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MALDIVE ISLANDS , an See also:archipelago of See also:coral islets in the See also:Indian Ocean, forming a See also: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 are inhabited. In the extreme See also:south are the isolated atolls of Addu and Fua-Mulaku, separated from Suvadiva by the See also:Equatorial Channel, which is itself separated from the See also: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: to the See also:east the See also:chief atolls are Mulaku, Felidu, South Male, See also:North Male, Kardiva (where the channel of the same name, 35 M. broad, partly breaks the chain), and Fadiffolu. To the See also:west are South Nilandu, North Nilandu, See also: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 m. from that of the Laccadives to the north. The main See also:part of the archipelago, north of One-anda-See also:half-degree Channel, consists of a See also:series of See also:banks either surrounded or studded all over with reefs (see J. S. See also:Gardiner, " Formation of the Maldives," in See also:Geographical Journ. xix. 277 seq.). Mr Gardiner regarded these banks as plateaus rising to different elevations beneath the See also:surface of the See also:sea from a main See also:plateau rising steeply from the See also: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 See also:coast, they began to send tokens of See also:homage and claims of See also:protection (the first recorded being in 1645) to the rulers of See also:Ceylon, and their association with this See also:island has continued practically ever since. The hereditary See also:sultan of the archipelago is tributary to the See also:British See also:government of Ceylon. The See also:population of the Maidives is estimated at 30,000. All are Mahommedans. By Messrs. Gardiner and See also: The See also:language is a See also:dialect of Sinhalese, but indicating a separation of See also:ancient date and more or less mahommedanized. The sultan's See also:residence and the See also:capital of the archipelago is the island of Male. From the earliest notices the See also:production of See also:coir, the collection of cowries, and the See also: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) are coco-nuts, See also:copra, See also:tortoise-See also:shell and dried bonito-See also:fish. ' These and other channels in the locality are named from their position under See also:parallels of See also:latitude. Minikoi See also:atoll, with the numerous wrecks on its reefs, its See also:light-See also:house, and its position on the track of all eastward-See also:bound vessels, is a See also:familiar sight to seafarers in these See also:waters. The atoll, which is See also:pear-shaped and disposed in the direction from S.W. to N.E. is 5 M. See also:long, with an extreme breadth of nearly 3 m., with a large but shallow See also:lagoon approached from the north by a passage two fathoms deep. The atoll is growing out-wards on every See also:side, and at one See also:place rises 19 ft. above sea-level. The population, which See also:numbers about 3000, is sharply divided into five castes, of which the three highest are pure Maldivians, the See also:lower two the same as in the Laccadives. All are centred in a small See also: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 crews on See also:board the large liners plying in the eastern seas. In 1899–1900 Messrs. J. See also:Stanley Gardiner and C. See also:Forster Cooper carried out an expedition to the Maldives and Laccadives, for the important results of which see The See also:Fauna and See also:Geography of the Maldive and Laccadive Archipelagoes, ed. J. S. Gardiner (See also: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 adventurer, See also:Francois Pyrard de la Val, was wrecked in the Maldives in 1602 and detained there five years; he wrote an interesting See also:account of the archipelago, Voyage de F. P. de la Val (See also:Paris, 1679; previous See also:editions 1611, &c.). See also A. See also:Agassiz, "An Expedition to the Maldives "See also:min Amer. Journ. See also:Science, vol. xiii. (1902). Additional information and CommentsThere are no comments yet for this article.
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