The deletion of the term Bulgarian in this article and its substitution with the term Macedonian is POV Throughout the Middle Ages and until the early 20th century there was no clear formulation or expression of a distinct Macedonian ethnicity The Slavic speaking majority in the Region of Macedonia had been referred to both by themselves and outsiders as Bulgarians and that is how they were predominantly seen since 10th Who are the Macedonians Hugh Poulton C Hurst Co Publishers 2000 ISBN 1850655340 p 19 20 1996 72 Formation of the Bulgarian nation its development in the Middle Ages 9th 14th c Academician Dimit r Simeonov Angelov Summary Sofia Press 1978 pp 413 415 up until the early 20th century Center for Documentation and Information on Minorities in Europe Southeast Europe CEDIME SE Macedonians of Bulgaria p 14 It is generally acknowledged that the ethnic Macedonian identity emerged in the late 19th century or even later Krste Misirkov On the Macedonian Matters Za Makedonckite Raboti Sofia 1903 And anyway what sort of new Macedonian nation can this be when we and our fathers and grandfathers and great grandfathers have always been called Bulgarians Cite book last1 Zielonka first1 Jan last2 Pravda first2 Alex title Democratic consolidation in Eastern Europe year 2001 publisher Oxford University Press location Oxford isbn 978 0 19 924409 6 pages 422 quote Unlike the Slovene and Croatian ide