MALDIVE ISLANDS  , an See also:

• ARCHIPELAGO

archipelago of See also:

• CORAL

coral islets in the See also:

• INDIAN

Indian Ocean, forming a See also:

• CHAIN (through the O. Fr. citable, chcene, &c., from Lat. catena)

chain between 7° 6' N. and o° 42' S . It consists of seventeen atolls with an immense number of islands, of which some three See also:

• HUNDRED

hundred are inhabited . In the extreme See also:

• SOUTH
• SOUTH, ROBERT (1634–1716)

south are the isolated atolls of Addu and Fua-Mulaku, separated from Suvadiva by the See also:

• EQUATORIAL

Equatorial Channel, which is itself separated from the See also:

• MAIN (from the Aryan root which appears in " may " and " might," and Lat. magnus, great)
• MAIN (Lat. Moenus)

main chain of atolls by One-and-ahalf-degree Channel.' Following the chain northward from this channel we have Haddumati and Kolumadulu, after which the chain becomes See also:

• DOUBLE
• DOUBLE (from the Mid. Eng. duble, the form which gives the present pronunciation, through the Old Er. duble, from Lat. duplus, twice as much)

double: to the See also:

• EAST
• EAST, ALFRED (1849- )

east the See also:

• CHIEF (from Fr. chef, head, Lat. caput)

chief atolls are Mulaku, Felidu, South Male, See also:

• NORTH
• NORTH, BARONS
• NORTH, MARIANNE (1830—1890)
• NORTH, ROGER (1653-1734)
• NORTH, SIR THOMAS (1535?-16o1?)

North Male, Kardiva (where the channel of the same name, 35 M. broad, partly breaks the chain), and Fadiffolu . To the See also:

• WEST
• WEST, BENJAMIN (1738-1820)
• WEST, NICHOLAS (1461-1533)

west are South Nilandu, North Nilandu, See also:

• ARI

Ari, South Mahlos, North Mahlos and Miladumadulu . To the north again are Tiladumati and Ihavandifulu . Finally, to the north of Eight-degree Channel is Minikoi, 71 M. from the nearest point of the Maldives, and See also:

• ITO, HIROBUMI, PRINCE (1841-1909)

Ito m. from that of the Laccadives to the north . The main See also:

• PART

part of the archipelago, north of One-anda-See also:

• HALF

half-degree Channel, consists of a See also:

• SERIES (a Latin word from serere, to join)

series of See also:

• BANKS, GEORGE LINNAEUS (1821-1881)
• BANKS, NATHANIEL PRENTISS (1816–1894)
• BANKS, SIR JOSEPH
• BANKS, THOMAS (1735-1805)

banks either surrounded or studded all over with reefs (see J . S . See also:

• GARDINER
• GARDINER, JAMES (1688-1745)
• GARDINER, SAMUEL RAWSON (1829–1902)
• GARDINER, STEPHEN (c. 1493–1555)

Gardiner, " Formation of the Maldives," in See also:

• GEOGRAPHICAL

Geographical Journ. xix . 277 seq.) . Mr Gardiner regarded these banks as plateaus rising to different elevations beneath the See also:

• SURFACE

surface of the See also:

• SEA (in O. Eng. sae, a common Teutonic word; cf. Ger. See, Dutch Zee, &c.; the ultimate source is uncertain)
• SEA, COMMAND OF THE

sea from a main See also:

• PLATEAU (a French term, older platel, for a flat piece of wood, metal, &c., from plat, flat)
• PLATEAU, JOSEPH ANTOINE FERDINAND (1801-1883)

plateau rising steeply from the See also:

• GREAT

great depths of the Indian Ocean . After the Portuguese, from about 1518 onwards, had at-tempted many times to establish themselves on the islands by force, and after the Maldivians had endured frequent raids by the Mopla pirates of the See also:

• MALABAR

Malabar See also:

• COAST (from Lat. costa, a rib, side)

coast, they began to send tokens of See also:

• HOMAGE (from homo, through the Low Lat. hominaticum, which occurs in a document of 1035)

homage and claims of See also:

• PROTECTION

protection (the first recorded being in 1645) to the rulers of See also:

• CEYLON

Ceylon, and their association with this See also:

• ISLAND (O.E. ieg =isle, +land')

island has continued practically ever since .

The hereditary See also:

• SULTAN (an Arabic word meaning " victorious " or " a ruler," sultat, dominion)

sultan of the archipelago is tributary to the See also:

• BRITISH

British See also:

• GOVERNMENT
• GOVERNMENT (0. Fr. governement, mod. gouvernement, O. Fr. governer, mod. gouverner, from Lat. gubernare, to steer a ship, guide, rule; cf. Gr. xv(3epvav)

government of Ceylon . The See also:

• POPULATION (Lat. populus, people; populare, to populate)

population of the Maidives is estimated at 30,000 . All are Mahommedans . By Messrs . Gardiner and See also:

• COOPER
• COOPER (or COUPER), THOMAS (c. 1517-1594)
• COOPER, ABRAHAM (1787—1868)
• COOPER, ALEXANDER (d. i66o)
• COOPER, CHARLES HENRY (18o8-1866)
• COOPER, JAMES FENIMORE (1789-1851)
• COOPER, PETER (1791-1883)
• COOPER, SAMUEL (1609-1672)
• COOPER, SIR ASTLEY PASTON (1768-1841)
• COOPER, THOMAS (1759–1840)
• COOPER, THOMAS (1805–1892)
• COOPER, THOMAS SIDNEY (1803–1902)

Cooper they are classed in four ethnological divisions . (I) Those of the atolls north of the Kardiva Channel . Here the reefs are generally less perfect than elsewhere, seldom forming See also:

• COMPLETE

complete central lagoons, and as they were formerly exposed to the See also:

• CONSTANT, BENJAMIN (1845-1902)

constant attacks of the Mopla pirates from See also:

• INDIA
• INDIA, FRENCH

India, the See also:

• PEOPLE

people are hardier and more vigorous than their less warlike See also:

• SOUTHERN

southern neighbours . They annually visited the coasts of India or Ceylon, and often married Indian wives, thus acquiring distinct racial characters of an approximately See also:

• DRAVIDIAN (Sanskrit Dravida)

Dravidian type . (2) Those of the central See also:

• DIVISION (from Lat. dividere, to break up into parts, separate)

division, comprising the atolls between North Male and Haddumati, who are under the See also:

• DIRECT

direct See also:

• RULE

rule of the sultan, and have been more exposed to Arab influences . They formerly traded with See also:

• ARABIA

Arabia and Malaysia, and many See also:

• ARABS

Arabs settled amongst them, so that they betray a strong See also:

• STRAIN (through O. Fr. straindre, estraindre, mod. i treindre, from Lat. stringere, to draw tight, related to stress, stretch, string, &c.)

strain of Semitic See also:

• BLOOD

blood in their features . (3 and 4) The natives of Suvadiva, Addu, Mulaku and the other southern clusters, who have had little communication with the Central Male people, and probably preserve more of the See also:

• PRIMITIVE

primitive type, approximating in See also:

• APPEARANCE (from Lat. apparere, to appear)

appearance- to the Sinhalese villagers of Ceylon . They are an intelligent and industrious people, growing their own crops, manufacturing their own See also:

• CLOTH

cloth and mats, and See also:

• BUILDING

building their own boats, while many read Arabic more or less fluently, although still believers in magic and See also:

• WITCHCRAFT

witchcraft .

The See also:

• LANGUAGE (adapted from the Fr. langage, from langue, tongue, Lat. lingua)

language is a See also:

• DIALECT (from Gr. Sia stcror, conversation, manner of speaking, &aXeyec6at, to converse)

dialect of Sinhalese, but indicating a separation of See also:

• ANCIENT
• ANCIENT (also spelt ANTIENT; derived, through the Fr. ancien, old, from the late Lat. antianum, from ante, before)

ancient date and more or less mahommedanized . The sultan's See also:

• RESIDENCE (Latin residere, to remain behind, to dwell, reside)

residence and the See also:

• CAPITAL (i.e. capital stock or fund)
• CAPITAL (Lat. caput, head)

capital of the archipelago is the island of Male . From the earliest notices the See also:

• PRODUCTION (Lat. productionem, from producere, to pro-duce)

production of See also:

• COIR (from Malay Kayar, cord, Kayaru, to be twisted)

coir, the collection of cowries, and the See also:

• WEAVING

weaving of excellent textures on these islands have been noted . The chief exports of the islands besides coir and cowries (a decreasing See also:

• TRADE (O. Eng. trod, footstep, from tredan, to tread; in M. Eng. the forms teed, trod and trade appear, the last in the sense of a beaten track)
• TRADE, BOARD OF

trade) are coco-nuts, See also:

• COPRA (a Spanish and Portuguese adaptation of the Malay kopperah, and Hindustani khopra, the coco-nut)

copra, See also:

• TORTOISE

tortoise-See also:

• SHELL
• SHELL (O. Eng. scell, scyll, cf. Du. sceel, shell, Goth. skalja, tile; the word means originally a thin flake,. cf. Swed. skalja, to peel off; it is allied to " scale " and " skill," from a root meaning to cleave, divide, separate)

shell and dried bonito-See also:

• FISH (O. Eng. fist, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dutch visch, Ger. Fisch, Goth. fisks, cognate with the Lat. piscis)
• FISH, HAMILTON (1808-1893)

fish . ' These and other channels in the locality are named from their position under See also:

• PARALLELS

parallels of See also:

• LATITUDE (Lat. latitudo, latus, broad)

latitude . Minikoi See also:

• ATOLL (native name atollon in the Maldive Islands)

atoll, with the numerous wrecks on its reefs, its See also:

• LIGHT

light-See also:

• HOUSE
• HOUSE (O. Eng. hiss, a word common to Teutonic languages, cf. Dut. huis, Ger. Haus; in Gothic it is only found in gudhiss, a temple; it may be ultimately connected with the root of " hide," conceal)

house, and its position on the track of all eastward-See also:

• BOUND, or BOUNDARY (from O. Fr. bonde, Med. Lat. bodena or butina, a frontier line)

bound vessels, is a See also:

• FAMILIAR (through the Fr. familier, from Lat. familiaris, of or belonging to the familia, family)

familiar sight to seafarers in these See also:

• WATERS, TERRITORIAL

waters . The atoll, which is See also:

• PEAR (Pyrus communis)

pear-shaped and disposed in the direction from S.W. to N.E. is 5 M. See also:

• LONG, GEORGE (1800-1879)
• LONG, JOHN DAVIS (1838– )

long, with an extreme breadth of nearly 3 m., with a large but shallow See also:

• LAGOON (Fr. lagune, Lat. lacuna, a pool)

lagoon approached from the north by a passage two fathoms deep . The atoll is growing out-wards on every See also:

• SIDE
• SIDE (mod. Eski Adalia)

side, and at one See also:

• PLACE (through Fr. from Lat. platea, street; Gr. IrAar6s, wide)

place rises 19 ft. above sea-level . The population, which See also:

• NUMBERS, BOOK OF
• NUMBERS, PARTITION OF

numbers about 3000, is sharply divided into five castes, of which the three highest are pure Maldivians, the See also:

• LOWER

lower two the same as in the Laccadives . All are centred in a small See also:

• VILLAGE

village opposite Mou Rambu Point on the west or lagoon side; but most of the men are generally absent; many being employed with the See also:

• LASCAR

Lascar crews on See also:

• BOARD (O. Eng. bord)

board the large liners plying in the eastern seas . In 1899–1900 Messrs . J .

See also:

• STANLEY (FAMILY)
• STANLEY, ARTHUR PENRHYN (18x5–1881)
• STANLEY, EDWARD (1779-1849)
• STANLEY, SIR HENRY MORTON (184o-1904)
• STANLEY, SIR WILLIAM (1548-163o)
• STANLEY, THOMAS (1625-1678)

Stanley Gardiner and C . See also:

• FORSTER, FRANCOIS (179o-,872)
• FORSTER, FRIEDRICH CHRISTOPH (1791-1868)
• FORSTER, JOHANN GEORG ADAM (1754-1794)
• FORSTER, JOHN (1812-1876)
• FORSTER, JOHN COOPER (1823-1886)
• FORSTER, WILLIAM EDWARD (1818-1886)

Forster Cooper carried out an expedition to the Maldives and Laccadives, for the important results of which see The See also:

• FAUNA

Fauna and See also:

• GEOGRAPHY (Gr. yil, earth, and ypiickty, to write)

Geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes, ed . J . S . Gardiner (See also:

• CAMBRIDGE
• CAMBRIDGE, EARLS AND DUKES OF
• CAMBRIDGE, RICHARD OWEN (1717-1802)

Cambridge, 1901–1905), also Proceedings of the Cambridge Philosophical Society, vol. xi. pt. r (1900), and the Geographical Journ., loc. cit., &c . A See also:

• FRENCH
• FRENCH, DANIEL CHESTER (1850– )
• FRENCH, NICHOLAS (1604-1678)

French adventurer, See also:

• FRANCOIS (1558-1614)

Francois Pyrard de la Val, was wrecked in the Maldives in 1602 and detained there five years; he wrote an interesting See also:

• ACCOUNT
• ACCOUNT (through O. Fr. acont, Late Lat. comptum, cornputare, to calculate)

account of the archipelago, Voyage de F . P. de la Val (See also:

• PARIS
• PARIS (also called ALEXANDROS)
• PARIS, ALEXIS PAULIN (1800-x881)
• PARIS, BRUNO PAULIN GASTON (1839-1903)
• PARIS, FRANCOIS DE (169o-1727)
• PARIS, LOUIS PHILIPPE ALBERT
• PARIS, TREATIES OF (1814-1815)

Paris, 1679; previous See also:

• EDITIONS

editions 1611, &c.) . See also A . See also:

• AGASSIZ, ALEXANDER EMANUEL (1835-191o)
• AGASSIZ, JEAN LOUIS RODOLPHE (1807-1893)

Agassiz, "An Expedition to the Maldives "See also:

• MIN

min Amer . Journ . See also:

• SCIENCE (Lat. scientia, from scire; to learn, know)

Science, vol. xiii . (1902) .