). South of the Bistritza are the Cambunian mountains forming the boundary of Thessaly and terminating to the east in the imposing mass of Etymbos, or Olympus (9794 ft.). Lastly, Mt Athos, at the extremity of the peninsula of that name, reaches the height of 6350 ft. The general aspect of the country is bare and desolate, especially in the neighbourhood of the principal routes; the trees have been destroyed, and large tracts of land remain uncultivated. Magnificent forests, however, still clothe the slopes of Rhodope, Pirin and Pindus. The well-wooded and cultivated districts of Grevena and Castoria, which are mainly inhabited by a Vlach population, are remarkably beautiful, and the scenery around Lakes Ochrida and Prespa is exceedingly picturesque. For the principal geological formations seeBalkan Peninsula.The climate is severe; the spring is often rainy, and the melted snows from the encircling mountains produce inundations in the plains. The natural products are in general similar to those of southern Bulgaria and Servia—the fig, olive and orange, however, appear on the shores of the Aegean and in the sheltered valleys of the southern region. The best tobacco in Europe is grown in the Drama and Kavala districts; rice and cotton are cultivated in the southern plains.Population.—The population of Macedonia may perhaps be estimated at 2,200,000. About 1,300,000 are Christians of various churches and nationalities; more than 800,000 are Mahommedans, and about 75,000 are Jews. Of the Christians, the great majority profess the Eastern Orthodox faith, owning allegiance either to the Greek patriarchate or the Bulgarian exarchate. Among the Orthodox Christians are reckoned some 4000 Turks. The small Catholic minority is composed chiefly of Uniate Bulgarians (about 3600), occupying the districts of Kukush and Doiran; there are also some 2000 Bulgarian Protestants, principally inhabiting the valley of Razlog. The Mahommedan population is mainly composed of Turks (about 500,000). In addition to these there are some 130,000 Bulgars, 120,000 Albanians, 35,000 gipsies and 14,000 Greeks, together with a smaller number of Vlachs, Jews and Circassians, who profess the creed of Islam. The untrustworthy Turkish statistics take religion, not nationality, as the basis of classification. All Moslems are included in themillet, or nation, of Islam. The Rûm, or Roman (i.e.Greek)milletcomprises all those who acknowledge the authority of the Oecumenical patriarch, and consequently includes, in addition to the Greeks, the Servians, the Vlachs, and a certain number of Bulgarians; the Bulgarmilletcomprises the Bulgarians who accept the rule of the exarchate; the othermilletsare theKatolik(Catholics),Ermeni(Gregorian Armenians),Musevi(Jews) andProdesdan(Protestants). The population of Macedonia, at all times scanty, has undoubtedly diminished in recent years. There has been a continual outflow of the Christian population in the direction of Bulgaria, Servia and Greece, and a corresponding emigration of the Turkish peasantry to Asia Minor. Many of the smaller villages are being abandoned by their inhabitants, who migrate for safety to the more considerable towns—usually situated at some point where a mountain pass descends to the outskirts of the plains. In the agricultural districts the Christian peasants, orrayas, are either small proprietors or cultivate holdings on the estates of Turkish landowners. The upland districts are thinly inhabited by a nomad pastoral population.Towns.—The principal towns are Salonica (pop. in 1910, about 130,000), Monastir (60,000), each the capital of a vilayet, and Usküb (32,000), capital of the vilayet of Kossovo. In the Salonica vilayet are Serres (28,000), pleasantly situated in a fertile valley near Lake Tachino; Nevrokop (6200), Mehomia (5000), and Bansko (6500), in the valley of the Upper Mesta; Drama (9000), at the foot of the Bozo Dagh, with its port Kavala (9500); Djumaia (6440), Melnik (4300) and Demir Hissar (5840) in the valley of the Struma, with Strumnitza (10,160) and Petrich (7100) in the valley of its tributary, the Strumnitza; Veles (Turk.Koprülü) on the Vardar (19,700); Doiran (6780) and Kukush (7750); and, to the west of the Vardar, Verria (Slav.Ber, anc.Beroea, Turk.Karaferia, 10,500), Yenijé-Vardar (9599) and Vodena (anc.Edessa,q.v., 11,000). In the portion of the Kossovo vilayet included in Macedonia are Kalkandelen (Slav.Tetovo, 19,200), Kumanovo (14,500) and Shtip (Turk.Istib, 21,000). In the Monastir vilayet are Prilep (24,000) at the northern end of the Pelagonian plain, Krushevo (9350), mainly inhabited by Vlachs, Resen (4450) north of Lake Prespa, Florina (Slav.Lerin, 9824); Ochrida (14,860), with a picturesque fortress of Tsar Samuel, and Struga (4570), both on the north shore of Lake Ochrida; Dibra (Slav.Debr) on the confines of Albania (15,500), Castoria (Slav.Kostur), on the lake of that name (6190), and Kozhané (6100). (Dibra, Kavala, Monastir, Ochrida, Salonica, Serres, Usküb and Vodena are described in separate articles.)

Geographical Features.—The coast-line is broken by the remarkable peninsula of Chalcidice, with its three promontories of Athos (ancientActe), Longus (Sithonia) and Cassandra (Pallene). The country is divided into two almost equal portions by the river Vardar (Axius), the valley of which has always constituted the principal route from Central Europe to the Aegean. Rising in the Shar mountains near Gostivar (BulgarianKostovo), the Vardar, flowing to the N.E., drains the rich elevated plain of Tetovo (Turk.Kalkandelen) and, turning to the S.E. at the foot of Mt Liubotrn, traverses the town and plain of Usküb, leaving to the left the high plateau of Ovchepolye (“the sheep-plain”); then flowing through the town of Veles, it receives on its right, near the ruins of the ancient Stobi, the waters of its principal tributary, the Tcherna (Erigon), which drains the basin of Monastir and the mountainous region of Morichovo, and after passing through the picturesque gorge of Demir-Kapu (the Iron Gate) finds its way to the Gulf of Salonica through the alluvial tract known as the Campania, extending to the west of that town. The other important rivers are the Struma (Strymon) and Mesta (Nestus) to the east, running almost parallel to the Vardar, and the Bistritza in the south, all falling into the Aegean. (The Black Drin, issuing from Lake Ochrida and flowing N.W. to the Adriatic, is for the greater part of its course an Albanian river.) The Struma, which rises in Mt Vitosha in Bulgaria, runs through a narrow defile till, within a short distance of the sea, it expands into Lake Tachino, and falls into the Aegean near the site of the ancient Amphipolis. The Mesta, rising in the Rhodope range, drains the valley of Razlog and forms a delta at its entrance into the Aegean opposite the island of Thasos. The Bistritza, which has its source in the eastern slope of Mt Grammus, receives early in its course the outflow from Lake Castoria on the left; it flows to the S.E. towards the frontier of Greece, where its course is arrested by the Cambunian mountains; then turning sharply to the N.E., and passing through the districts of Serfije and Verria, it reaches the Campania and enters the Gulf of Salonica at a point a few miles to the S.W. of the mouth of the Vardar. The valleys of most of the rivers and their tributaries broaden here and there into fertile upland basins, which were formerly lakes. Of these the extensive plateau of Monastir, the ancient plain of Pelagonia, about 1500 ft. above the sea, is the most remarkable; the basins of Tetovo, Usküb, Kotchané, Strumnitza, Nevrokop, Melnik, Serres and Drama furnish other examples. The principal lakes are Ochrida (Lychnitis) on the confines of Albania; Prespa, separated from Ochrida by the Galinitza mountains, and supposed to be connected with it by a subterranean channel; Castoria, to the S.E. of Prespa; Ostrovo, midway between Prespa and the Vardar; Tachino (Cercinitis) on the lower course of the Struma; Beshik (Bolbe), separating the Chalcidian peninsula from the mainland, and Doiran (probablyPrasias), beneath the southern declivity of the Belasitza mountains; the smaller lakes of Amatovo and Yenije are in the alluvial plain on either side of the lower Vardar. Lake Ochrida (q.v.) finds egress into the Black Drin (Drilon) at Struga, where there are productive fisheries. The lacustrine habitations of the Paeonians on Lake Prasias described by Herodotus (v. 16) find a modern counterpart in the huts of the fishing population on Lake Doiran. The surface of the country is generally mountainous; the various mountain-groups present little uniformity in their geographical contour. The great chain of Rhodope, continued to the N.W. by the Rilska and Osogovska Planina, forms a natural boundary on the north; the principal summit, Musalla (9031 ft.), is just over the Bulgarian frontier. The adjoining Dospat range culminates in Belmeken (8562 ft.), also just over the Bulgarian frontier. Between the upper courses of the Mesta and Struma is the Perim Dagh or Pirin Planina (Orbelos) with Elin (8794 ft.), continued to the south by the Bozo Dagh (6081 ft.); still further south, overlooking the bay of Kavala, are the Bunar Dagh and Mt Pangaeus, famous in antiquity for its gold and silver mines. Between the Struma and the Vardar are the Belasitza, Krusha and other ranges. West of the Vardar is the lofty Shar chain (Scardus) overlooking the plain of Tetovo and terminating at its eastern extremity in the pyramidal Liubotrn (according to some authorities, 10,007 ft., and consequently the highest mountain in the Peninsula; according to others 8989, 8856, or 8200 ft.). The Shar range, with the Kara Dagh to the east, forms the natural boundary of Macedonia on the N.W.; this is prolonged on the west by the Yaina-Bistra and Yablanitza mountains with several summits exceeding 7000 ft. in height, the Odonishta Planina overlooking Lake Ochrida on the west,the Morova Planina, the Grammus range, and Pindus with Smolika (8546 ft.). The series of heights is broken by the valleys of the Black Drin and Devol, which flow to the Adriatic. Between the Vardar and the plain of Monastir the Nija range culminates in Kaimakchalan (8255 ft.); south-west of Monastir is Mt Peristeri (7720 ft.) overlooking Lake Prespa on the east; on the west is the Galinitza range separating it from Lake Ochrida. Between Lake Ostrovo and the lower Bistritza are the Bermius and Kitarion ranges with Doxa (5240 ft.) and Turla (about 3280 ft.). South of the Bistritza are the Cambunian mountains forming the boundary of Thessaly and terminating to the east in the imposing mass of Etymbos, or Olympus (9794 ft.). Lastly, Mt Athos, at the extremity of the peninsula of that name, reaches the height of 6350 ft. The general aspect of the country is bare and desolate, especially in the neighbourhood of the principal routes; the trees have been destroyed, and large tracts of land remain uncultivated. Magnificent forests, however, still clothe the slopes of Rhodope, Pirin and Pindus. The well-wooded and cultivated districts of Grevena and Castoria, which are mainly inhabited by a Vlach population, are remarkably beautiful, and the scenery around Lakes Ochrida and Prespa is exceedingly picturesque. For the principal geological formations seeBalkan Peninsula.

The climate is severe; the spring is often rainy, and the melted snows from the encircling mountains produce inundations in the plains. The natural products are in general similar to those of southern Bulgaria and Servia—the fig, olive and orange, however, appear on the shores of the Aegean and in the sheltered valleys of the southern region. The best tobacco in Europe is grown in the Drama and Kavala districts; rice and cotton are cultivated in the southern plains.

Population.—The population of Macedonia may perhaps be estimated at 2,200,000. About 1,300,000 are Christians of various churches and nationalities; more than 800,000 are Mahommedans, and about 75,000 are Jews. Of the Christians, the great majority profess the Eastern Orthodox faith, owning allegiance either to the Greek patriarchate or the Bulgarian exarchate. Among the Orthodox Christians are reckoned some 4000 Turks. The small Catholic minority is composed chiefly of Uniate Bulgarians (about 3600), occupying the districts of Kukush and Doiran; there are also some 2000 Bulgarian Protestants, principally inhabiting the valley of Razlog. The Mahommedan population is mainly composed of Turks (about 500,000). In addition to these there are some 130,000 Bulgars, 120,000 Albanians, 35,000 gipsies and 14,000 Greeks, together with a smaller number of Vlachs, Jews and Circassians, who profess the creed of Islam. The untrustworthy Turkish statistics take religion, not nationality, as the basis of classification. All Moslems are included in themillet, or nation, of Islam. The Rûm, or Roman (i.e.Greek)milletcomprises all those who acknowledge the authority of the Oecumenical patriarch, and consequently includes, in addition to the Greeks, the Servians, the Vlachs, and a certain number of Bulgarians; the Bulgarmilletcomprises the Bulgarians who accept the rule of the exarchate; the othermilletsare theKatolik(Catholics),Ermeni(Gregorian Armenians),Musevi(Jews) andProdesdan(Protestants). The population of Macedonia, at all times scanty, has undoubtedly diminished in recent years. There has been a continual outflow of the Christian population in the direction of Bulgaria, Servia and Greece, and a corresponding emigration of the Turkish peasantry to Asia Minor. Many of the smaller villages are being abandoned by their inhabitants, who migrate for safety to the more considerable towns—usually situated at some point where a mountain pass descends to the outskirts of the plains. In the agricultural districts the Christian peasants, orrayas, are either small proprietors or cultivate holdings on the estates of Turkish landowners. The upland districts are thinly inhabited by a nomad pastoral population.

Towns.—The principal towns are Salonica (pop. in 1910, about 130,000), Monastir (60,000), each the capital of a vilayet, and Usküb (32,000), capital of the vilayet of Kossovo. In the Salonica vilayet are Serres (28,000), pleasantly situated in a fertile valley near Lake Tachino; Nevrokop (6200), Mehomia (5000), and Bansko (6500), in the valley of the Upper Mesta; Drama (9000), at the foot of the Bozo Dagh, with its port Kavala (9500); Djumaia (6440), Melnik (4300) and Demir Hissar (5840) in the valley of the Struma, with Strumnitza (10,160) and Petrich (7100) in the valley of its tributary, the Strumnitza; Veles (Turk.Koprülü) on the Vardar (19,700); Doiran (6780) and Kukush (7750); and, to the west of the Vardar, Verria (Slav.Ber, anc.Beroea, Turk.Karaferia, 10,500), Yenijé-Vardar (9599) and Vodena (anc.Edessa,q.v., 11,000). In the portion of the Kossovo vilayet included in Macedonia are Kalkandelen (Slav.Tetovo, 19,200), Kumanovo (14,500) and Shtip (Turk.Istib, 21,000). In the Monastir vilayet are Prilep (24,000) at the northern end of the Pelagonian plain, Krushevo (9350), mainly inhabited by Vlachs, Resen (4450) north of Lake Prespa, Florina (Slav.Lerin, 9824); Ochrida (14,860), with a picturesque fortress of Tsar Samuel, and Struga (4570), both on the north shore of Lake Ochrida; Dibra (Slav.Debr) on the confines of Albania (15,500), Castoria (Slav.Kostur), on the lake of that name (6190), and Kozhané (6100). (Dibra, Kavala, Monastir, Ochrida, Salonica, Serres, Usküb and Vodena are described in separate articles.)

Races.—Macedonia is the principal theatre of the struggle of nationalities in Eastern Europe. All the races which dispute the reversion of the Turkish possessions in Europe are represented within its borders. The MacedonianThe Turks.probably may therefore be described as the quintessence of the Near Eastern Question. The Turks, the ruling race, form less than a quarter of the entire population, and their numbers are steadily declining. The first Turkish immigration from Asia Minor took place under the Byzantine emperors before the conquest of the country. The first purely Turkish town, Yenijé-Vardar, was founded on the ruins of Vardar in 1362. After the capture of Salonica (1430), a strong Turkish population was settled in the city, and similar colonies were founded in Monastir, Ochrida, Serres, Drama and other important places. In many of these towns half or more of the population is still Turkish. A series of military colonies were subsequently established at various points of strategic importance along the principal lines of communication. Before 1360 large numbers of nomad shepherds, or Yuruks, from the district of Konia, in Asia Minor, had settled in the country; their descendants are still known as Konariotes. Further immigration from this region took place from time to time up to the middle of the 18th century. After the establishment of the feudal system in 1397 many of the Seljuk noble families came over from Asia Minor; their descendants may be recognized among the beys or Moslem landowners in southern Macedonia. At the beginning of the 18th century the Turkish population was very considerable, but since that time it has continuously decreased. A low birth-rate, the exhaustion of the male population by military service, and great mortality from epidemics, against which Moslem fatalism takes no precautions, have brought about a decline which has latterly been hastened by emigration. On the other hand, there has been a considerable Moslem immigration from Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria and Greece, but the newcomers,mohajirs, do not form a permanent colonizing element. The Turkish rural population is found in three principal groups: the most easterly extends from the Mesta to Drama, Pravishta and Orfano, reaching the sea-coast on either side of Kavala, which is partly Turkish, partly Greek. The second, or central, group begins on the sea-coast, a little west of the mouth of the Strymon, where a Greek population intervenes, and extends to the north-west along the Kara-Dagh and Belasitza ranges in the direction of Strumnitza, Veles, Shtip and Radovisht. The third, or southern, group is centred around Kaïlar, an entirely Turkish town, and extends from Lake Ostrovo to Selfijé (Servia). The second and third groups are mainly composed of Konariot shepherds. Besides these fairly compact settlements there are numerous isolated Turkish colonies in various parts of the country. The Turkish rural population is quiet, sober and orderly, presenting some of the best characteristics of the race. The urban population, on the other hand, has become much demoralized, while the official classes, under the rule of Abdul Hamid II. and his predecessors, were corrupt and avaricious, and seemed to have parted with all scruple in their dealings with the Christian peasantry. The Turks, though still numerically and politically strong, fall behind the other nationalities in point of intellectual culture, and the contrast is daily becoming more marked owing to the educational activity of the Christians.

The Greek and Vlach populations are not always easily distinguished, as a considerable proportion of the Vlachs have been hellenized. Both show a remarkable aptitude for commerce; the Greeks have maintained theirThe Greeks and Vlachs.language and religion, and the Vlachs their religion, with greater tenacity than any of the other races. From the date of the Ottoman conquest until comparatively recent times, the Greeks occupied an exceptional position in Macedonia, as elsewhere in the Turkish Empire, owing to the privileges conferred on the patriarchate of Constantinople, and the influence subsequently acquired by the great Phanariot families. All the Christian population belonged to the Greekmilletand called itself Greek; the bishops and higher clergy were exclusively Greek; Greek was the language of the upper classes, of commerce, literature andreligion, and Greek alone was taught in the schools. The supremacy of the patriarchate was consummated by the suppression of the autocephalous Slavonic churches of Ipek in 1766 and Ochrida in 1767. In the latter half of the 18th century Greek ascendancy in Macedonia was at its zenith; its decline began with the War of Independence, the establishment of the Hellenic kingdom, and the extinction of the Phanariot power in Constantinople. The patriarchate, nevertheless, maintained its exclusive jurisdiction over all the Orthodox population till 1870, when the Bulgarian exarchate was established, and the Greek clergy continued to labour with undiminished zeal for the spread of Hellenism. Notwithstanding their venality and intolerance, their merits as the only diffusers of culture and enlightenment in the past should not be overlooked. The process of hellenization made greater progress in the towns than in the rural districts of the interior, where the non-Hellenic populations preserved their languages, which alone saved the several nationalities from extinction. The typical Greek, with his superior education, his love of politics and commerce, and his distaste for laborious occupations, has always been a dweller in cities. In Salonica, Serres, Kavala, Castoria, and other towns in southern Macedonia the Hellenic element is strong; in the northern towns it is insignificant, except at Melnik, which is almost exclusively Greek. The Greek rural population extends from the Thessalian frontier to Castoria and Verria (Beroea); it occupies the whole Chalcidian peninsula and both banks of the lower Strymon from Serres to the sea, and from Nigrita on the west to Pravishta on the east; there are also numerous Greek villages in the Kavala district. The Mahommedan Greeks, known as Valachides, occupy a considerable tract in the upper Bistritza valley near Grevena and Liapsista. The purely Greek population of Macedonia may possibly be estimated at a quarter of a million. The Vlachs, or Rumans, who call themselvesAromuniorAromâni(i.e.Romans), are also known asKutzovlachsandTzintzars: the last two appellations are, in fact, nicknames, “Kutzovlach” meaning “lame Vlach,” while “Tzintzar” denotes their inability to pronounce the Rumaniancincĭ(five). The Vlachs are styled by some writers “Macedo-Rumans,” in contradistinction to the “Daco-Rumans,” who inhabit the country north of the Danube. They are, in all probability, the descendants of the Thracian branch of the aboriginal Thraco-Illyrian population of the Balkan Peninsula, the Illyrians being represented by the Albanians. This early native population, which was apparently hellenized to some extent under the Macedonian empire, seems to have been latinized in the period succeeding the Roman conquest, and probably received a considerable infusion of Italian blood. The Vlachs are for the most part either highland shepherds or wandering owners of horses and mules. Their settlements are scattered all over the mountains of Macedonia: some of these consist of permanent dwellings, others of huts occupied only in the summer. The compactest groups are found in the Pindus and Agrapha mountains (extending into Albania and Thessaly), in the neighbourhood of Monastir, Grevena and Castoria, and in the district of Meglen. The Vlachs who settle in the lowland districts are excellent husbandmen. The urban population is considerable; the Vlachs of Salonica, Monastir, Serres and other large towns are, for the most part, descended from refugees from Moschopolis, once the principal centre of Macedonian commerce. The towns of Metzovo, on the confines of Albania, and Klisura, in the Bistritza valley, are almost exclusively Vlach. The urban and most of the rural Vlachs are bilingual, speaking Greek as well as Rumanian; a great number of the former have been completely hellenized, partly in consequence of mixed marriages, and many of the wealthiest commercial families of Vlach origin are now devoted to the Greek cause. The Vlachs of Macedonia possibly number 90,000, of whom only some 3000 are Mahommedans. The Macedonian dialect of the Rumanian language differs mainly from that spoken north of the Danube in its vocabulary and certain phonetic peculiarities; it contains a number of Greekwordswhich are often replaced in the northern speech by Slavonic or Latin synonyms.

The Albanians, called by the Turks and SlavsArnauts, by the GreeksἈρβανῖται, and by themselvesShkyipetar, have always been the scourge of western Macedonia. After the first Turkish invasion of Albania many of the chiefsThe Albanians, Circassians, &c.or beys adopted Mahommedanism, but the conversion of the great bulk of the people took place in the 16th and 17th centuries. Professing the creed of the dominant power and entitled to bear arms, the Albanians were enabled to push forward their limits at the expense of the defenceless population around them, and their encroachments have continued to the present day. They have not only advanced themselves, but have driven to the eastward numbers of their Christian compatriots and a great portion of the once-prosperous Vlach population of Albania. Albanian revolts and disturbances have been frequent along the western confines of Macedonia, especially in the neighbourhood of Dibra: the Slavonic peasants have been the principal sufferers from these troubles, while the Porte, in pursuance of the “Islamic policy” adopted by the sultan Abdul Hamid II., dealt tenderly with the recalcitrant believers. In southern Macedonia the Albanians of the Tosk race extend over the upper Bistritza valley as far west as Castoria, and reach the southern and western shores of Lakes Prespa and Ochrida: they are also numerous in the neighbourhood of Monastir. In northern Macedonia the Albanians are of the Gheg stock: they have advanced in large numbers over the districts of Dibra, Kalkandelen and Usküb, driving the Slavonic population before them. The total number of Albanians in Macedonia may be estimated at about 120,000, of whom some 10,000 are Christians (chiefly orthodox Tosks). The Circassians, who occupy some villages in the neighbourhood of Serres, now scarcely number 3000: their predatory instincts may be compared with those of the Albanians. The Jews had colonies in Macedonia in the time of St Paul, but no trace remains of these early settlements. The Jews now found in the country descend from refugees who fled from Spain during the persecutions at the end of the 15th century: they speak a dialect of Spanish, which they write with Hebrew characters. They form a flourishing community at Salonica, which numbers more than half the population: their colonies at Monastir, Serres and other towns are poor. A small proportion of the Jews, known asDeunméby the Turks, have embraced Mahommedanism.

With the exception of the southern and western districts already specified, the principal towns, and certain isolated tracts, the whole of Macedonia is inhabited by a race or races speaking a Slavonic dialect. If language isThe Slavonic Population.adopted as a test, the great bulk of the rural population must be described as Slavonic. The Slavs first crossed the Danube at the beginning of the 3rd century, but their great immigration took place in the 6th and 7th centuries. They overran the entire peninsula, driving the Greeks to the shores of the Aegean, the Albanians into the Mirdite country, and the latinized population of Macedonia into the highland districts, such as Pindus, Agrapha and Olympus. The Slavs, a primitive agricultural and pastoral people, were often unsuccessful in their attacks on the fortified towns, which remained centres of Hellenism. In the outlying parts of the peninsula they were absorbed, or eventually driven back, by the original populations, but in the central region they probably assimilated a considerable proportion of the latinized races. The western portions of the peninsula were occupied by Serb and Slovene tribes: the Slavs of the eastern and central portions were conquered at the end of the 7th century by the Bulgarians, a Ugro-Finnish horde, who established a despotic political organization, but being less numerous than the subjected race were eventually absorbed by it. The Mongolian physical type, which prevails in the districts between the Balkans and the Danube, is also found in central Macedonia, and may be recognized as far west as Ochrida and Dibra. In general, however, the Macedonian Slavs differ somewhat both in appearance and character from their neighbours beyond the Bulgarian and Servian frontiers: the peculiar type which they present is probably due to a considerable admixture of Vlach, Hellenic, Albanian and Turkish blood, and to the influence of the surrounding races. Almost all independent authorities,however, agree that the bulk of the Slavonic population of Macedonia is Bulgarian. The principal indication is furnished by the language, which, though resembling Servian in some respects (e.g.the case-endings, which are occasionally retained), presents most of the characteristic features of Bulgarian (seeBulgaria:Language). Among these may be mentioned the suffix-article, the nasal vowels (retained in the neighbourhood of Salonica and Castoria, but modified elsewhere as in Bulgarian), the retention ofl(e.g.vulk“wolf,”bel“white”; Servianvuk,beo), and the loss of the infinitive. There are at least four Slavonic dialects in Macedonia, but the suffix-article, though varying in form, is a constant feature in all. The Slavs of western Macedonia are of a lively, enterprising character, and share the commercial aptitude of the Vlachs: those of the eastern and southern regions are a quiet, sober, hardworking agricultural race, more obviously homogeneous with the population of Bulgaria. In upper Macedonia large family communities, resembling the Servian and Bulgarianzadruga, are commonly found: they sometimes number over 50 members. The whole Slavonic population of Macedonia may be estimated at about 1,150,000, of whom about 1,000,000 are Christians of the Orthodox faith. The majority of these own allegiance to the Bulgarian exarchate, but a certain minority still remains faithful to the Greek patriarchate. The Moslem Bulgarians form a considerable element: they are found principally in the valley of the upper Mesta and the Rhodope district, where they are known asPomaksor “helpers,”i.e.auxiliaries to the Turkish army.

The Racial Propaganda.—The embittered struggle of the rival nationalities in Macedonia dates from the middle of the 19th century. Until that period the Greeks, owing to their superior culture and their privileged position, exercised an exclusive influence over the whole population professing the Orthodox faith. All Macedonia was either Moslem or Orthodox Christian, without distinction of nationalities, the Catholic or Protestantmilletsbeing inconsiderable. The first opposition to Greek ecclesiastical ascendancy came from the Bulgarians. The Bulgarian literary revival, which took place in the earlier part of the 19th century, was the precursor of the ecclesiastical and national movement which resulted in the establishment of the exarchate in 1870 (seeBulgaria). In the course of the struggle some of the Bulgarian leaders entered into negotiations with Rome; a Bulgarian Uniate church was recognized by the Porte, and the pope nominated a bishop, who, however, was mysteriously deported to Russia a few days after his consecration (1861). The first exarch, who was elected in 1871, was excommunicated with all his followers by the patriarch, and a considerable number of Bulgarians in Macedonia—the so-called “Bulgarophone Greeks”—fearing the reproach of schism, or influenced by other considerations, refrained from acknowledging the new spiritual power. Many of the recently converted uniates, on the other hand, offered their allegiance to the exarch. The firman of the 28th of February 1870 specified a number of districts within the present boundaries of Bulgaria and Servia, as well as in Macedonia, to which Bulgarian bishops might be appointed; other districts might be subjected to the exarchate should two-thirds of the inhabitants so desire. In virtue of the latter provision the districts of Veles, Ochrida and Usküb declared for the exarchate, but the Turkish government refrained from sanctioning the nomination of Bulgarian bishops to these dioceses. It was not till 1891 that the Porte, at the instance of Stamboloff, the Bulgarian prime minister, whose demands were supported by the Triple Alliance and Great Britain, issued theberat, or exequatur, for Bulgarian bishops at Ochrida and Usküb; the sees of Veles and Nevrokop received Bulgarian prelates in 1894, and those of Monastir, Strumnitza and Dibra in 1898. The Bulgarian position was further strengthened in the latter year by the establishment of “commercial agents” representing the principality at Salonica, Usküb, Monastir and Serres. During this period (1891-1898) the Bulgarian propaganda, entirely controlled by the spiritual power and conducted within the bounds of legality, made rapid and surprising progress. Subsequently the interference of the Macedonian committee at Sofia, in which the advocates of physical force predominated, and the rivalry of factions did much to injure the movement; the hostility of the Porte was provoked and the sympathy of the powers alienated by a series of assassinations and other crimes. According to the official figures, the Bulgarian schools, which in 1893 were 554, with 30,267 pupils and 853 teachers, in 1900 numbered 785 (including 5 gymnasia and 58 secondary schools), with 39,892 pupils and 1250 teachers. A great number of the schools were closed by the Turkish authorities after the insurrection of 1903 and many had not been reopened in 1909; the teachers were imprisoned or had fled into exile.

The Rumanian movement comes next to the Bulgarian in order of time. The Vlachs had shown greater susceptibility to Greek influence than any of the other non-Hellenic populations of Macedonia, and, though efforts to create a Rumanian propaganda were made as early as 1855, it was not till after the union of the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia in 1861 that any indications of a national sentiment appeared amongst them. In 1886 the principal apostle of the Rumanian cause, a priest named Apostol Margaritis, founded a gymnasium at Monastir, and the movement, countenanced by the Porte, supported by the French Catholic missions, and to some extent encouraged by Austria, has made no inconsiderable progress since that time. There are now about forty Rumanian schools in Macedonia, including two gymnasia, and large sums are devoted to their maintenance by the ministry of education at Bucharest, which also provides qualified teachers. The Rumanian and Servian movements are at a disadvantage compared with the Bulgarian, owing to their want of a separate ecclesiastical organization, the orthodox Vlachs and Serbs in Turkey owning allegiance to the Greek patriarchate. The governments of Bucharest and Belgrade therefore endeavoured to obtain the recognition of Vlach and Servianmillets, demanding respectively the establishment of a Rumanian bishopric at Monastir and the restoration of the patriarchate of Ipek with the appointment of a Servian metropolitan at Usküb. The Vlachmilletwas recognized by the Porte by iradé on the 23rd of May 1905, but the aims of the Servians, whose active interference in Macedonia is of comparatively recent date, have not been realized. Previously to 1878 the hopes of the Servians were centred on Bosnia, Herzegovina and the vilayet of Kossovo; but when the Berlin Treaty assigned Bosnia and Herzegovina to Austria, the national aspirations were directed to Macedonia, the Slavonic population of which was declared to be Servian. The strained relations existing between Russia and Bulgaria from 1886 to 1895 were to the advantage of the Servian propaganda, which after 1890 made remarkable progress. Great expenditure has been incurred by the Servian government in the opening and maintenance of schools. At the beginning of 1899 there were stated to be 178 Servian schools in the vilayets of Usküb, Salonica and Monastir (including fifteen gymnasia), with 321 teachers and 7200 pupils.

The Albanian movement is still in an inceptive stage; owing to the persistent prohibition of Albanian schools by the Turks, a literary propaganda, the usual precursor of a national revival, was rendered impossible till the outbreak of the Young Turk revolution in July 1908. After that date numerous schools were founded and an Albanian committee, meeting in November 1908, fixed the national alphabet and decided on the adoption of the Latin character. The educational movement is most conspicuous among the Tosks, or southern Albanians. Notwithstanding the encroachments of their rivals, the impoverishment of the patriarchate, and the injury inflicted on their cause by the Greco-Turkish War of 1897, the Greeks still maintain a large number of schools; according to statistics prepared at Athens there were in 1901, 927 Greek schools in the vilayets of Salonica and Monastir (including five gymnasia), with 1397 teachers and 57,607 pupils. The great educational activity displayed by the proselytizing movements in Macedonia, while tending to the artificial creation of parties, daily widens the contrast between the progressive Christian and the backward Moslem populations.


Back to IndexNext