Migrations in the Skopje Valley in the 19th Century – Between Jovan F. Trifunoski’s Anthropogeographic Research and the Historical Sources

Abstract

In the paper, the comparison is drawn between Yugoslav anthropogeographer Jovan F. Trifunoski’s anthropogeographic research done in the Skopje Valley from the late 1940s to the late 1960s and the published authentic census archive material from the period of the Ottoman rule. Trifunoski’s research is thorough and detailed. However, regarding migrations, especially the migrations of the Albanian population, inevitable imprecision and mistakes can be noted. The migrations and the locals’ oral tradition concerning these processes are illustrated in several Skopje villages. Compared to the Ottoman census records of the 1830s and the 1840s, this information is frequently blurry and imprecise, and at times inaccurate.