THE CITY THROUGH FIGURES

 

      Bitola’s history has been turbulent and full of important events that left traces, not only locally but also wider on the Balkan areas. A lot of warriors passed here in the course of centuries each of them trying to enforce his power, even in showing statistical data. That kind of war, not only with armour, but also with figures which primarily served as a political means, is unfortunately present these days also. This was the case with most of foreign propaganda. They often adjusted the number of inhabitants, its national and religious confession to their daily political needs. The most thorough and most accurate data can be found in the censuses carried out after the liberation. However, the oldest existing data regarding the content and the number of inhabitants say that certain wider developing tendencies cannot be questioned. Namely, till the end of the 14th century Bitola was populated by mainly Slavic inhabitants, who during the previous 7-8 centuries (from 7-14 c.), due to historical changes, mixed with other people, either living or coming to this region. So, according to some incomplete information, during the Byzantine rule, when the city had a status of a castrum-fortress or civitas-city, it had about 1500 to 3000 inhabitants, and later, by the end of the 14th century the figure to rise to about 5000.

      When the city fell under the rule of Turks (1382/83) the national and religious structure started changing in favor of the Moslem population. The period of five centuries, during the Turk slavery, is fulfilled by numerous changes: historical, political, economic, social, cultural etc. They all influenced the ethnic composition of the city population. Even some broader political changes were evident in Bitola also, which is another marker of its strategic importance. By the end of the 15th and during the first half of the 16th century a lot of Jews come here, mainly from Spain and Portugal. And with burning down the city Moskopole by Ali-pasha Janinski, Bitola and its (Gopesh, Malovishte, Trnovo, Magarevo and Nizhepole) surroundings was populated by an additional ethnic element – Vlaks.

      The end of 18th and throughout the 19 century spotted larger migration movements of Macedonian rural population. In the area of Bitola it was always dominant with its number in relation to other ethnic groups (Turks, Jews, Vlaks, Albanians, Gypsies). As a result of that, the city was constantly enlarging. In 1807 it had only 8000 inhabitants and in 1856 the number increased to 46.000. These migrations, from either economic or political (forced) reasons, left traces to the present time. That time Turkish authorities moved parts of the rebellious Albanian population from Albania and Epyr to West Macedonia, including Bitola (Arnaut Maalo). Also, in 1878 when Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially with its separation in 1890 and most intensively in 1908. Then the so-called Moslems-muhajiri (in Bitola called majiri) settled in Macedonia. This colonization lasted till the Balkan Wars. Majir Maale was formed in our city. Such migrations occurred later as well.

      As far as the statistical data are concerned, during the Turkish rule more official censuses were carried out. The oldest is from 1468 and according to it Bitola had 2345 inhabitants, and the last one was done in 1911. It states that the city had 65.000 inhabitants. Quite a lot of irregularities appear in early notes, travelogues of numerous official and unofficial individuals that traveled through our city. So, historical sources from the middle of 17th century say that the city had 3000 small and big houses and about 900 shops.

      The traveler Ami Bue who stayed here during the period between 1836/38 noted that the city had 40.000 inhabitants. The Englishman Edward Lair who happened to be here in 1848 wrote that the city had 40-50.000 inhabitants. In this sense one French document goes farthest saying that in 1908 Bitola had 60.000 inhabitants. A great discrepancy of the number of inhabitants is evident. One thing is certain: in the last 2-3 centuries Bitola used to be one of the bigger urban centers in this part of the Balkan.

            The city experiences significant negative tendencies after the Balkan Wars (1912-13) and the World War I (1914-18), when the number of inhabitants reached its lowest level of 23.000 people. The greatest increase is evident after World War II. During this period seven censuses were carried out. After the first census in 1948 the city had 30.761 inhabitants. In 1991 the city had 84.000 inhabitants and the last census in 1994 showed a figure of 74.464. This census reveals the national structure, which is shown by the citizens’ declaration of their mother tongue. From the total number of declared people upon this issue, the following indicators emerged: Macedonian language 72.267; Albanian language: 2.041; Turkish language: 496 inhabitants with the corresponding quoted mother tongue. In the section “the rest” 308 inhabitants were noted. In the section concerning religious confession: 90% are orthodox, 8% Moslem etc.