Part 12 – Turn of the 19th Century and the Negush Uprising

Part 12 – Turn of the 19th Century and the Negush Uprising

After many Macedonian revolutionaries left for the Ukraine and Russia, permanently abandoning their homes and lands, the Ottomans brought Islamized Yuruk Turk workers, Albanians and other settlers to populate the vacant regions. Unfortunately as Ottoman Central power began to erode some Ottoman feudal lords began to openly work against it. Amongst them were the Albanians who were settled in Macedonia. Some Albanians took advantage of the weak Ottoman authorities and imposed themselves as feudal lords in certain regions. Among the most notorious Albanians were Ali Pasha of Ioannina, the Bushatli of Shkoder, Havli Paha of Skopje, Abdurazman Pasha of Tetovo, Ismail Beg of Seres, etc., all of whom imposed their influence on Macedonia after the suppression of the Karposh Uprising. While in service of the Ottoman Empire these people took advantage of their positions and of Ottoman negligence to strengthen their own economic, military and political influence and all that at the expense of the populations they ruled. With time, however, the Ottoman central government did have some success in eliminating some of these power usurpers but not before they did a lot of damage. By oppressing the populations to a point of economic collapse, they managed to instigate a number of rebellions not just in Macedonia but throughout the entire Balkans. To cope economically some people in Macedonia were forced to leave their homes to find employment elsewhere while others were forced to seek political solutions by joining the haiduks or the armies of countries which fought against the Ottoman Empire. Early in the 19th century travel was restricted to within the Ottoman Empire so migrant workers worked mainly in Asia Minor, Epirus and Serbia to name a few places. But later as travel restrictions were lifted, Macedonians traveled to as far as the United States, Canada and Australia. In their travels people learned about the various revolutionary movements such as the French and American Revolutions and brought such knowledge back home with them. This new knowledge had a profound effect on the Macedonian and other Balkan people and got them thinking about an all out liberation. I just want to mention at this point that the vast majority of those who were contemplating the idea of liberation had no notion of dividing the Ottoman Empire and forming separate states. The idea then was to focus their entire effort to liberate the Christians from their oppressors, the servants of the Ottoman Empire. Another factor that influenced the Balkan people under Ottoman dominion was the industrial revolution and western penetration into the Balkans. Westerners not only brought material goods and technological innovations with them but they also brought nationalism, a concept unheard off in the Balkans. As mentioned earlier, due to the political and economic situation in Macedonia many Macedonians had moved to Serbia to find work. At the time Belgrade was the best place for migrant workers to seek employment but it was also where the first uprising began in 1804. Being caught up in the fervour many Macedonians joined the liberation movement and fought on the Serbian side. Some even distinguished themselves as good officers and diplomats. Learning about their compatriots joining the revolt more Macedonian volunteers departed Macedonia in groups to join the rebellion. One such group was that of Velcho Zhika from Mavrovo. Velcho and his brother Kuzman were veterans of the Austrian-Ottoman War where Velcho had achieved the rank of Captain. When they found out a rebellion had broken out in Belgrade, they organized volunteers from Skopje, Ohrid, Kichevo, Prilep and Veles Regions and along with Petar Chardaklija lead these men into battle. Velcho unfortunately was killed in an ambush in Deligrad in 1807 in the same fortress his men had built upon their arrival from Macedonia. His brother Kuzman took command and led his men in many battles. Another Macedonian who distinguished himself in battle was Janko Popovich from Ohrid who led the battle of Mishar in 1806.

Among other Macedonians who participated in the Belgrade Uprising and distinguished themselves in battle were Kosta Kolarets, Military Chief of Smederevo, Georgi Zagla from Blatse along with his three brothers, Konda Bimbashi from Vevchani, Deli Gjorgij-Chiplak, Hekjim Tome, Mikjo Brko and Marko Krstikj from Belitsa. Among the Macedonians who participated in the Belgrade Uprising and distinguished themselves in the field of diplomacy were Petar Ichko from Katranitsa near Kajlari and Petar Chardaklija Shukjurovski from Leunovo. I just want to add here that Petar Ichko was an educated Macedonian who served as translator for the Ottomans in the foreign missions in Vienna and Berlin. In addition to speaking Macedonian he also spoke Turkish, Koine and a number of contemporary European languages which of course included German. Ichko was also instrumental in negotiating a peace treaty between the Belgrade insurgents and Ottoman representatives, something that neither Austria nor Russia could achieve even through armed interventions. Petar Chardaklija also did not fall short in his achievements. He led a Serbian delegation to St. Petersburg in 1804 where he requested Russian help to protect the insurgents. Macedonian intervention was not limited to the Serbian Uprising. Macedonians also participated in the Phanariot Uprising and later in the Bulgarian Uprising. Contrary to modern historical claims that the 1821 Phanariot Uprising was a Greek Uprising, it was not. The Phanariots were educated Christians belonging to all ethnic groups that lived in the Ottoman Empire. The only thing they had in common was they were educated and spoke the Koine language, the language of the Byzantine Church. Because of certain Muslim religious restrictions (not being allowed to handle public money, travel outside Muslim lands or speak foreign languages), Muslims could not serve all the functions of the Empire so Christians were employed to do the banking, translating and traveling outside of Ottoman lands. In other words the Christian Phanariots belonged to the Ottoman middle class and had access to the outside world. They were the Ottoman merchants, ship captains, sailors, bankers and translators which meant that they had access to the outside world and were allowed to freely travel in and out of Ottoman domain. They were called Phanariots because they were based in the Phanar Region of Istanbul. After the abolition of other Christian Churches which included the Macedonian Orthodox Church, the ecumenical Patriarchate was established in Istanbul by the Sultan and tendered by bids to the Phanariots to administer. Phanariots in some regions, as was the case in Romania, were also delegated the responsibility of collecting taxes for the Central government. In short the Phanariots were in charge of most of the Ottoman administration and were in a good position to organize a general Balkan wide uprising. Spurred by the European Great Powers a general uprising was planned but not very well executed. Plans were developed to start uprisings in Serbia, Bulgaria, Thrace, Macedonia and the Morea (modern day Peloponnesus) and in 1818 persons, known as apostles, were appointed to organize various local uprisings. The first Macedonian apostle appointed to organize the uprising in Macedonia was Jovan Farmakis. Just before the uprising began, brothers Dimitar and Pavle were dispatched to Solun to start the uprising there. Among the various other Macedonians who took part in the uprising was Konstantin Chaush from Prilep. In October 1820 the leaders of the uprisings met in Izmail and developed a plan to start the uprising in Morea followed by a Phanariot demonstration in Istanbul. At the same time the Serbs were to simultaneously invade Macedonia and Bulgaria and start uprisings in Bulgaria, Thrace and Macedonia while 6,000 cavalrymen from Russia were to attack the Ottomans in Romania. As one can see from the strategies deployed the organizers of this rebellion had a single motive, to liberate all the Christians from the oppressive servants of the Ottoman Empire, once again proving that they had no intention of partitioning the Ottoman State and creating smaller countries as was the case later.

Further proof of this is revealed in Article 5 of a treaty signed by the various factions during a meeting held between Vladimirescu, Olimpios and Farmakis which among other things committed all participants to working together for a common goal. Among the many Macedonians that participated in this revolt were Marko Chepenkov’s father and uncle, Nikola. The general uprising which was to take place on March 1821 was short lived and unsuccessful. The Romanian peasants who were expected to attack the Ottomans attacked the Phanariots instead, unleashing their anger on those they saw as their true oppressors. The Phanariots in Istanbul failed to uphold their end because they too did not see any purpose in rebelling. Most already had lucrative positions in the Ottoman administration and saw no advantage in getting involved. Unfortunately because it was discovered that the Patriarch Gregory V blessed the uprising, the Ottomans had him hung on the door of the Patriarchate where he remained for three full days. The uprising in Morea was no different except it was used as an opportunity by the poor to rob the rich. Morea was so poor that the Ottomans had virtually abandoned it. Security forces were sparse and easy to overpower. Unfortunately in the frenzy of the robberies the rebels (Klefts) massacred all the Ottoman security forces and when the uprising failed elsewhere they became fearful for their lives. Expecting retribution from the Ottoman army they kept on fighting and would not surrender peacefully. When the Great Powers and the rest of the Balkans saw that the Moreans refused to give up the fight they too became involved. Several new uprisings began but were brutally suppressed. One began in Solun and soon spread to the Kasandra and Chalcidice Peninsulas but was quickly put down by Lobud Pasha and his Arnauts who on December 1821 took their revenge on the priests of Sveta Gora. The Negush Uprising flared up on March 3rd, 1822 and engulfed the city and surrounding Negus Region. Led by Zafiraki, Anastas Karatasho, Angel Gacho and Dijamandi the uprising began with the attack and destruction of the Ottoman garrison in Negush. About 1,800 insurgents then went on the offensive to take Ber but being unsuccessful they retreated to the Sveta Bogoroditsa Monastery in Dobra where they were joined by Zafiraki and Gacho with 500 more rebels. The Ottoman army was quick to respond with three counter attacks, each repulsed successfully. When the villagers in the surrounding area were certain that the rebels could hold their own they began to join the rebellion. Macedonian villagers from Dobra, Katranitsa, Gramatikovo, Lozitsa and Drzhilovo joined in and fought alongside the insurgents. The uprising quickly spread to Kostur and Voden Regions. As the revolt spread wide along the Bistritsa River, other local ethnic groups joined in and were of significant help to the insurgency. As more help was needed the leaders made an appeal to the Morean revolutionaries to send insurgents but none were received.

According to information obtained from the British Consulate more that 2,000 insurgents had joined the fight with plans to take Solun. However since no help was offered from the Moreans the rebels took action against the surrounding Ottoman chifliks burning down 134. The Negush Uprising worried Ottoman authorities because it had the potential to flare up all throughout Macedonia so the Ottoman Central Government ordered Lobut Pasha, the vali of Solun, to take immediate measures to suppress it. On March 24, 1822 Lobud Pasha sent Hadzhi Mehmed Aga ahead to Negush and on March 27 he followed with 12,000 more Ottoman soldiers and bashi-bazouks. Overwhelmed by the sizable Ottoman force the surrounded insurgents fought gallantly and would not surrender for an entire month. Unable to breach the fortress the Ottomans employed 14 heavy cannons and by the end of April 1822 they had reduced the barriers to rubble and the number of insurgents from five thousand to a few hundred. After re-occupying Negush, the Ottomans took their revenge and killed two thousand women, children and elderly. They looted the city and burned it down along with some surrounding villages. Those who were captured alive were sold into slavery. The rich Macedonians who had friends and relatives willing to pay for them were able to buy back their freedom. Women suffered the most, most of them being raped before being sold into slavery. After the Uprising was put down, all remaining villagers were moved to Seres Region. Those who escaped fled to Austria, Romania and Serbia. This uprising was a wakeup call for the Ottomans who immediately began a sweeping program collecting all weapons from the Christian population throughout all of Macedonia. Travel without permission became illegal and those wishing to travel had to obtain travel documents. The insurgents who escaped regrouped in smaller groups and continued their struggle. Some joined the Moreans. Among the leaders who escaped were Karatasho, Angel Gacho, Zafiraki and others. Unfortunately Zafiraki and Karatasho’s oldest son were killed while on their way to join the Moreans. Gacho and his unit, consisting only of Macedonians, made it to Morea and proved themselves by fighting over fifteen battles against superior Ottoman forces. More Macedonians who participated in the Negush Uprising later joined the Moreans and continued their fight for freedom there. Other Macedonians who had joined the general uprising in Romania also left and joined the Moreans. Many Macedonians who had served as blacksmiths and stable workers in the Ottoman army also took part in the Morean Uprising. Fearing the creation of a large Christian State replacing the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Tsar was first to react to an all out general rebellion in the Balkans. This obviously was not in Russia’s interests so the Tsar ordered the cavalrymen to stand down before leaving Russia for Romania or Russia would stand on the side of the Ottomans. Soon afterwards it became apparent that Austria also did not want a single large state replacing the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. Refusing to die down, the Morean rebellion in time degenerated into a decade of Civil War. It was during this time that the Western Great Powers concocted the idea of forming a Greek State and modeling it after the Ancient City States that once lived on those lands. Various Phanariots were invited to London England and convincingly taught the idea that they were descendents of a culture that existed two thousand five hundred years before on the very spot that the Morean Rebellion was taking place. They were convinced to stop thinking about liberating the Christians in the entire Balkan and concentrate on creating a new state modeled after the City States of two and a half millenniums ago. As the Morean rebellion continued more and more outsiders joined in polarizing the struggle into civil war with one side wanting to liberate all the Christians and the other side wanting to form a Greek state.

The side that was lead by the likes of Kleft Kolokotronis fought for a liberated Christian world but unfortunately in the end his side lost and he and others like him ended up rotting in Greek jails. Kolokotronis himself, the greatest Greek hero of the Morean Uprising, died in a Greek jail as a traitor. Obviously the Phanariots who supported the idea of creating a Greek State, with the help of the Great Powers, won the war after the naval battle in Navarino Bay where the Russian, French and British navies sunk the Ottoman navy, reinforcements and all, thus ending a four century stranglehold of the region by the Ottomans. Of the many Macedonians who fought in the Morean struggle some distinguished themselves and were promoted to high ranking positions. One such person was the Macedonian Marko Bochvaro from Voden Region. The reason I decided to mention Marko Bochvaro, or as the Greeks like to call him Markos Botsaris, is because when I was a student attending public school back in my village in Greek occupied Macedonia, a large portrait of him and other revolutionaries from the Morean struggle hung inside my classroom. As young children we were asked to call out the names of these revolutionaries and sing Greek heroic songs. At the time I did not know that Marko Bochfaro and I were Macedonians. Marko Bochvaro fought against Ali Pasha of Ioannina and was already an experienced fighter when he joined the Morean Uprising. Bochvaro was one of the first Macedonians to join the Morean rebellion and proved himself a good leader, earning the appointment of commander of the entire rebel force. Unfortunately even then Macedonians were despised, especially those in high positions, and those under his command openly showed their dissatisfaction. In spite of all that Bochvaro fought against the Ottomans and defended Mosolongion, the then capital of the insurgents. Later on August 8th, 1923 he along with 350 Macedonian fighters attacked an Ottoman stronghold where he was shot and killed. His friends buried him in the Mosolongion Church on August 10th. Bochvaro, from what historians tell us, was a great thinker who spoke little and commanded great authority with the greatest of modesty. He was firm, but fair and mild mannered, serious but moderate. In battle he was as powerful and untamable as a lion. Even though he exposed himself to danger and was hated by his opponents he never took part in revenge nor did he allow his fighters to commit violence. He was respected by his soldiers, which prompted writers and poets to write about him and immortalize his name. Even Jules Verne and Lord Byron wrote about him. Lord Byron even mourned him after his death and when he himself was mortally wounded, Lord Byron asked to be buried in the same Church in Mosolongion. As mentioned earlier, after the suppression of the Negush Uprising many of the survivors regrouped and created new haiduk companies which fiercely fought many battles against Ottoman forces and Bashi-Buzuk (Muslim civilian armed units) units. It is estimated that 2,000 Macedonian fighters had joined the fight in Morea that included the companies of Dzhimi Karatasho, Angel Gacho, Hadzhi Hristo, Anastas from Maleshevo, Kocho Jovan from Tikvesh and others. Angel Gacho of Voden was one of the more distinguished fighters from the Negush Uprising who in 1823 was promoted to General by the then provisional government in Morea. On September 16, 1824 Gacho wrote a letter to the Provisional Government in Navplion, in which he said: “After the suppression of the Negush Uprising, my family was captured. I left with 320 soldiers to the south. I participated actively in many battles. In the battle of Plaka, I lost my brother and other cousins, but later, with 120 soldiers I participated in the defeat of the Ottomans near Dervenaki at Peloponnesus. Then, I continued combat actions in Southern Greece, and along with my soldiers, I participated in the battles of Dadi, Trikeri and Skiatos.” (Vanche Stojchev. “Military History of Macedonia”.

Military academy. Skopje, 2004. Page 171) According to historian Vanche Stojchev, Gacho's wife and five daughters were captured in Negush and slaughtered. His sons, Nikola and Micho, also participated in the Morean Uprising. Micho was promoted to General for his contribution to the liberation of Morea. Hadzhi Hristo came from a rebellious Macedonian family where both his father and brother participated in the Serbian Uprising and were both killed. Hristo fled to Bosnia, then to Egypt where he joined Mehmed Ali Pasha and later to Syria where he served under Hurshid Pasha. When Hristo was sent to Morea to fight against the rebels he switched sides and together with 200 Macedonians fought on the side of the Moreans. He took part in many battles as a cavalryman against a stronger foe and on May 23rd, 1824 he was promoted to the rank of General. Then in 1834 he was awarded a medal for his contribution to the liberation of Morea. Anastas from Maleshevo joined the fighting at the beginning of the uprising under Hadzhi Hristo’s command and led 1,000 soldiers. Kocho Jovan from Tikvesh also participated in the Morean Uprising and with Hadzhi Hristo was responsible for the creation of the rebel cavalry. He personally bought 16 horses for the insurgents with his own money and donated them to the cause. After almost a decade since it had ignited, the Morean rebellion refused to die down which prompted Great Power diplomats to intervene but without success, that is until the Ottoman fleet was sunk in Navarino on October 8th, 1827. After that on September 14th, 1829 the Ottomans were forced to accept the June 24th, 1827 Treaty of London proposed earlier and to recognize the newly created Greek State.