From Peasants into Urbanites,from Village into Nation: Ottoman Monastir in the Early Twentieth Century

Abstract

The article discusses how the process and timing of urbanization as well as the consequent social cleavages related to the cultural division of labour affected the local politics of Greek and Bulgarian nationalism in the Ottoman provincial town of Monastir (now Bitola) at the turn of the century. It maintains the view that nationalism extensively exploited social divisions and individual aspirations, but could neither ignore the laws of the free-market economy nor hastily forge ethnic cohesion. The argument is supported by a presentation of the Macedonian economy, an examination of the labour market in particular, and an investigation of living conditions in the suburbs of Monastir. The basic source are three personal notebooks with family expenses which belonged to a wealthy Vlach merchant. They are most detailed, comprising some 7,000 entries, and cover day by day the period from September 1897 until October 1911.