CAROLINE ISLANDS, a group in the western Pacific, Lying between the Mar shall and Pelew islands, with an area of about 270 square miles, and a popula tion of some 22,000; but the Pelew (q. v.) group is generally included in the Caroline Archipelago (area, 560 square miles; pop. 36,000), which thus stretches across 32° of Ion. and 9° of lat. There are some 500 small atolls• in the archi pelago, but three-fourths of both area and population are included in the five volcanic islands of Babelthouap, Yap, Ronk, Ponape (Ascension), and Kusari (Strong Island); these are all fertile and well watered, and many of the low lying lagoons, though less so, are well wooded and to some extent inhabited. The climate is moist, but not unhealthy, and is tempered by cooling breezes. The people belong to the brown Polynesian stock, are strongly built, and are gentle, amiable, and intelligent; they are bold sailors, and carry on a brisk trade with the Ladrones to the N. where they have several settlements. Besides the usual products of the Polynesian islands, copra has been largely exported. The islands were discovered in 1527 by the Portu guese, and called Sequeira; in 1686 they were annexed and rechristened in honor of Charles II. by the Spaniards, who,
however, shortly changed the name to New Philippines. After the failure of several missionary attempts in the 18th century, Spain took little active interest in the group, until August, 1885, when the German flag was hoisted on Yap. The sharp dispute which followed was submitted to the Pope as arbitrator, who decided in favor of Spain, but reserved to Germany special trade privileges. In 1887 disturbances broke out at Ponape, in which the governor, who had arrested one of the American Protestant mission aries, was killed by the natives; but the rising was shortly put down. In Febru ary, 1899, Germany purchased from Spain the Caroline and Pelew islands, and all of the Ladrones excepting Guam, which had been ceded to the United States in the treaty of peace. The islands were captured by an Australian force on Sept. 14, 1914, and by the Treaty of Versailles are administered by Japan as mandatory.