Kefalovryso

Although this topic seems to be  irrelevant it may not be so. What exactly  the nationality of Vlachs is,  historically  speak- ing,   is  an  open  question. The ones living in Greece consider themselves Greeks, and no one is going to object to what they be- lieve  for  themselves.   Among  them  one can count the national benefactors Averof and Tositsas.

In the beginning of this century there was a controversy of  what the nationality of the Vlachs really was. Since the Vlachs used a Latin oriented language it was claimed that they were of Romanian nationality  (that  is,  the nationality of the  people living in Romania).

A Greek historian, N Kazazes, early this century,  wrote  that  a Romanian politician once said "The Romanian people had desires on the beautiful Transylvania, where so many Romanians were living. But this was impossible be- cause our relations with   the  AustroHungarian empire would have been jeopardised. So the non-existent subject of the Romanians in Macedonia was invented."   (Source: "The Macedonian  Problem"  by  N.  Kazazes,  1907,page 105).

The  'Romanian Vlachs' question  was invented  mainly  by  Gustav Weigand.  According  to him the Vlachs  were considered Romanians (and not say Romans, of the Roman empire) because the Vlachs were using a greco-latin dialect.

Other historians of that time, such as  Momsen,  Krumwacher(sp?), and Korting dismissed such claims.  Edward Stanford wrote in 1877 that Greek-Vlachs were to Greeks what Welsh were to English.

No matter how you call them (the Greek Vlachs) be  it  Romans  or Romanians or  Vlachs they call themselves Greeks.

An additional reason for the "romanisation" of the Vlachs was the desire  of  the  Romanians to use them in their negotiations with the Bulgars related to the future of the area  of  Dobrucha.  The Romanians  would have favored the idea to 'transfer' their claims on the Vlachs to Bulgaria in exchange  for Bulgars granting  them rights  on that region.  This was mentioned by a Romanian Prince, Brancovan, in a book of his.

Taken from Frequently Asked Questions on Macedonia