CHANGES IN THE NUMBER OF POPULATION IN BULGARIAN LANDS OF THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE

Dimitar Arkadiev

Резюме: The population growth and the changes in some of its structures approximately in modern borders of Bulgaria during the period 1500-1878 are discussed. At that time these territories are part of the Ottoman Empire. Compared to the mid-14th century the population decreased by more than 1 million, or more than twice. The reasons for changes in population numbers are reflected. The main ones are: direct physical extermination as a result of the Ottoman invasion, kidnapping as a military prey, migrations, plague epidemics and others. Major changes occur in the religious and ethnic structure of the population. The main reason for that is the process of Islamization - voluntary and forceful. The assessments are made mainly of data from tax records of households and population censuses since the beginning of the 30s of the 19th century. Each of these sources has certain disadvantages. Systematical underestimation the actual number of population and distortion of some of its structures was found out. In methodological and organizational terms the censuses in the Ottoman Empire fall decades behind from the advanced European countries and the USA. It was found that the population grew from 1.2 million in 1500 to 3.4 million in 1875, or about 3 times.

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Дата на публикуване: 2015-01-14