BANDA IstEs, the name of a group of Asiatic islands, called the Spice or Nutmeg islands, lying to the south of the island of Ceram, and to the south-west of Papua, or New Guinea. The islands comprehended under this general name are, Banda or Lantor, Neira or Nera, Puloway, or Way, or A y, Pulorobn or Rohn, Rossingcn or Rossagay, Gonong or Guenanape, or Ganapez, Pulo-pisang, Pulo-prampon, Pulo-suanjec Capal, and Nylacky.
In the year 1602, the Dutch landed in the Banda isles, which formed one of their earliest settlements in the Indies. In 1609, they entered into a treaty with the Orancais or natives, who hound themselves to send all their nutmeg and mace to the Dutch fort of Nassau, in the island of Nera, at a fixed pr.ce, the Dutch pledged themselves to defend the natives, I particularly against the Portuguese. The breach of this agreement by the natives, and the murder of the Dutch commissary, occasioned hostilities between the two powers. In 1616, a similar treaty was entered into with the English, who were then at war with the Dutch ; but this also was broken by the inhabi tants of Banda. The English having refused, after they had made peace with the Dutch, to join them in the reduction of the Banda isles, the latter attack ed them in 1621, and compelled the natives to deliver up their towns, their forts, their arms, and all their islands. In order to secure to themselves the nut meg and mace which these islands prod uced, the Dutch erected forts in all the islands, and divided the soil into orchards, which they distributed among the Dutch colonists in proportion to the number of their .slaves. The Banda isles were taken from the Dutch by the English admiral Rainier in 1796, and in 1801 were restored to them by the treaty of Amiens.
The chief settlement of the Dutch is in the island of Nera, which has an excellent harbour, commanded by the cannon of the forts Belgica and Nassau. The island of Banda, which is about S miles long and 5 broad, is defended by a fort and two or three redoubts. It contains 25 nutmeg fields, which produce annually about 570,000 pounds of nutmegs, and 110,000 of mace, called the flour of nutmeg. The
hurricane of 1778, however, nearly annihilated the nutmeg; trees of this island. These nutmeg fields oc cupy about 70,000 square toises. In the island of Puloway there is a small fort ; Pulorohn is defend ed by a small redoubt ; Rossingen has also a redoubt ; and Gonong is remarkable for a volcano, which al ways scuds forth smoke, and sometimes flames. The nutmeg flourishes amidst the lava of Gonong, as well as in the line black mould which covers theother islands.
In the year 1796, the annual produce of the Banda islands was 163,000 pounds of nutmeg, and 46,000 pounds of mace. Between the years 1796 and 1798, the English East India Company imported 817,312 pounds of cloves, 93,732 pounds of nutmegs, and 46,730 pounds of mace, and about a third part more in private trade. In the year 1737, the Dutch East India Company sold at one time 280,961 pounds of nutmeg. In 1756, 2.11,4.27 pounds were sold; and in 1778, 26-•,189 pounds. The average has been considered to be about 250,000 pounds annually, which was sold in Europe at 75 livres per pound, exclusive of 100,000 pounds sold in the Indies. 'Tie average quantity of mace has been 90,000 pounds an nually, and 10,000 pounds in the East Indies.
While the Banda isles supply Europe with their spiceries, they deny the means of subsistence to their own inhabitants. Sago, which is the pith of a tree of moderate size, serves them for bread; and the juice which exudes from its branches is their ordinary be verage. The cattle and grain which they use are imported from the island of Java. The population of these islands, which is said to have been once 15,000, is now only 5763. E. Long. 130° 40', S. Lat. 4° IS'. See Stavorinus's Voyage by Wileocke, vol. i. p. 331, vol. ii. p. 418. Bougainville Voyage Autour -du Monde. Raynal's [list. of the Indies. Re gister, 1800, p. 200; and Peuchet's Dict. de la Ge0g. Commery. (Q)