Miss Stone Affair
Encyclopedia
The Miss Stone Affair was the kidnapping of American
Protestant
missionary
Ellen Maria Stone and her pregnant friend Katerina Stefanova–Tsilka by an IMORO detachment led by the voivoda Yane Sandanski
and the sub-voivodas Hristo Chernopeev
and Krǎstyo Asenov
on 21 August 1901. The two women were kidnapped somewhere between Bansko
and Gorna Dzhumaya
, then towns in the Ottoman Empire
. Widely covered by the media at the time, the event has been often dubbed "America's first modern hostage crisis
".
The goal of the kidnapping was to receive a heavy ransom and aid the financially struggling at the time IMARO. The detachment was pursued by the Ottoman authorities and by bands of the contending organization Supreme Macedonian Committee. Sometimes regarded as a case of the Stockholm syndrome
(with the kidnappers even assisting Tsilka in giving birth to her daughter), the affair ended after intensive negotiations in early 1902, half a year after the kidnapping. IMARO was paid a ransom of 14,000 Turkish gold liras
on 18 January 1902 in Bansko. The hostages were released on 2 February near Strumica
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Protestant
Protestantism
Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...
missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
Ellen Maria Stone and her pregnant friend Katerina Stefanova–Tsilka by an IMORO detachment led by the voivoda Yane Sandanski
Yane Sandanski
Yane Ivanov Sandanski or Jane Ivanov Sandanski, was a revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization in the Serres region and head of the extreme leftist wing of the organization...
and the sub-voivodas Hristo Chernopeev
Hristo Chernopeev
Hristo Chernopeev was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia...
and Krǎstyo Asenov
Krastyo Asenov
Krastyo Hadzhipetrov Asenov, nicknamed Mechkata , Ogneniot daskal and Cherkeza , was a Bulgarian revolutionary figure active in the region of Macedonia, one of the voyvodas of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization for the Enidzhe Vardar region...
on 21 August 1901. The two women were kidnapped somewhere between Bansko
Bansko
Bansko is a town and a popular ski resort in southwestern Bulgaria, located at the foot of the Pirin Mountains at an elevation of 925 m above sea level....
and Gorna Dzhumaya
Blagoevgrad
Blagoevgrad is а city in southwestern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Blagoevgrad Province, with a population of about 74,302 . It lies on the banks of the Blagoevgradska Bistritsa River....
, then towns in the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. Widely covered by the media at the time, the event has been often dubbed "America's first modern hostage crisis
Hostage crisis
A hostage crisis develops when one or more terrorists or criminals hold people against their will and try to hold off the authorities by force, threatening to kill the hostages if provoked or attacked....
".
The goal of the kidnapping was to receive a heavy ransom and aid the financially struggling at the time IMARO. The detachment was pursued by the Ottoman authorities and by bands of the contending organization Supreme Macedonian Committee. Sometimes regarded as a case of the Stockholm syndrome
Stockholm syndrome
In psychology, Stockholm Syndrome is an apparently paradoxical psychological phenomenon wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors, sometimes to the point of defending them...
(with the kidnappers even assisting Tsilka in giving birth to her daughter), the affair ended after intensive negotiations in early 1902, half a year after the kidnapping. IMARO was paid a ransom of 14,000 Turkish gold liras
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
on 18 January 1902 in Bansko. The hostages were released on 2 February near Strumica
Strumica
Strumica is the largest city in eastern Macedonia, near the Novo Selo-Petrich border crossing with Bulgaria. About 100,000 people live in the region surrounding the city. The city is named after the Strumica River which runs through it...
.
Further reading
- Some archive photos concerning the case.