Moluccas. It is. situated Jbeyond the wide sea which lies to
the eastward of . Celebes, and which affords a iree. passage
from Timor and the JS^a.of Banda on the;south towards the
entrance of the North Pacific. ^Situated under and nearly
bisected by the equator, the Archipelago of the Moluccas
forms a great amphitheatre, of islands, which advances in
front of the western horn of New Guinea or Papua, of which
continent these islands may be looked upon as dissevered*
portions. Some of the Molucca islands are of great extent>-
surrounded by clusters óf numerous smaller ones. The whole
Archipelago isHhuadivided into several groupes. They are
enumerated by geographers under the following sections*.
1. Groupe of Gilolo or Moluccas; properly so termed, subject
before the conquests of the Dutch to the powerful sidtans
of Ternate, whose ancient capital was on the island, of that
nam ^ remarkable for its high volcanic>peak. In iha-fonrr.
teenth.and fifteenth centuries these chieftains are said to, hare
extended their dominion over the whole Archipelago* Reduced
to a state of vassalage, they still hold their court in a magnificent
palace in the city of Ternate, and are sovereigns of a
part of Gifolo and Mortay, and even of apart of Celebes. It is
perhaps from this political ascendancy that the language qf
Ternate or the Tamata speech is termed the language of the
Moluccas, Ternate itself being a small island. Tidpr is
another small island, very populous, and the, seat of a sultafi
who claims dominion over the Papua isles, a. groupe near the
coast of New Guinea, of which Salawatty and Waigiou, frequently
mentioned by the navigators of these parts, are . the
principal islands. Many other islands belong to this groupe
besides the larger one qf Mortay or Morintay and Gilolo., by
far the largest of all. Of this last sqnje maritime districts
are subject to the sultans of Tidor and Ternate, but the
interior is governed by independent chieftains.*
* The islands to which, the name.pf Moluccas, originally belonged are only
five in number, and are all ,'situated near the west coast of the great island of
Gilolo. They are q}l qqnjcal hills, producing cloves and spices. They were
discovered kj by the fqllqwers pf Magaihaens after the. death pf their
enterprising commander. Pigafetta, the narrator of the voyage,' says' that the
Moors, meaning the Mohammedan Malays, had established themselves in
2. The Banda Isles are a môfe' sôütherly. groupe stretching
down ' towards W i i 4>f Banda. To this division belong
Banda and' s i# è a l small vbiêàtiic inlands near it, agitated by
freqnént:’;e'artHqbakes.*i':Fütither Sptothward a n d 'in the^&ea ot
B a n d a 1 are th e 1 g ro u p e s ïfe th é s Key Islabdsf th a t of • imor
Laut, m Arm and the SërWf ty ’
H i • ehstefn 1 e S t r e ^ I Timor.' T h è ^ h a v e been
included b f sffifiV ùndër B a n d i e s .
The ƒ properly belong’ to the chaiVof which'I shall give an
aCciohnt in the foliowifig^ectioh. 1 f ‘ >r' J
M The Amboyna groupe takes its namé 'frOm ^ne tot the
smallest'Islands belonging « it. The,largest are Oemm■ and
Boorbo. The smaller ones; Amboynit, Havtéfis,vMampa, and
S&pkronal &c. are under the D*dh government*' The pdfur
ïa&n of t e e islands are snhjècW to' the- government «1
dependent,dhieHaids, who are styled rajas'ot^ataSs- or bear
the Malayan title ofOrtnlg Kaijà.* , \ XWe
have ho precise information as to file inhabitants ot
these numerous islands. In the interior o f all o f tiîëm * «
said th a t Both Papuas and A lfo ra sf coexist. O f theleWaces
we! sh a ll'g iv e some accliüht'in a following'- chapter. The
’irddihg communities of the s h a - e d à ^ ^ v èM e d ' by Mohammedan
ehieftains or sultans, are Màlaÿ# froin MehangkabSo
■'Ar’from the peninsula. Besides f a s è . t i i e * -are-prebaMy
m m ta rharous inhabitants'
litn i& r td ithe 'Bfigte and Bisay&n tribes' o f Getébes^and th e
Philippines'^ One of the la tte r is apparently the trib e which
'g av e 'its name to the Tam ata language-. Chptam Forrest
declares that the-inhabitants of the Moluccasare'of tivo set« ;
first ' Iting-haired MoM*s or bf Wboppet colour^ afid like tbe,
Malays in many re s^ c ts’;' andy yebbndly,'mop-headed Papuas
in the inland parts. It séfetts that Dampiër-was’ unacquainted
with the Tarnatas, and wak iiot hW é ôf th^ëSfeteficé bf any
thèse islands and at Gilolo fifty years | | | | 1 j B Two Moorish kings
or sultans governed them. There was also a pagan kmg termed Raja Papua
. fl ISÜ ; the interior. 99B m m ___Pittoreânue. m M M l
• W M ) de Géographie ; Duuiott W M Vo,. MOr«<tae
M M i H R tó aW fah d liteWtoie'of the Iua<uCluaesemo