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{{for|the town in Bulgaria|Gotse Delchev (town)}} {{for|the town in Bulgaria|Gotse Delchev (town)}}
{{Infobox revolution biography {{Infobox revolution biography
|name=Georgi Nikolov "Goce" Delčev<br />Гоце Делчев |name=Georgi Nikolov "Gotse" Delchev<br />Гоце Делчев
|lived= January 23, 1872–May 4, 1903 |lived= January 23, 1872–May 4, 1903
|dateofbirth= January 23, 1872 |dateofbirth= January 23, 1872
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|footnotes= |footnotes=
}} }}
⚫ ] in ]]]

'''Georgi Nikolov Delchev''' (1872-1903) (] and ]: Георги Николов Делчев) was a Macedonian revolutionary<ref></ref> and an important 19th century revolutionary figure in ] ] and Southern ]. He was one of the leaders of what is nowadays commonly referred to as the ] (IMRO), a ] organization active in Ottoman ruled Macedonia and Thrace at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. According to its first known stature in 1896, the name of the organization was Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees (BMARC), later changed to Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (SMARO). '''Georgi Nikolov Delchev''' (1872-1903) (] and ]: Георги Николов Делчев) was an important 19th century revolutionary figure in ] ] and Southern ]. He was one of the leaders of what is nowadays commonly referred to as the ] (IMRO), a ] organization active in Ottoman ruled Macedonia and Thrace at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. According to its first known stature in 1896, the name of the organization was Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees (BMARC), later changed to Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (SMARO).


== Biography == == Biography ==
⚫ ]]]

Born on 23 January 1872 in ] (Кукуш; Kukush), present day ], Delchev graduated from the local Bulgarian junior high school and the ] in ]. He entered the military school in ] in 1891, but in 1894, a month before the graduation, he was expelled because his political activity as a member of illegal ] circle.<br /> In 1894, Delchev became a ] teacher in a Bulgarian school in ]<ref>MacDermott, Mercia. 1978. Freedom or Death: The Life of Gotse Delchev. Published by The Journeyman Press, London and West Nyack. 405 pp. ISBN 0-904526-32-1. Translated in Bulgarian: Макдермот, Мерсия. Свобода или смърт. Биография на Гоце Делчев, София 1979, с. 86-94.</ref> where he met ], the leader of the local committee of BMARC. As a result of the close friendship between the two, Delchev joined the organization in 1895 and before long, became one of its main leaders. After spending the next school year (1895/1896) as a teacher in the town of ], he moved to ] where he, together with ], became a representative of the internal organization in the ].<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 30. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography "Gotse Delchev", Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 30. </ref> Born on 23 January 1872 in ] (Кукуш; Kukush), present day ], Delchev graduated from the local Bulgarian junior high school and the ] in ]. He entered the military school in ] in 1891, but in 1894, a month before the graduation, he was expelled because his political activity as a member of illegal ] circle.<br /> In 1894, Delchev became a ] teacher in a Bulgarian school in ]<ref>MacDermott, Mercia. 1978. Freedom or Death: The Life of Gotse Delchev. Published by The Journeyman Press, London and West Nyack. 405 pp. ISBN 0-904526-32-1. Translated in Bulgarian: Макдермот, Мерсия. Свобода или смърт. Биография на Гоце Делчев, София 1979, с. 86-94.</ref> where he met ], the leader of the local committee of BMARC. As a result of the close friendship between the two, Delchev joined the organization in 1895 and before long, became one of its main leaders. After spending the next school year (1895/1896) as a teacher in the town of ], he moved to ] where he, together with ], became a representative of the internal organization in the ].<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 30. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography "Gotse Delchev", Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 30. </ref>


Line 30: Line 30:
His correspondence with other BMARC/SMARO members covers extensive data on supplies, transport and storage of weapons and ammunition in Macedonia. Delchev envisioned independent production of weapons, which resulted in the establishment of a bomb manufacturing plant in the village of Sabler near ] in Bulgaria. The bombs were later smuggled across the Ottoman border into Macedonia.<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 32-33. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, pp. 32-33. </ref> His correspondence with other BMARC/SMARO members covers extensive data on supplies, transport and storage of weapons and ammunition in Macedonia. Delchev envisioned independent production of weapons, which resulted in the establishment of a bomb manufacturing plant in the village of Sabler near ] in Bulgaria. The bombs were later smuggled across the Ottoman border into Macedonia.<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 32-33. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, pp. 32-33. </ref>
The inclusion of the rural areas into the organizational districts contributed to the expansion of the organization and the increase in its membership, while providing the essential prerequisites for the formation of the military power of the organization, at the same time having Gotse Delchev as its military advisor (inspector) and chief of all internal revolutionary bands.<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 39. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 39. </ref> The inclusion of the rural areas into the organizational districts contributed to the expansion of the organization and the increase in its membership, while providing the essential prerequisites for the formation of the military power of the organization, at the same time having Gotse Delchev as its military advisor (inspector) and chief of all internal revolutionary bands.<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 39. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 39. </ref>
⚫ )]]

The primary question regarding the timing of the uprising in Macedonia and Thrace implicated an apparent discordance among the representatives at the Sofia Conference in 1903 with Delchev opposing the uprising as premature.<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 62-66. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, pp. 62-66. </ref> Delchev died on May 4, 1903 in a skirmish with the ] police near the village of ], located in the ] region, present day Greece, probably after betrayal by local villagers, as rumours asserted, while preparing the ].<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 69. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 69.</ref> Delchev's remains were transferred to Sofia during ] when ] controlled part of ], where they rested until after the ]. After 1944, the Bulgarian policy on the ] changed to serve the activities of the Communist regime. Thus, in 1946, the government of the ] "recommended" the liquidation of the ]. On 10 October 1946, the entire museum collection including the mortal remains of the revolutionary Gotse Delchev were transported to the newly established ]. The following day, they were enshrined in a marble sarcophagus which is until present displayed in the yard of the "Sveti Spas" church in ]. The primary question regarding the timing of the uprising in Macedonia and Thrace implicated an apparent discordance among the representatives at the Sofia Conference in 1903 with Delchev opposing the uprising as premature.<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 62-66. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, pp. 62-66. </ref> Delchev died on May 4, 1903 in a skirmish with the ] police near the village of ], located in the ] region, present day Greece, probably after betrayal by local villagers, as rumours asserted, while preparing the ].<ref>Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 69. {{bg icon}} In English: ], "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography ''Gotse Delchev'', Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 69.</ref> Delchev's remains were transferred to Sofia during ] when ] controlled part of ], where they rested until after the ]. After 1944, the Bulgarian policy on the ] changed to serve the activities of the Communist regime. Thus, in 1946, the government of the ] "recommended" the liquidation of the ]. On 10 October 1946, the entire museum collection including the mortal remains of the revolutionary Gotse Delchev were transported to the newly established ]. The following day, they were enshrined in a marble sarcophagus which is until present displayed in the yard of the "Sveti Spas" church in ].


== Delchev's legacy == == Delchev's legacy ==
] - May 1903. Article about the death of "sixty Bulgarians, including their leader, Deltzeff."]] ] - May 1903. Article about the death of "sixty Bulgarians, including their leader, Deltzeff."]]
In ], Delchev is regarded as the most important revolutionary from the second generation of freedom fighters who continued the struggle for political autonomy or independence in the Bulgarian-populated parts of Macedonia and the Adrianople ] after the establishment of the autonomous ] in 1878. His memory is honoured especially among the descendants of Bulgarian refugees from Aegean Macedonia, and in ]. Gotse Delchev's name appears in the national anthem of the ], ]. There are two towns named in his honour: ] in Bulgaria and ] in the Republic of Macedonia. ] and ] in ] on ], ], ] are also named for Gotse Delchev. A partisan attachment was named after him. The ] in the ] carries his name. In ], Delchev is regarded as the most important revolutionary from the second generation of freedom fighters who continued the struggle for political autonomy or independence in the Bulgarian-populated parts of Macedonia and the Adrianople ] after the establishment of the autonomous ] in 1878. His memory is honoured especially among the descendants of Bulgarian refugees from Aegean Macedonia, and in ]. Gotse Delchev's name appears in the national anthem of the ], ]. There are two towns named in his honour: ] in Bulgaria and ] in the Republic of Macedonia. ] and ] in ] on ], ], ] are also named for Gotse Delchev. A partisan attachment was named after him. The ] in the ] carries his name.


== Ethnicity == == Ethnicity ==
⚫ ], signed by Gotse Delchev as teacher.]]
]
⚫ </ref>]]
As most of the events and developments in late 19th century Macedonia, the national and ethnic affiliations of Gotse Delchev are a contentious issue. He is regarded as an ethnic Bulgarian by Bulgarian historians and also by most of the international scolars.<ref>Even the famous leader of the Macedonian revolutionaries, Gotse Delchev, openly said that “''We are Bulgarians''” (Mac Dermott, 1978:192, 273, quoted in Danforth, 1995:64) and addressed “the Slavs of Macedonia as ‘Bulgarians’ in an offhanded manner without seeming to indicate that such a designation was a point of contention” (Perry, 1988:23, quoted in Danforth, 1995:64). See: Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE), Macedonians of Bulgaria. </ref>


As most of the events and developments in late 19th century Macedonia, the national and ethnic affiliations of Gotse Delchev are a contentious issue. He is regarded as an ethnic Bulgarian by Bulgarian historians and also by most of the international scolars.<ref>Even the famous leader of the Macedonian revolutionaries, Gotse Delchev, openly said that “''We are Bulgarians''” (Mac Dermott, 1978:192, 273, quoted in Danforth, 1995:64) and addressed “the Slavs of Macedonia as ‘Bulgarians’ in an offhanded manner without seeming to indicate that such a designation was a point of contention” (Perry, 1988:23, quoted in Danforth, 1995:64). See: Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE), Macedonians of Bulgaria. </ref> Even a number of contemporary historians from the Republic of Macedonia (e.g. Academician Ivan Katardzhiev, in the Department of Social Sciences in the ]<ref name="ivan">Академик Иван Катарџиев, "Верувам во националниот имунитет на македонецот", интервjу, "Форум": "ФОРУМ - Дали навистина Делчев се изјаснувал како Бугарин и зошто? КАТАРЏИЕВ - Ваквите прашања стојат. Сите наши луѓе се именувале како „Бугари“..."; also (in Macedonian; in English: "Academician Ivan Katardzhiev. I believe in Macedonian national immunity", interview, "Forum" magazine: "FORUM - Whether Gotse Delchev really defined himself as Bulgarian and why? KATARDZHIEV - Such questions exist. All our people named themselves as "Bulgarians"...")</ref> and the director of the Macedonian state archive, ] Zoran Todorovski<ref name="zoran">"Уште робуваме на старите поделби", Разговор со д-р Зоран Тодоровски, www.tribune.eu.com, 27. 06. 2005, also (in Macedonian; in English: "We are still in servitude to the old divisions", interview with Ph. D. Zoran Todorovski, published on www.tribune.eu.com, 27. 06. 2005.</ref>) agree with the ] ethnic consciousness of Gotse Delchev.
⚫ He graduated from the local Bulgarian junior high school in ] and the ] in ]. Later he was ] in the Military School in ]. After that he worked as a ] teacher in a ]'s school in Stip. Also in his correspondence (all of his letters and papers are written without exception in literary ]) he described himself as an ethnic Bulgarian.<ref name="letter">Gotse Delchev is identifying himself as Bulgarian in his ].</ref> In some documents, created by him, he defined the Slavic population in Macedonia as Bulgarian, for example in a circular letter written in March 1901.<ref name="circular">Окръжно послание, Дино Кьосев, "Гоце Делчев. Писма и други материали", Издание на Института за история при Българската академия на науките, София, 1967, №230, (in English: Circular letter, Dino Kyosev, "Gotse Delchev. Letters and other materials", published by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of History, Sofia, 1967, №230).</ref> According to the "Memoirs" of ] Delchev was the co-author of the statute of the ] in 1896, where Chapter II., Art. 3. determines: "''A member of BMARC can be any Bulgarian, independent of gender, who isn't discredited with anything dishonestly''...".<ref name="petrov">"Спомени на Гьорчо Петров", поредица Материяли за историята на македонското освободително движение, книга VIII, София, 1927, глава VII, (in English: "Memoirs of Gyorcho Petrov", series Materials about history of the Macedonian revolutionary movement, book VIII, Sofia, 1927, chapter VII).</ref> He was unambiguously considered an ethnic Bulgarian by many of his closest friends like ], the author of his first biography,<ref name="biography">In his biography Yavorov portrays Delchev as a prominent member of the Bulgarian national liberating movement, for example in its introduction, where he compares him with other iconic Bulgarian revolutionaries, ] and ](, in Bulgarian)</ref> written shortly after Delchev's death. Yavorov also cited Delchev in his diary as has needed "''...the rise of Bulgarian sun of the freedom over Macedonia...''".<ref></ref>

⚫ He graduated from the local Bulgarian junior high school in ] and the ] in ]. Later he was ] in the Military School in ]. After that he worked as a ] teacher in a ]'s school in Stip. Also in his correspondence (all of his letters and papers are written without exception in literary ]) he described himself as an ethnic Bulgarian.<ref name="letter">Gotse Delchev is identifying himself as Bulgarian in his ].</ref> In some documents, created by him, he defined the Slavic population in Macedonia as Bulgarian, for example in a circular letter written in March 1901.<ref name="circular">Окръжно послание, Дино Кьосев, "Гоце Делчев. Писма и други материали", Издание на Института за история при Българската академия на науките, София, 1967, №230, (in English: Circular letter, Dino Kyosev, "Gotse Delchev. Letters and other materials", published by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of History, Sofia, 1967, №230).</ref> According to the "Memoirs" of ] Delchev was the co-author of the statute of the ] in 1896, where Chapter II., Art. 3. determines: "''A member of BMARC can be any Bulgarian, independent of gender, who isn't discredited with anything dishonestly''...".<ref name="petrov">"Спомени на Гьорчо Петров", поредица Материяли за историята на македонското освободително движение, книга VIII, София, 1927, глава VII, (in English: "Memoirs of Gyorcho Petrov", series Materials about history of the Macedonian revolutionary movement, book VIII, Sofia, 1927, chapter VII).</ref> He was unambiguously considered an ethnic Bulgarian by many of his closest friends like ], the author of his first biography,<ref name="biography">In his biography Yavorov portrays Delchev as a prominent member of the Bulgarian national liberating movement, for example in its introduction, where he compares him with other iconic Bulgarian revolutionaries, ] and ](, in Bulgarian)</ref> written shortly after Delchev's death. Yavorov also cited Delchev in his diary as has needed "''...the rise of Bulgarian sun of the freedom over Macedonia...''".<ref></ref>


Delchev embraced the idea of a common Macedonian and Adrianople autonomous region, often explained by IMRO leaders as Bulgarian idea,<ref>...This idea, (''of authonomous Macedonia'') nevertheless, remained a Bulgarian idea until it disappeared even among the Bulgarians. Neither the Greeks, nor the Turks, nor any other nationality in Macedonia accepted that slogan... The idea of autonomous Macedonia developed most significantly after the creation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, which was Bulgarian in respect of its members... ], "Back to the Autonomy", Sofia, 1919.</ref> based on the 23rd article of the ], uniting Macedonians and Adrianopolitans regardless of ethnicity or creed, and also opposed to the direct involvement of the Bulgarian state authorities in the liberational struggle in Macedonia and Adrianople areas.<ref>For example in a speech, addressed to the VIII extraordinary congress of the Bulgarian promilitary Supreme Macedono-Adrianopolitan Organisation in Sofia on April 7, 1901: "Само ако тукашната организация одобрява духът на вътр/ешната/ организация и не се стреми да й дава импулс, въздействие, т. е. не й се бърка в нейните работи, само в такъв случай може да съществува връзка между тия две организации.", НБКМ — БИА, ф. 224, а. е. 8, л. 602, in English: "Only if the local organization /''the Supreme Macedono-Adrianopolitan Organisation, based in Sofia, editor's note''/ approves the spirit of the inner organisation /''IMRO, editor's note''/ and doesn't aspire to give it impulse, influence, i.e. ,it doesn't meddle in its affairs, only in such case relation between these two organisations could exist."; the document is kept in the ], the Bulgarian Historical Archive department, fund 224, archive unit 8, page 602).</ref> Delchev embraced the idea of a common Macedonian and Adrianople autonomous region, often explained by IMRO leaders as Bulgarian idea,<ref>...This idea, (''of authonomous Macedonia'') nevertheless, remained a Bulgarian idea until it disappeared even among the Bulgarians. Neither the Greeks, nor the Turks, nor any other nationality in Macedonia accepted that slogan... The idea of autonomous Macedonia developed most significantly after the creation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, which was Bulgarian in respect of its members... ], "Back to the Autonomy", Sofia, 1919.</ref> based on the 23rd article of the ], uniting Macedonians and Adrianopolitans regardless of ethnicity or creed, and also opposed to the direct involvement of the Bulgarian state authorities in the liberational struggle in Macedonia and Adrianople areas.<ref>For example in a speech, addressed to the VIII extraordinary congress of the Bulgarian promilitary Supreme Macedono-Adrianopolitan Organisation in Sofia on April 7, 1901: "Само ако тукашната организация одобрява духът на вътр/ешната/ организация и не се стреми да й дава импулс, въздействие, т. е. не й се бърка в нейните работи, само в такъв случай може да съществува връзка между тия две организации.", НБКМ — БИА, ф. 224, а. е. 8, л. 602, in English: "Only if the local organization /''the Supreme Macedono-Adrianopolitan Organisation, based in Sofia, editor's note''/ approves the spirit of the inner organisation /''IMRO, editor's note''/ and doesn't aspire to give it impulse, influence, i.e. ,it doesn't meddle in its affairs, only in such case relation between these two organisations could exist."; the document is kept in the ], the Bulgarian Historical Archive department, fund 224, archive unit 8, page 602).</ref>
⚫ ]

Delchev is considered as an ethnic Macedonian by some historians from the Republic of Macedonia, which argue that the word "Bulgarian" in the 19th century Macedonia does not refer to ethnicity, and that it was synonymous with "Christian" or "Slav".<ref name="bulg"> According to those claims, in the late 19th century, ''Bulgarian'' could be used as a general identifying term based on religion for any Christian belonging to the Bulgarian Exarchate within the Ottoman Empire. It could also mean a person who spoke Bulgarian, or identified as a Bulgarian. Identifying as a Bulgarian did not exclude additional ethnic identification as ethnic Macedonian (assuming such an ethnic orientation existed at that time), Vlach or Greek. (Friedman 1997)</ref> Bulgarian historians argue that the Macedonian autonomy was never meant to have an "ethnic Macedonian" nature and note that no contradiction between a "Macedonian" (as a regional and supranational term) and "Bulgarian" (as an ethnic term) existed at that time, pointing to the use of "Adrianopolitan" alongside "Macedonian" in the documents of the BMARC/SMARO.<ref name="mak">It is claimed (mostly by Bulgarian scholars) that at the time, Macedonian was used as a regional identifier for a person living in the ], and the modern ] of the word was nonexistent or at its beginnings. In this context, identifying as Macedonian in a regional sense did not exclude identification as an ethnic Bulgarian.</ref> Delchev is considered as an ethnic Macedonian by some historians from the Republic of Macedonia, which argue that the word "Bulgarian" in the 19th century Macedonia does not refer to ethnicity, and that it was synonymous with "Christian" or "Slav".<ref name="bulg"> According to those claims, in the late 19th century, ''Bulgarian'' could be used as a general identifying term based on religion for any Christian belonging to the Bulgarian Exarchate within the Ottoman Empire. It could also mean a person who spoke Bulgarian, or identified as a Bulgarian. Identifying as a Bulgarian did not exclude additional ethnic identification as ethnic Macedonian (assuming such an ethnic orientation existed at that time), Vlach or Greek. (Friedman 1997)</ref> Bulgarian historians argue that the Macedonian autonomy was never meant to have an "ethnic Macedonian" nature and note that no contradiction between a "Macedonian" (as a regional and supranational term) and "Bulgarian" (as an ethnic term) existed at that time, pointing to the use of "Adrianopolitan" alongside "Macedonian" in the documents of the BMARC/SMARO.<ref name="mak">It is claimed (mostly by Bulgarian scholars) that at the time, Macedonian was used as a regional identifier for a person living in the ], and the modern ] of the word was nonexistent or at its beginnings. In this context, identifying as Macedonian in a regional sense did not exclude identification as an ethnic Bulgarian.</ref>


== Memorials== == Memorials==
<center>
<gallery> <gallery>
Image:Statue of Goce Delčev in Skopje, Macedonia.JPG|Statue of Goce Delchev in ], ]. Image:Statue of Goce Delčev in Skopje, Macedonia.JPG|Statue of Goce Delchev in ], ].
⚫ Image:Grob.png|The restored grave-place of Delchev near Banitsa.()
Image:Gotse Delchev Varna.JPG|Monument of Gotse Delchev in ], ]. Image:Gotse Delchev Varna.JPG|Monument of Gotse Delchev in ], ].
Image:Gotse Delchev.jpg|Monument of Gotse Delchev in ], ]. Image:Gotse Delchev.jpg|Monument of Gotse Delchev in ], ].
Image:The tomb of Goce Delčev in Skopje.jpg|The tomb of Goce Delčev in the church Sv. Spas (Holy Savior) in ], ] Image:The tomb of Goce Delčev in Skopje.jpg|The tomb of Goce Delčev in the church Sv. Spas (Holy Savior) in ], ]
⚫ Image:Delchev and imov.jpg|Delchev(left) and his fellow Gotse Imov as ] in ]
⚫ Image:Svidetelstvo Goce Delcev.jpg|Diploma of a student from a Bulgarian school in ], signed by Gotse Delchev as teacher.
⚫ Image:Georgedeltchev.jpg|thumb|Greek newspaper, Empros - May 1903. Caption of picture reads: “Gotse Delchev, assassinated leader of the Bulgarian bands”
⚫ Image:Goce-Delcev.jpg|Gotse Delchev with his friend and biographer ]
⚫ Image:Gd 184.jpg|Letter from Gotse Delchev, where he describes himself and his fellows as Bulgarians.<ref></ref>
</gallery> </gallery>

</center>
== See also == == See also ==
{{wikisource-author}} {{wikisource-author}}

Revision as of 12:37, 15 February 2009

For the town in Bulgaria, see Gotse Delchev (town).

Template:Infobox revolution biography

Delchev(left) and his fellow Gotse Imov as officer cadets in Sofia

Georgi Nikolov Delchev (1872-1903) (Bulgarian and Macedonian: Георги Николов Делчев) was an important 19th century revolutionary figure in Ottoman Macedonia and Southern Thrace. He was one of the leaders of what is nowadays commonly referred to as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), a paramilitary organization active in Ottoman ruled Macedonia and Thrace at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. According to its first known stature in 1896, the name of the organization was Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees (BMARC), later changed to Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (SMARO).

Biography

File:Goce-Delcev.jpg
Gotse Delchev with his friend and biographer Peyo Yavorov

Born on 23 January 1872 in Kilkis (Кукуш; Kukush), present day Greece, Delchev graduated from the local Bulgarian junior high school and the Bulgarian men's high school "St Cyril and Methodius" in Thessaloniki. He entered the military school in Sofia in 1891, but in 1894, a month before the graduation, he was expelled because his political activity as a member of illegal socialist circle.
In 1894, Delchev became a Bulgarian language teacher in a Bulgarian school in Stip where he met Dame Gruev, the leader of the local committee of BMARC. As a result of the close friendship between the two, Delchev joined the organization in 1895 and before long, became one of its main leaders. After spending the next school year (1895/1896) as a teacher in the town of Bansko, he moved to Bulgaria where he, together with Gjorche Petrov, became a representative of the internal organization in the principality.

Gotse Delchev's involvement in BMARC was an important moment in the history of the Macedonian liberation movement. The years between 1894 and 1903 represented the final and most effective revolutionary phase of his short life. Delchev fought for autonomy of Macedonia. As most of the other leaders of organization at the time, Delchev had a vision of an authonomous Macedonia and Thrace. The international, cosmopolitan views of Delchev that elevated him far ahead of his time could be summarized in his proverbial sentence: "I understand the world solely as a field for cultural competition among the peoples".

An official telegram, written from the Ottoman authorities to the Turkish Embassy in Bulgaria, May 9, 1903. It contains the phrase: „On April, 22 (May, 5), in the village of Banitsa one of the leaders of the Bulgarian Committees, with name Delchev, was killed“.

His correspondence with other BMARC/SMARO members covers extensive data on supplies, transport and storage of weapons and ammunition in Macedonia. Delchev envisioned independent production of weapons, which resulted in the establishment of a bomb manufacturing plant in the village of Sabler near Kyustendil in Bulgaria. The bombs were later smuggled across the Ottoman border into Macedonia. The inclusion of the rural areas into the organizational districts contributed to the expansion of the organization and the increase in its membership, while providing the essential prerequisites for the formation of the military power of the organization, at the same time having Gotse Delchev as its military advisor (inspector) and chief of all internal revolutionary bands.

The restored grave-place of Delchev near Banitsa.(World War II Bulgarian annexation of Northern Greece)

The primary question regarding the timing of the uprising in Macedonia and Thrace implicated an apparent discordance among the representatives at the Sofia Conference in 1903 with Delchev opposing the uprising as premature. Delchev died on May 4, 1903 in a skirmish with the Turkish police near the village of Banitza, located in the Serres region, present day Greece, probably after betrayal by local villagers, as rumours asserted, while preparing the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising. Delchev's remains were transferred to Sofia during World War I when Bulgaria controlled part of Aegean Macedonia, where they rested until after the Second World War. After 1944, the Bulgarian policy on the Macedonian Question changed to serve the activities of the Communist regime. Thus, in 1946, the government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria "recommended" the liquidation of the Macedonian Scientific Institute. On 10 October 1946, the entire museum collection including the mortal remains of the revolutionary Gotse Delchev were transported to the newly established People's Republic of Macedonia. The following day, they were enshrined in a marble sarcophagus which is until present displayed in the yard of the "Sveti Spas" church in Skopje.

Delchev's legacy

The New York Times - May 1903. Article about the death of "sixty Bulgarians, including their leader, Deltzeff."

In Bulgaria, Delchev is regarded as the most important revolutionary from the second generation of freedom fighters who continued the struggle for political autonomy or independence in the Bulgarian-populated parts of Macedonia and the Adrianople vilayet after the establishment of the autonomous Bulgarian principality in 1878. His memory is honoured especially among the descendants of Bulgarian refugees from Aegean Macedonia, and in Blagoevgrad Province. Gotse Delchev's name appears in the national anthem of the Republic of Macedonia, "Denes nad Makedonija". There are two towns named in his honour: Gotse Delchev in Bulgaria and Delčevo in the Republic of Macedonia. Delchev Peak and Delchev Ridge in Tangra Mountains on Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica are also named for Gotse Delchev. A partisan attachment was named after him. The University of Štip in the Republic of Macedonia carries his name.

Ethnicity

Diploma of a student from a Bulgarian school in Stip, signed by Gotse Delchev as teacher.
Letter from Gotse Delchev, where he describes himself and his fellows as Bulgarians.

As most of the events and developments in late 19th century Macedonia, the national and ethnic affiliations of Gotse Delchev are a contentious issue. He is regarded as an ethnic Bulgarian by Bulgarian historians and also by most of the international scolars. Even a number of contemporary historians from the Republic of Macedonia (e.g. Academician Ivan Katardzhiev, director of the Historical Sciences section in the Department of Social Sciences in the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts and the director of the Macedonian state archive, Ph. D. Zoran Todorovski) agree with the Bulgarian ethnic consciousness of Gotse Delchev.

He graduated from the local Bulgarian junior high school in Stip and the Bulgarian men's high school "St Cyril and Methodius" in Thessaloniki. Later he was Officer Cadet in the Military School in Sofia. After that he worked as a Bulgarian language teacher in a Bulgarian Exarchate's school in Stip. Also in his correspondence (all of his letters and papers are written without exception in literary Bulgarian language) he described himself as an ethnic Bulgarian. In some documents, created by him, he defined the Slavic population in Macedonia as Bulgarian, for example in a circular letter written in March 1901. According to the "Memoirs" of Gjorche Petrov Delchev was the co-author of the statute of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committee in 1896, where Chapter II., Art. 3. determines: "A member of BMARC can be any Bulgarian, independent of gender, who isn't discredited with anything dishonestly...". He was unambiguously considered an ethnic Bulgarian by many of his closest friends like Peyo Yavorov, the author of his first biography, written shortly after Delchev's death. Yavorov also cited Delchev in his diary as has needed "...the rise of Bulgarian sun of the freedom over Macedonia...".

Delchev embraced the idea of a common Macedonian and Adrianople autonomous region, often explained by IMRO leaders as Bulgarian idea, based on the 23rd article of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), uniting Macedonians and Adrianopolitans regardless of ethnicity or creed, and also opposed to the direct involvement of the Bulgarian state authorities in the liberational struggle in Macedonia and Adrianople areas.

Greek newspaper, Empros - May 1903. Caption of picture reads: “Gotse Delchev, assassinated leader of the Bulgarian bands”

Delchev is considered as an ethnic Macedonian by some historians from the Republic of Macedonia, which argue that the word "Bulgarian" in the 19th century Macedonia does not refer to ethnicity, and that it was synonymous with "Christian" or "Slav". Bulgarian historians argue that the Macedonian autonomy was never meant to have an "ethnic Macedonian" nature and note that no contradiction between a "Macedonian" (as a regional and supranational term) and "Bulgarian" (as an ethnic term) existed at that time, pointing to the use of "Adrianopolitan" alongside "Macedonian" in the documents of the BMARC/SMARO.

Memorials

See also

Notes

  1. MacDermott, Mercia. 1978. Freedom or Death: The Life of Gotse Delchev. Published by The Journeyman Press, London and West Nyack. 405 pp. ISBN 0-904526-32-1. Translated in Bulgarian: Макдермот, Мерсия. Свобода или смърт. Биография на Гоце Делчев, София 1979, с. 86-94.
  2. Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 30. Template:Bg icon In English: Peyo Yavorov, "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography "Gotse Delchev", Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 30.
  3. Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 13. Template:Bg icon In English: Peyo Yavorov, "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography Gotse Delchev, Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 13.
  4. Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 32-33. Template:Bg icon In English: Peyo Yavorov, "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography Gotse Delchev, Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, pp. 32-33.
  5. Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 39. Template:Bg icon In English: Peyo Yavorov, "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography Gotse Delchev, Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 39.
  6. Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 62-66. Template:Bg icon In English: Peyo Yavorov, "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography Gotse Delchev, Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, pp. 62-66.
  7. Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977, стр. 69. Template:Bg icon In English: Peyo Yavorov, "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography Gotse Delchev, Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977, p. 69.
  8. Letter from Gotse Delchev to Nikola Maleshevski (1899)
  9. Even the famous leader of the Macedonian revolutionaries, Gotse Delchev, openly said that “We are Bulgarians” (Mac Dermott, 1978:192, 273, quoted in Danforth, 1995:64) and addressed “the Slavs of Macedonia as ‘Bulgarians’ in an offhanded manner without seeming to indicate that such a designation was a point of contention” (Perry, 1988:23, quoted in Danforth, 1995:64). See: Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe - Southeast Europe (CEDIME-SE), Macedonians of Bulgaria.
  10. Академик Иван Катарџиев, "Верувам во националниот имунитет на македонецот", интервjу, "Форум": "ФОРУМ - Дали навистина Делчев се изјаснувал како Бугарин и зошто? КАТАРЏИЕВ - Ваквите прашања стојат. Сите наши луѓе се именувале како „Бугари“..."; also here (in Macedonian; in English: "Academician Ivan Katardzhiev. I believe in Macedonian national immunity", interview, "Forum" magazine: "FORUM - Whether Gotse Delchev really defined himself as Bulgarian and why? KATARDZHIEV - Such questions exist. All our people named themselves as "Bulgarians"...")
  11. "Уште робуваме на старите поделби", Разговор со д-р Зоран Тодоровски, www.tribune.eu.com, 27. 06. 2005, also here (in Macedonian; in English: "We are still in servitude to the old divisions", interview with Ph. D. Zoran Todorovski, published on www.tribune.eu.com, 27. 06. 2005.
  12. Gotse Delchev is identifying himself as Bulgarian in his letter to Nikola Maleshevski.
  13. Окръжно послание, Дино Кьосев, "Гоце Делчев. Писма и други материали", Издание на Института за история при Българската академия на науките, София, 1967, №230, (in English: Circular letter, Dino Kyosev, "Gotse Delchev. Letters and other materials", published by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of History, Sofia, 1967, №230).
  14. "Спомени на Гьорчо Петров", поредица Материяли за историята на македонското освободително движение, книга VIII, София, 1927, глава VII, (in English: "Memoirs of Gyorcho Petrov", series Materials about history of the Macedonian revolutionary movement, book VIII, Sofia, 1927, chapter VII).
  15. In his biography Yavorov portrays Delchev as a prominent member of the Bulgarian national liberating movement, for example in its introduction, where he compares him with other iconic Bulgarian revolutionaries, Vasil Levski and Hristo Botev(here, in Bulgarian)
  16. "Личните бележници на П. К. Яворов" Автор: Пейо Яворов, Съставител: Милкана Бошнакова, Издател: ИК "Захарий Стоянов", ISBN 9789540901374, 2008.
  17. ...This idea, (of authonomous Macedonia) nevertheless, remained a Bulgarian idea until it disappeared even among the Bulgarians. Neither the Greeks, nor the Turks, nor any other nationality in Macedonia accepted that slogan... The idea of autonomous Macedonia developed most significantly after the creation of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, which was Bulgarian in respect of its members... Dimo Hadjidimov, "Back to the Autonomy", Sofia, 1919.
  18. For example in a speech, addressed to the VIII extraordinary congress of the Bulgarian promilitary Supreme Macedono-Adrianopolitan Organisation in Sofia on April 7, 1901: "Само ако тукашната организация одобрява духът на вътр/ешната/ организация и не се стреми да й дава импулс, въздействие, т. е. не й се бърка в нейните работи, само в такъв случай може да съществува връзка между тия две организации.", НБКМ — БИА, ф. 224, а. е. 8, л. 602, in English: "Only if the local organization /the Supreme Macedono-Adrianopolitan Organisation, based in Sofia, editor's note/ approves the spirit of the inner organisation /IMRO, editor's note/ and doesn't aspire to give it impulse, influence, i.e. ,it doesn't meddle in its affairs, only in such case relation between these two organisations could exist."; the document is kept in the SS. Cyril and Methodius National Library, the Bulgarian Historical Archive department, fund 224, archive unit 8, page 602).
  19. According to those claims, in the late 19th century, Bulgarian could be used as a general identifying term based on religion for any Christian belonging to the Bulgarian Exarchate within the Ottoman Empire. It could also mean a person who spoke Bulgarian, or identified as a Bulgarian. Identifying as a Bulgarian did not exclude additional ethnic identification as ethnic Macedonian (assuming such an ethnic orientation existed at that time), Vlach or Greek. (Friedman 1997)
  20. It is claimed (mostly by Bulgarian scholars) that at the time, Macedonian was used as a regional identifier for a person living in the region of Macedonia, and the modern ethnic sense of the word was nonexistent or at its beginnings. In this context, identifying as Macedonian in a regional sense did not exclude identification as an ethnic Bulgarian.

References

  • Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Исторически преглед, 1969, кн. I, стр. 68—80. Template:Bg icon
  • Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Извeстия на Института за история, т. 21, 1970, стр. 250-257. Template:Bg icon
  • Битоски, Крсте, сп. "Македонско Време", Скопје - март 1997, quoting: Quoting: Public Record Office - Foreign Office 78/4951 Turkey (Bulgaria), From Elliot, 1898, Устав на ТМОРО. S. 1. published in Документи за борбата на македонскиот народ за самостојност и за национална држава, Скопје, Универзитет "Кирил и Методиј": Факултет за филозофско-историски науки, 1981, pp 331 - 333. Template:Mk icon
  • Hugh Pouton Who Are the Macedonians? , C. Hurst & Co, 2000. p. 53. ISBN 1-85065-534-0
  • Fikret Adanir, Die Makedonische Frage: ihre entestehung und etwicklung bis 1908., Wiessbaden 1979, p. 112.
  • Duncan Perry The Politics of Terror: The Macedonian Liberation Movements, 1893-1903 , Durham, Duke University Press, 1988. pp. 40-41, 210 n. 10.
  • Friedman, V. (1997) "One Grammar, Three Lexicons: Ideological Overtones and Underpinnings of the Balkan Sprachbund" in CLS 33 Papers from the 33rd Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistic Society. (Chicago : Chicago Linguistic Society)
  • Димитър П. Евтимов, Делото на Гоце Делчев, Варна, изд. на варненското Македонско културно-просветно дружество "Гоце Делчев", 1937. Template:Bg icon
  • Пейо Яворов, "Събрани съчинения", Том втори, "Гоце Делчев", Издателство "Български писател", София, 1977. Template:Bg icon In English: Peyo Yavorov, "Complete Works", Volume 2, biography "Gotse Delchev", Publishing house "Bulgarian writer", Sofia, 1977.

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