Macedonia in the last years under Turkish Rule (1910-1912)

As seen through the pages of the newspaper “Salpinx” (The Trumpet) Of Mytilini

The newspaper Salpinx (The Trumpet) was first published in Mytilini in March 1909. It started at the time of the inauguration of the program for the political and social regeneration of Turkey by the Young Turks in July 1908. The newspaper passionately fought for the national rights of the enslaved Greek nation under the Ottoman Empire. As a historical source, Salpinx is one of the few Greek newspapers of the Ottoman Empire which was published throughout the period 1910-1912. The valuable historical content of the newspaper gives a unique insight into the daily life activities of the polymorphous and complex historical existence of the subjected Greek nation. From its pages a brave Hellenism emerges, a pioneer in the economic, social, cultural and spiritual life among the nations of the Ottoman Empire.
Salpinx was a provincial newspaper, far away from Macedonia. Mytilini’s port was one of the most important commercial areas of that period, linking the Asia Minor coast with the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. It provided the right envionment for a newspaper of a highly professional journalistic level with a capable staff, who were in touch with the main cities of the Empire and the capitals of Europe.
The editors had a good understanding of the then crucial phase of the Macedonian Question and the problems that Macedonian Hellenism was facing. The newspaper systematically, through its pages in its leading articles, political commentaries, main articles, special correspondence and daily news dedicated an important part of its space to the defence of the Greek national interests in Macedonia, commonly exhibiting good historical knowledge and providing an objective description of the events.
Salpinx is an invaluable historical source for the study of both internal and external matters. The tough and oppressive policies of the Young Turks against the subject nations of the Ottoman Empire and the forced conversion of Christians to Islam and thereby turkification are the main themes of the news paper. Furthermore, the newspaper followed the implacable national rivalries and confrontations among the un-redeemed nations, mainly the conflict between Greeks and Bulgarians for the succession of the Ottoman rulers in Macedonia and Thrace, and the encouraging role of the Young Turks; also the policies of the neighbouring kingdoms as well as Greece and the rivalry, interventions and intrigues of the so-called “Great Powers” in the Macedonian affair.

Particularly harsh were the economic measures and oppression against the Greeks of Thessaloniki, who faced the unprecedented dimensions of a boycott declared by the “Union and Progress” Committee of the Young Turks in reprisal for developments in the Cretan Question. Someone scanning the newspaper could find great interest in the dead end reached by the Greeks and Bulgarians fighting one another; and the mutual support of the two nations in the middle of 1910, which eventually led to the victorious First Balkan War against the Turks and its dramatic results. The events of this war and the intense and desperate diplomacy of the Great Powers are pictured in great detail in the newspaper’s columns.