19th-Century Slovenian Ethnographic Map of the Bulgarian Lands

This article aims to examine and call more attention to an old, unduly disregarded ethnographic map from 1874, drafted by the Slovenian intellectual Maks Pleteršnik. The „Ethnographic Map of the Bulgarian Land“ outlines the territories across European Turkey populated by ethnic Bulgarians at the time. It is the first known ethnographic map authored by a non-Bulgarian to deal exclusively with the Bulgarian people, which makes it a document of particular importance. This article retraces the map‘s history in brief, elucidates the historical situation and the reasons for its drafting, and attempts to determine the sources used in its composition. The map is then subjected to an extensive analysis, with the goal of explicating its specific peculiarities as well as its shortcomings and virtues/ contributions. The book „Slovanstvo,“ wherein the map was first published as an appendix, is also given its due consideration. This article fills in a certain gap in research and hopefully will be of use not only to the scientific community, but a much wider readership as well.