Salonica itself is by no means a Bulgarian city, but an excellent type of the polylingual cities of the Near East. Out of a population of 160,000 inhabitants, it contains 20,000 Greeks and an equal number of Europeans and Turks respectively. Its Bulgarian population is negligible. The most numerous element is made up of Jews who, it is estimated, constitute about one-half of the population. Next to Constantinople, Salonica is the best harbor in the Balkans. It is coveted by the Bulgarians on the plea that the population of the country environing Salonica is mostly Bulgar.
The city occupies a dominating position on the Ægean coast halfway between Piraeus and Smyrna and has always been a meeting-point of Europe and Asia. In a sense it is the eastern terminal of continental lines with which it is connected by the railroad which passes through Nish and Uskub. In this light the city may be likened to one of the piles of a gigantic bridge thrown across the Ægean to connect Europe and Asia. It is the natural outlet of the greatest part of Macedonia. Inland towns all the way from Ipek, Prizrend and Mitrovitza to Monastir, Ishtip and Serres obtain the goods which they need through Salonica. The products of the fertile valleys of the Vardar and the Bistritza are almost exclusively directed toward this harbor. The exchange of commodities between Salonica and its rearlands reaches a yearly value of about $100,000,000.
Whatever be the prevailing language spoken in this city, its greatness depends entirely on the degree of freedom with which its inhabitants can maintain trade with the districts extending north and northwest. To maintain its size, or grow, the city must continue to be the receiving point of manufactured goods shipped into Macedonia as well as parts of Serbia and Albania. It must also remain the shipping point for the natural products from those same districts. To separate Macedonia from Salonica, its natural harbor, is to create an unnatural condition. The city draws its life from the resources of Macedonia. Its prosperity is therefore directly related to the political fate of that country.
Bulgaria was independent during three different periods of its history. The first kingdom was founded in 679 when Bulgarian bands led by Asparush crossed the Danube and conquered the Slavs who had previously occupied Bulgaria. Conquest carried his successors to the very gates of Constantinople. At the end of the ninth century under the reign of Simon, the second Christian ruler of the country, the kingdom comprised all of Hungary, Rumania, Macedonia, Thessaly, Epirus and Serbia in addition to its present territory. Preslav was its capital. Bulgaria had then an area of 233,300 sq. m.
The Byzantines conquered Bulgaria in 1018 and maintained their supremacy until 1186. The second kingdom was reëstablished in that year with Assen I as its sovereign. In the reign of Assen II (1218-1241), Bulgarian territory reached the Adriatic, Ægean and Black seas and the Danube formed its northern frontier. Tirnovo was the capital of the second kingdom. Bulgaria was at that time one of the great European powers. Its area was then 113,100 sq. m. The third kingdom dates from the year 1877.
Several attempts have been made in the past to create a Bulgaria which would extend as far as the country’s language was spoken. Towards the end of 1876 an international conference was held in Constantinople to put an end to the intolerable condition of the Christians inhabiting this portion of the Balkan peninsula. The delegates decided to form two new Turkish provinces, the boundaries of which would coincide with the ethnographic limit of the Bulgarian people. Sofia and Tirnovo were selected as the chief towns of the new provinces. The Sultan’s government succeeded in blocking the execution of this project. War with Russia followed and Russian victories forced Turkey to sign the memorable treaty of San Stefano on February 19, 1878.
The boundary then decided upon was practically identical with that provided by the ambassadorial conference of Constantinople. Bulgaria however obtained in addition a band of territory in Thrace and access to the Ægean through the seaport of Kavalla and the mouth of the Vardar. In exchange, the principality lost the Dobrudja to Rumania and a portion of the sanjak of Nish with the towns of Nish and Leskovatz to Serbia. Russia at San Stefano had, therefore, merely enforced execution of the agreement reached jointly by the representatives of European powers. The treaty she imposed on the Porte was from the linguistic standpoint an improvement on the ambassadorial plan elaborated at Constantinople.
Unfortunately for Bulgaria, the unity of the nation failed to receive the sanction of Europe at the treaty of Berlin in spite of the sound scientific basis on which it was founded. Political and strategical considerations, on the plea of which many international blunders have been committed, prevailed. After this act of injustice Bulgarians organized themselves to reclaim the land of which they had been despoiled. Thirty-five years were spent in preparation. On February 19, 1913, Bulgar guns and bayonets, backed by Bulgar determination, had almost reëstablished the national unity for which they had striven. This new effort was not to be crowned with success. Only in the winter of 1914-1915 were the Bulgarians able to occupy with their arms the territories of Bulgarian speech which had been allotted to Serbia by the treaty of Bucarest. The permanency of this occupation is, needless to state, subject to international approval.
The extreme southeastern angle of the Balkan peninsula, east of the Maritza river, is probably the most polyglot region in Europe. The valley of the Maritza is mainly Bulgarian. Numerous colonies of Greeks settled along the coast between the Dardanelles and the Black Sea entrance of the Bosporus ply their trade as fishermen or sailors. The petty coastwise traffic is almost entirely in their hands. The Bulgarians are mainly farmers. Their properties are scattered east to the very walls of the world-metropolis which brings fame to the region. Within Constantinople itself truck gardens are generally owned and exploited by Bulgarians. Bulgarian and Greek languages are therefore common in this peninsula extremity of Europe. The latter however is in constant use by most of the inhabitants, whereas Bulgarian is restricted to the Slavic element.
The Turkish masters of the land were never able to impose their language on the Christian population. Many of the Greek and Bulgarian inhabitants of the region cannot speak a word of Turkish. The fact is particularly observable among Greeks. The language of the conqueror hovers over the land as the medium of administration. Its function ceases then, as far as the Christian element of the region is concerned. The Turkish population in this bit of the Balkan peninsula is numerous, owing to the attraction exerted by the capital. Reliable census figures are unavailable. Thanks to the presence of a strong garrison and a host of civil-service officials the Turkish population of Constantinople, added to the Turks remaining in the strip of European Turkey still owned by the Sultan after the treaty of Bucarest of 1913, probably musters as many individuals as those to whom Greek is vernacular. An important Armenian colony is centered at Constantinople and radiates in settlements without the capital. These Christians also have held fast to their native speech, although most of them can claim proficiency in Turkish. This familiarity with the language of their conquerors betrays their Asiatic origin, in contrast with the ignorance of Turkish found among the Greeks, who never forget their European affinities.