MOLUC'CAS, or ROYAL ISLANDS, properly so called are Ternate, Tidore, Makian, Motir, and Batjan, lying to the w. of Gilolo, and washed by the Moluccas strait or pas sage, which separates Gilolo from Celebes.—Ternate, the most important, is a volcanic mountain with plains at its base. The top is in 0° 48' 30" n. lat., and 127° 26' 30" e. long. Area 33+ sq. miles. Pop. 8,594, of whom 109 are Europeans. The town is on the e. side and contains the sultan's palace, the Dutch residency, Protestant church, govern ment school, etc. The island is fertile and well watered; the natives peaceful. They cultivate rice, cotton, tobacco, etc., trade with the adjacent islands, and build vessels, from the light skiff and the tent-boat to the war-galley of 60 or 80 rowers, carrying two or more pieces of light artillery.—Tidore is s. of Ternate, its n. point being 1° 11' n. lat. and 127° 7' e. long. Area 33 sq. miles. Pop. 8,157. The island is a volcano, ft. high, and fertile for 3,000 feet. The natives are less gentle but more industrious than those of Ternate, and diligently cultivate the soil, weave, and fish. They are Mohammedans, and have many mosques. The sultans of Ternate and Tidore are sub sidized by and subject to the Netherlands, exercising their authority under the surveil lance of the resident.—Makian lies in 0° 18' 30" n. lat., and 127° 24' e. long., is very fertile, yields much sago, rice, tobacco, canary-oil, etc., and has important fishings. Pop. 5,000. The natives are industrious, make good nets, spin yarns, and weave coarse striped fabrics. Further n., in 0° 28' n. lat., and 127° 29' 30' e. long., is Motir, which formerly yielded a considerable quantity of cloves, and later sent much earthenware to all the Spice islands.
Batjan, the only remaining Royal island, lies between 0° 13' to 0° 55' s. lat., and 22' to 128° e. long., is 50 m. in length, and 18 in breadth, has many mountain peaks. from 1500 to 4,000.ft. in height, the sources of The greatest part of this beautiful island is covered with ebony, satin-wood, and other valuable timber trees, which give shelter to numerous beautiful-plumaged birds, deer, wild hogs, and reptiles. Sago, rice, cocoa-nuts, cloves, fish, and fowls are plentiful, and a little coffee is culti vated. Coal is abundant, gold and copper in small quantities. The inhabitants, 1800, who are lazy and sensual, are a mixed race of Portuguese, Spaniards, Dutch, and native•s.
These islands are all volcanic, Termite being a mountain, sloping upwards to 5,563 ft., to which Tidore bears a striking resemblance. Makian is an active volcano, which, so late as Dec., 1861, threw forth immense quantities of lava and ashes, by which 326 lives were lost, and 15 villages in part or in whole destroyed. Motir is a trachyte mountain, 2,296 ft. in height; and Batjan, a chain with several lofty peaks. Total population of the Moluccas proper, .23,551.
To the s.w. of Batjan lie the Obi group, consisting of Obi Major, Obi Minor, Typha, Gonoma, Pisang, and Maya, of which Obi Major, in 1° 25' s. lat., and from 127° to 128' e. long., is by far the largest, an area of 598 sq. miles. It is billy and fertile, being covered, like the smaller islands of the group, with sago and nutmeg trees. They _tire uninhabited, and serve as lurking-places for pirates and escaped convicts. In 1671 the Dutch built a block-house, called the Bril ; and a few years later the sultan of Batjan sold the group to them for $800; but the station being found unhealthy, the com pany abandoned it in 1738.
The MoLuccAs, or SPICE 1:31,Am:is, in the broad use of the term, lie to the e. of Celebes, scattered over nearly 11 degrees of lat. and long., between 3° s. to 8' n. lat., .and 126° to 135° c. long., including all the territories formerly ruled over by the sultans • of Ternate and Tidore. They are divided into the residencies of Amboyna (q v.), Banda • (q.v.), and Ternate; a fourth residency being Menado (q.v.). Over the northern groups of the Spice islands the Netherlands exercise an indirect government, the sultans of Ternate and Tidore requiring to have all their appointments of native officials ratified by the resident. The southern groups are directly under European rule. The residency of Amboyna contains that island, sometimes called Ley-Timor, or Ilitu, from the two peninsulas of which it is formed, Buru, the Uliasser group, and the w. part of Ceram. That of Banda includes the Banda, Keffing, Key, Arru, and other islands, also the 'eastern portion of Ceram. Under the residency of Ternate are placed the Moluccas proper, Gilolo, the islands, and the n.w. of Papua. In 1871, pop. of the Moluccas and dependencies, 4,214 Europeans and 795,860 natives.