by Lorena Tota. Translation Petrit Latifi

The Gazette de France of 6 October 1775, an official publication central to diplomatic and military communication in 18th-century Europe, clearly identifies Albanians as Macedonians, referring to the “Régiment de Royal Macédoine, ou des Albanois”.

This formulation does not suggest a connection or alliance, but a direct equality: the designation Macedonian is applied directly to a military unit composed of Albanians. Used in a strictly administrative context, this terminology reflects a known and conventional usage, not an interpretative claim.

The source, therefore, demonstrates that in the political and military language of 18th-century Europe, Albanians were identified as Macedonians, a classification sufficiently consolidated to require neither justification nor explanation, and which predates by several centuries the national frameworks through which these identities are now retrospectively reviewed.