69-77

Articles

• Tousimis, Giorgos

In order to show that it was implementing reforms, in 1880 the Ottomangovernment decided to withdraw the privileges of the Greek metropolitans,who controlled the Bulgarian schools, and to bring these under state control.The Exarchate initially accepted this with some relief, though the measure didaffect the privileges it had been granted by sultanic firman.In many areas, the Ottoman authorities looked favourably on education.And so Bulgarian educational activity began in the vilayet of Macedonia underfavourable conditions.The inspiration behind the Bulgarian High School for Boys and Girls inThessaloniki is considered to have come from an elderly teacher from Ohridnamed (Kusman) Sapkarev. Objections came from Sofia, however, withregard to Thessaloniki, which the Bulgarians regarded as a foreign city becausethe majority of the population was Greek.Eventually, the following arguments supported the founding of a BulgarianHigh School in Thessaloniki. 1) The students would not come fromThessaloniki itself, but from the province around the city and the hinterlandmore generally (indeed all of Macedonia), because Thessaloniki occupied acentral location in the region. 2) The city’s cosmopolitan character would helpthe students to learn about things which they were not taught at school. 3) As acoastal city, Thessaloniki enjoyed considerable commercial activity, peopleflocked there, mainly from Asia Minor and Europe, many countries hadconsulates there, and many foreign nationals were established there, evenAmericans; so many Bulgarians believed that the Macedonian city could alsodisplay a Bulgarian character, along with all the rest. 4) Once the BulgarianHigh School had officially opened in Thessaloniki, it would be more difficultfor the Ottoman authorities to close it down, in case the consuls intervened.After much shilly-shallying, the Thessaloniki High School did eventuallyopen. But throughout its life it experienced periods of peaceful progress andperiods of internal unrest and rebellion. It was the battlefield of two rivalpolitical trends.Interesting statistical data reveal the impact on the Exarchists of theBulgarian High School in Thessaloniki, which operated continuously for thirtythreeyears, from the academic year 1880-1881 to 1912-1913.Death brought Giorgos Tousimis’s notes to an abrupt end. However, thisstudy may help future researchers to find their bearings more easily in thefield of research in which Giorgos Tousimis was involved.

• Educational sciences

• Εκπαίδευση

The Bulgarian High School in Thessaloniki, Βουλγάρικο γυμνάσιο στη Θεσσαλονίκη

Το άρθρο δημοσιεύθηκε μετά θάνατον του συγγραφέα με βάση τα χειρόγραφα σημειώματά του. (published posthumously on the basis of the author’s handwritten notes)