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See also:SOLOMON ISLANDS (Ger., Salomoinseln) , an See also:archipelago of the Western Pacific Ocean, included in See also:Melanesia, and forming a See also:chain (in continuation of that of the See also:Admiralty Islands and New See also:Mecklenburg in the See also:Bismarck Archipelago) from N.W. to S.E. between 154 40' and 162° 30' E., 5° and 11° S., with a See also:total See also:land See also:area of 17,000 sq. m. (For See also:map, see PACIFIC OCEAN.) A comparatively shallow See also:sea surrounds the islands and indicates See also:physical connexion with the Bismarck Archipelago and New See also:Guinea, whereas directly See also:east of the Solomons there
Some sentences from W. R. See also:- SMITH
- SMITH, ADAM (1723–1790)
- SMITH, ALEXANDER (183o-1867)
- SMITH, ANDREW JACKSON (1815-1897)
- SMITH, CHARLES EMORY (1842–1908)
- SMITH, CHARLES FERGUSON (1807–1862)
- SMITH, CHARLOTTE (1749-1806)
- SMITH, COLVIN (1795—1875)
- SMITH, EDMUND KIRBY (1824-1893)
- SMITH, G
- SMITH, GEORGE (1789-1846)
- SMITH, GEORGE (184o-1876)
- SMITH, GEORGE ADAM (1856- )
- SMITH, GERRIT (1797–1874)
- SMITH, GOLDWIN (1823-191o)
- SMITH, HENRY BOYNTON (1815-1877)
- SMITH, HENRY JOHN STEPHEN (1826-1883)
- SMITH, HENRY PRESERVED (1847– )
- SMITH, JAMES (1775–1839)
- SMITH, JOHN (1579-1631)
- SMITH, JOHN RAPHAEL (1752–1812)
- SMITH, JOSEPH, JR
- SMITH, MORGAN LEWIS (1822–1874)
- SMITH, RICHARD BAIRD (1818-1861)
- SMITH, ROBERT (1689-1768)
- SMITH, SIR HENRY GEORGE WAKELYN
- SMITH, SIR THOMAS (1513-1577)
- SMITH, SIR WILLIAM (1813-1893)
- SMITH, SIR WILLIAM SIDNEY (1764-1840)
- SMITH, SYDNEY (1771-1845)
- SMITH, THOMAS SOUTHWOOD (1788-1861)
- SMITH, WILLIAM (1769-1839)
- SMITH, WILLIAM (c. 1730-1819)
- SMITH, WILLIAM (fl. 1596)
- SMITH, WILLIAM FARRAR (1824—1903)
- SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1808—1872)
- SMITH, WILLIAM HENRY (1825—1891)
- SMITH, WILLIAM ROBERTSON (1846-'894)
Smith's See also:article in Ency. Brit., 9th ed., have been retained and in places modified.are greater depths. The See also:principal See also:island at the See also:north-See also:west end of the chain is See also:Bougainville (3900 sq. m.), and that at the See also:south-east See also:San Cristoval or Bauro. Between these the chain is See also:double, consisting (from the north-west) of See also:Choiseul (2260 sq. m.), See also:Isabel (Ysabel, of about the same area as Choiseul) and Malaita (2400 sq. ni.) to the north, and Vella Lavella, Ronongo, Kulambangra, Kausagi, Marovo (New See also:Georgia or Rubiana) and the See also:Hammond Islands, and Guadalcanar2 or Guanbata (250o sq. m.). Between and around these See also:main islands there are many smaller islands. Ongtong See also:Java, a See also:coral See also:reef of many islets, lies considerably north of the main See also:group to which, geographically, it can hardly be said to belong .3 Bougainville, the largest' of the group, contains Mt See also:Balbi (10,170 ft.), and two active volcanoes. In Guadalcanar is Mt See also:Lammas (8000 ft.), while the extreme heights of the other islands range between 2500 and 5000 ft. The islands (by See also:convention of 1899) are divided unequally between See also:Great See also:Britain and See also:Germany, the boundary See also:running through Bougainville Strait, so that that island and Buka belong to Germany (being officially administered from Kaiser Wilhelm's Land), but the See also:rest (South Solomons) are See also:British.
The islands are well watered, though the streams seem to be small; the coasts afford some See also:good harbours. All the large and some of the small islands appear to be composed of See also:ancient volcanic See also:rock, with an incrustation of coral See also:limestone showing here and there along the See also:coast. The mountains generally fall steeply to the sea. There is some level land in Bougainville, but little elsewhere. Deep valleys See also:separate the gently rounded ridges of See also:forest-clad mountains, lofty spurs descend from the interior, and, running down to the sea, terminate frequently in bold rocky headlands 800 to Iwo ft. in height, as in San Cristoval (north coast). On the small high island of See also:Florida there is much undulating grass-land interspersed with See also:fine clumps of trees; patches of cultivated land surround its numerous villages, and plantations on the See also:- HILL
- HILL (0. Eng. hyll; cf. Low Ger. hull, Mid. Dutch hul, allied to Lat. celsus, high, collis, hill, &c.)
- HILL, A
- HILL, AARON (1685-175o)
- HILL, AMBROSE POWELL
- HILL, DANIEL HARVEY (1821-1889)
- HILL, DAVID BENNETT (1843–1910)
- HILL, GEORGE BIRKBECK NORMAN (1835-1903)
- HILL, JAMES J
- HILL, JOHN (c. 1716-1775)
- HILL, MATTHEW DAVENPORT (1792-1872)
- HILL, OCTAVIA (1838– )
- HILL, ROWLAND (1744–1833)
- HILL, SIR ROWLAND (1795-1879)
hill-sides testify to the richness of its See also:soil. The whole chain of islands appears to be rising steadily. Some of the smaller islands are of See also:recent calcareous formation. Barrier and fringing reefs, as well as atolls, occur in the group, but the channels between the islands are dangerous Chiefly from the strong currents which set through them..
The See also:climate is very See also:damp and debilitating. The rainfall is unusually heavy. See also:Fever and See also:ague prevail on the coast. The healthiest portions are the See also:highlands, where most exposed to the south-east trades. The dry See also:season, with north-west winds, lasts from See also:December to May. Vegetation is luxuriant; magnificent forests clothe the mountains, and See also:sandalwood, See also:ebony and lignum vitae, besides a variety of palms, are found in them. See also:Mangrove swamps are See also:common on the coasts. The probable See also:geological connexion with New Guinea would See also:account for the Papuan See also:character of the See also:fauna of the Solomons, which See also:form the eastern limit of certain Papuan types. The existence of See also:peculiar types in the Solomons, however, points to an See also:early severance. Mammals are not numerous; they include the cuscus, several See also:species of See also:bat, and some rats of great' See also:size. There are various peculiar species of frogs, lizards and See also:snakes, including the great See also:frog Rana Guppyi, from 2 to 3 lb in See also:weight. Of birds, several parrots and other genera are characteristically Papuan and are unknown east of the Solomons.
See also:Population.—The Solomon islanders are of Melanesian (Papuan) stock, though in different parts of the group they vary considerably in their physical characteristics, in some islands approaching the pure Papuan, in some showing Polynesian crossings and in others resembling the See also:Malays. As a See also:race they are small and sturdy, taller in the north than in the south. Projecting brows, deeply sunk dark eyes, See also:short noses, either straight or arched, but always depressed at the See also:root, and moderately thick lips, with a somewhat receding See also:chin, are See also:general characteristics. The See also:mesocephalic appears to be the preponderant form of See also:skull; though this is unusual among Melanesian races.
In See also:colour the skin varies from a See also:black-See also:- BROWN
- BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
- BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
- BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
- BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
- BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
- BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
- BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
- BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
- BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
- BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
- BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
- BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
- BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
- BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
- BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
- BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
- BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
- BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
- BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
- BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
- BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
- BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)
brown to a copperishhue, but the darker are the most common shades. The See also:hair is naturally dark, but is often dyed red or fawn, and crisp, inclining to woolly. The islanders of the Bougainville Straits have lank, almost straight, black hair and very dark
skins.
To strangers the natives have See also:long had the reputation of being treacherous. They are cannibals, See also:infanticide is common, and See also:head
2 Guadalcanal of the See also:Spanish discoverers.
This group, so named by See also:Abel See also:Tasman in 1643, is also called Leucnewa or See also:Lord See also:Howe, and is densely inhabited by natives said to be of Polynesian,origin.
See also:hunting was formerly prevalent. The See also:average See also:lot of the See also:women is that of slaves. In some cases there is belief in a good spirit inhabiting a pleasant land, and an evil spirit associated with a See also:volcano; also in a future See also:life. The See also:language is of pure Melanesian type, though a number of dialects are spoken. The natives are good agriculturists. The Solomon Islands are, in the Pacific, the eastern limit of the use of the See also:shield. The canoes are skilfully built of planks sewn together and caulked. The high carved See also:prow and stern give the See also:craft almost a See also:crescent shape. These and the See also:gun-See also:wale are tastefully inlaid with See also:mother-of-See also:pearl and wreathed with shells and feathers.
The British islands are under a See also:resident See also:commissioner, and have some See also:trade in See also:copra, See also:ivory, nuts, pearl 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 other produce. Coco-nuts, See also:pine-apples and bananas, with some See also:cocoa and See also:coffee, are cultivated on small areas. The See also:German islands have a small trade in sandalwood, See also:tortoise-shell, &c. The total population may be roughly estimated at 18o,00a.
See also:History.—The Spanish navigator Alvaro Mendana must be credited with the See also:discovery of these islands in 1567, though it is somewhat doubtful whether he was actually the first See also:European who set eyes on them. In anticipation of their natural riches he named them Islas de Salomon. The expedition surveyed the See also:southern portion of the group, and named the three large islands San Cristoval, Guadalcanal and Ysabel. On his return to See also:Peru, Mendana endeavoured to organize another expedition to colonize the islands, but it was not before See also:June 1595 that he, with . Pedro Quiros as second in command, was able to set See also:sail for this purpose. The See also:Marquesas and See also:Santa Cruz islands were now discovered; but on one of the latter, after various delays, Mendana died, and the expedition collapsed.
Even the position of the Solomon Islands was now in uncertainty, for the Spaniards, fearing lest they should lose the benefits expected to accrue from these discoveries, kept See also:secret the narratives of Mendana and Quiros. The Solomon Islands were thus lost sight of until, in 1767, See also:- PHILIP
- PHILIP (Gr.'FiXtrsro , fond of horses, from dn)^eiv, to love, and limos, horse; Lat. Philip pus, whence e.g. M. H. Ger. Philippes, Dutch Filips, and, with dropping of the final s, It. Filippo, Fr. Philippe, Ger. Philipp, Sp. Felipe)
- PHILIP, JOHN (1775-1851)
- PHILIP, KING (c. 1639-1676)
- PHILIP, LANOGRAVE OF HESSE (1504-1567)
Philip See also:Carteret lighted on their eastern shores at See also:Gower Island, and passed to the north of the group; without, however, recognizing that it formed See also:part of the Spanish discoveries. In 1768 See also:- LOUIS
- LOUIS (804–876)
- LOUIS (893–911)
- LOUIS, JOSEPH DOMINIQUE, BARON (1755-1837)
- LOUIS, or LEWIS (from the Frankish Chlodowich, Chlodwig, Latinized as Chlodowius, Lodhuwicus, Lodhuvicus, whence-in the Strassburg oath of 842-0. Fr. Lodhuwigs, then Chlovis, Loys and later Louis, whence Span. Luiz and—through the Angevin kings—Hungarian
Louis de Bougainville found his way thither. He discovered the three See also:northern islands (Buka, Bougainville and Choiseul), and sailed through the channel which divides the two last and bears his name. In 1769 a See also:French navigator, M. de Surville, was the first, in spite of the hostility of the natives, to make any lengthened stay in the group. He gave some of the islands the French names they still See also:bear,', and brought See also:home some detailed See also:information concerning them which he called Terre See also:des Arsacides (Land of the . Assassins) ; but their identity with Mendafla's Islas de Salomon was soon established by French geographers. In 1788 the See also:English lieu-See also:tenant Shortland coasted along the south See also:side of the chain, and, supposing it to be a continuous land, named it New Georgia; and in 1792 See also:Captain See also:Edward See also:Manning sailed through the strait which separates Ysabel from Choiseul and now bears his name. In the same See also:year, and in 1793, d'See also:Entrecasteaux surveyed portions of the coast-See also:line of the large islands. See also:Dumont d'Urville in 1838 continued the survey.
Traders now endeavoured to See also:settle in the islands, and missionaries began to think of this fresh See also:- FIELD (a word common to many West German languages, cf. Ger. Feld, Dutch veld, possibly cognate with O.E. f olde, the earth, and ultimately with root of the Gr. irAaror, broad)
- FIELD, CYRUS WEST (1819-1892)
- FIELD, DAVID DUDLEY (18o5-1894)
- FIELD, EUGENE (1850-1895)
- FIELD, FREDERICK (18o1—1885)
- FIELD, HENRY MARTYN (1822-1907)
- FIELD, JOHN (1782—1837)
- FIELD, MARSHALL (183 1906)
- FIELD, NATHAN (1587—1633)
- FIELD, STEPHEN JOHNSON (1816-1899)
- FIELD, WILLIAM VENTRIS FIELD, BARON (1813-1907)
field for labour, but neither met with much success, and little was heard of the islanders See also:save accounts of See also:murder and See also:plunder. In 1845 the French Marist Fathers went to Isabel, where Mgr Epaulle, first See also:vicar-apostolic of Melanesia, was killed by the natives soon after landing. Three years later this See also:mission had to be abandoned; but in 1881 See also:work was again resumed. In 1856 See also:John See also:Coleridge See also:Patteson, afterwards See also:bishop of Melanesia, had paid his first visit to the islands, and native teachers trained at the Melanesian mission See also:college subsequently established themselves there. About this date the yacht " Wanderer " cruised in these seas, but her owner, Mr See also:Benjamin See also:Boyd, was kidnapped by the natives and never afterwards heard of. In 1873 the " See also:foreign-labour " See also:traffic in See also:plantation hands for See also:Queensland and See also:Fiji extended its baneful See also:influence from the New See also:Hebrides to these islands. In 1893 the islands Malaita, Marovo, Guadalcanar
' He called Gower, Inattendue; Ulava, Contrariet6; and named See also:Port Praslin, the See also:harbour at the north-west of Ysabel.and San Cristoval with their surrounding islets were annexed by Great Britain, and the final delimitation of German and British influence in the archipelago was made by the convention of the 14th of See also:November 1899.
See H. B. Guppy, The Solomon Islands (See also:London, 1887), where full references to earlier See also:works are given; C. Ribbe, Zwei Jahre unter den Kannibalen.der Salomon-lnseln (See also:Dresden, 1903).
End of Article: SOLOMON ISLANDS (Ger., Salomoinseln)
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