Abstract
THE Caroline Islands, which are attracting so much political attention now, are described at some length in the Gazette Geographique. It is generally acknowledged that they were discovered by a Portuguese navigator in 1526, and during the rest of the sixteenth century they were frequently visited by Spanish and Portuguese explorers. They were called the Carolines about 1686 by a pilot named Lezcano, who saw many islets there, but could not tell to what group they belonged, or indicate their exact position. The name was giveiTtfo them after Charles II.; they have also been called the New Philippines, but this has never prevailed. Towards the end of the seventeenth century the Spaniards in the Philippines and Mariannes learned something of the Carolines, and in 1705 an imperfect map of the group was sent to Pope Clement XI., and then the Jesuits of the mission at Manila resolved to establish a branch in the Carolines. In 1710 the missionaries and a few soldiers set sail, but on arriving at the Pelews were all massacred. Up to 1817 the Carolines were visited by navigators of all nations, but the number of the islands, their exact position, and the hydrography of the seas in which they were situated, was totally unknown. In that year Kotzebue, and subsequently Freycinet, Duperrey, Dumont d'Urville, and others, visited the whole of the Archipelago, and from them we got our first accurate accounts of the Carolines and their inhabitants. The Caroline archipelago forms part of Micronesia, and is situated to the south of the Ladrones, to the west of the Marshalls, and to the north of New Guinea. It consists of about 500 islands, of which the greater number are only atolls. The number of real islands is only forty-eight, but as each of these is surrounded by a certain number of islets, it may be said that the archipelago consists of forty-eight groups; forty-three of these are low coral islands, while five are composed of basalt with coral at the base. The superficial area over which the archipelago is spread is about forty-five square leagues. Geographically it may be divided into three main groups, separated by two large channels: the eastern group, of which the principal island is Ascension or Ponape; the central group, and the western group, the principal island being Eap or Jap, of which much is being heard just now. Ponape is between 50 and 60 miles round, and has a peak in the centre which rises to a height of 2860 feet. At one part of its coast there are curious ruins which are still a problem for ethnologists; they are apparently the remains of a large building constructed of huge blocks of basalt. The archipelago, although close to the equator, enjoys a temperate climate; there are two rainy seasons-one in January, the other in August. The islands are of astonishing fertility; the principal productions are the bread-fruit, cocoa-nut, the palm, bamboo, orange, and clove tree, sugar-cane, beetle, sweet potato, c. The population is generally estimated at 18,000 to 20,000, and belongs ethno-logically to the Micronesian family. The principal elements are Malay and Maori; but there is also a mixture of Negrito and Papuan, to which in later times was added a Chinese and Japanese element. The language is as mixed as the race; the grammatical constructions are the same as those of the Maori, but Malay influence is also evident. In some of the islands there are two languages, as in Java-the vulgar and polished. They have no religion properly so-called; they believe in spirits, which are the souls of their deceased ancestors, and they have a great respect, a kind of cult for their dead, whom they preserve till the body falls to pieces. As in all the islands of the Pacific, tabu is practised. Each group of islands is governed by a chief or king. His power in time of peace is purely nominal, but he enjoys the respect of all; but in the frequent bloody wars his authority is unbounded, and all submit blindly to his will.
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Geographical Notes . Nature 32, 464 (1885). https://doi.org/10.1038/032464b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/032464b0