Barriers to Commercial Entrepreneurship in the Southwestern Bulgarian Lands during the 19th Century

The aim of the current text is to shed light on the obstacles to the development of commercial entrepreneurship in the southwestern Bulgarian lands during the 19th century. In order to achieve this goal, a comparison is made between the conditions for the development of commercial entrepreneurship in Northern and Southern Bulgarian lands with those in today's southwestern Bulgaria (Razlog, Bansko, etc.) and in the Republic of North Macedonia (Veles). Probably, a complex of factors hampered entrepreneurship in the field of commerce and especially long-distance trade in the 19th century. For example, the military actions that Napoleon Bonaparte led with Austria seriously disrupted the trade contacts between the merchants from the Balkans (incl. Bansko and Razlog) with Central Europe. An important factor was the economic crisis in Vienna which took place in 1810–1811. It severely affected entrepreneurs from the Balkan Peninsula. On the other hand, the economic changes after the signing of the Adrianople Peace Treaty (1829) and especially the expansion of the Austrian influence along the Middle and Lower Danube, led to economic revival in the northern Bulgarian settlements (such as Vidin, Ruse, Svishtov, Tarnovo, etc.) and contributed to the decline of the activities of the entrepreneurs from Razlog, Bansko, etc. Moreover, Austrian economic influence contributed to the flourishing trade contacts on the both banks of the Danube. This was the reason for the decline of the 'old' terrestrial trade and the flourishing maritime and Danubian commerce. The shift of commercial traffic to the south – towards Thessaloniki, as well as the spread of railway transport will also have contributed to the economic decline of some settlements. The mountainous terrain and isolation, combined with the high prices for transporting the traded goods, probably also prove to be a barrier to active entrepreneurial activity.