Ottoman Empire, as a prelude to its incorporation within a future Balkan Federation. Despite he had been educated in the spirit of Bulgarian nationalism, he revised the Organization's statute, where the membership was restricted only for Bulgarians. In this way he emphasized the importance of the cooperation among all ethnic groups in the territories concerned in order to obtain political autonomy. Today Gotse Delchev is considered as a national hero in Bulgaria, as well as in North Macedonia, where it is claimed that he was among the founders of the Macedonian national movement. Macedonian historians insist that the myth of Delchev there is so significant that it is more important than all of the historical research and documents, and therefore his (Bulgarian) ethnic identification should not be discussed. Despite such controversial Macedonian historical interpretations, Delchev had clear Bulgarian ethnic identity and viewed his compatriots as Bulgarians. Some leading modern Macedonian historians, public intellectuals and politicians have recognized this begrudgingly or even openly acknowledged that fact. The designation Macedonian according to the then used ethnic terminology was an umbrella term, used for the local nationalities, and when applied to the local Slavs, it meant a regional Bulgarian identity. Opposite to the Macedonian claims, at that time even some IMRO revolutionaries natives from Bulgaria, as Delchev's friend Peyo Yavorov, espoused Macedonian political identity. However, his autonomist ideas of a separate Macedonian (and Adrianopolitan) political entity, have stimulated the subsequent development of Macedonian nationalism. Nevertheless, some researchers doubt, that behind the IMRO idea of autonomy was hidden a reserve plan for eventual incorporation into Bulgaria, backed by Delchev himself. However, other researchers find the identity of Delchev and other major figures to be "open to different interpretations", that are incompatible to the views of modern Balkan nationalisms. Biography Early life He was born to a large family on 4 February 1872 (23 January according to the Julian calendar) in Kılkış (Kukush), then in the Ottoman Empire (today in Greece). By the mid-19th century, Kılkış was populated predominantly with Macedonian Bulgarians and became one of the centres of the Bulgarian national revival. During the 1860s and 1870s it was under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Uniate Church, but after 1884 most of its population gradually joined the Bulgarian Exarchate. As a student, Delchev studied first at the Bulgarian Uniate primary school and then at the Bulgarian Exarchate junior high school. He also read widely