262 



MOLUCCA BEANS 



MOLUCCAS 



entrusted liy Ilie sultan with the tank of remodel- 

 ling tin- Turkish army, iiml remained with Mahmninl 

 II. as military adviser till Octolter 1839, when he 

 returned to his old position at Berlin. Kriiin 185s to 

 1888 he was chief of the general staff' in Herlin, and 

 ho at once commenced the reorganisation of the 

 Prussian iirmy. He also elaborate! plans for the 

 defence of the German coasts, ami tin- m-ation of a 

 German navy. Mis wonderful strategical power 

 wiii displayed in the wars with Denmark in IS03 04, 

 with Austria in 1800, and with France in 1870-71, 

 bringing them all to triumphant issues. He 

 marriedin 1845 the daughter of an English gentle- 

 man residing in Ilolstein, but had no family. 

 Known as ' The Silent,' he was a man of great 

 modi-sty and simplicity of character. His ninetieth 

 birthday was the occasion of numerous honours. 

 He died 23d April 1891. 



He wrote a series of letters from Turkey, and an 

 account of the Russian camiwign in Turkey in 1839 

 WM published in 1841. His Lcltcrt from Kutiia, 

 written in 185fi to his wife, were pulilixhed in 1*77 

 (Eng. trans. 1878). Histories of the Italian campaign 

 of 1859, the Danish-German war, the Auatro-Pn 

 war, and of the Franco-German war were prepared by 

 the general staff under his direction. In 1WI1 !3 an 

 edition of his works in six vols. was published, contain- 

 ing biography, a novel, a short history of the Franco- 

 German war (Eng. trans. 1892), letters to his mother 

 and brothers (Eng. trans. 1892), speeches and reminis- 

 cences. See also Lives by \Villn-lm Midler (Eng. trans. 

 1>7!'), F. von Koppen (1888), Muller-Bohn (1889), and 

 others. 



Molucca Beans. See GUILANDINA. 



Moluccas (also called SPICE ISLANDS), the 

 easternmost division of the Malay Archipelago, 

 comprising most of the islands ln-tween Celebes 

 and New Guinea west and east, and lietween Timor 

 and the Philippine* south and north. Originally 

 the term M'>lnri>.t was applied by the Portuguese 

 only to the small islands (Teniate, Tidor, iVe. ) 

 west of Jilolo, which are now known as the Little 

 .Mat umis ; but ifwas gradually extended to Jilolo 

 it-self, to liuru, Ceram, and all the spice-growing 

 island- of the eastern seas, which, with parts of 

 Celebes and New Guinea, now form politically tin- 

 three Dutch residencies of Trrnitlr, Ainliiii/iiii, and 

 Jiiimla, and which physically fall into the two 

 groups of the Northern Moluccas, disposed in the 

 direction from north to south, and the Soutlirrii 

 Mn/umu, running mainly west and east. The 

 northern group, which is surrounded on all si.les 

 by deep waters, ranging from 500 to 2000 fathoms. 

 lies between the Molucca and Jilolo pa-s.-tge.~ \\c-t 

 an<l east, and comprises Morotai (Morty) and Kau 

 ( Kiao) in the north, Jilolo, Ternate, " Tidor, and 

 other islets in the centre, liatchian ( Hatjan ), 

 Tawali, Mamlioli, and Great and Little Obi (Ohy ) 

 in the south, with a total area of nearly 10,000 

 M|. in., of which Jilolo has 7000, Morot'ai 1100, 

 and Hatchian s.'>o. Tin; population is vaguely 

 estimated at 00,000, of which nearly half are 

 concentrated in the small but politically impoii.-mt 

 islands of Tidor and Ternate, with respective areas 

 3.1 ami 2."> sii. m. 



The Southern Moluccas are connected by a sub- 

 marine lied of h-ss than 100 fathoms wc-l wards 

 with Sula and Celelics, but are separated from the 

 northern group by an abyss of over 1500 fathoms, 

 ami an; washed on tlie south side by the Itanda 

 Sea, which has a di-iith of 3000, and at one |x>int 

 (near the Handa volcano) of over 4(KX) fathoms. 

 They comprise the two large islands of Hum (8500 

 K-I. m.) and Ceram (7'MHI), the small Amlioyna. 1'li 

 aiwer, llanda, and ('cram Laut sub-groups, the out 



lying Ke (Kci) and Am clusters, with soi ther 



islets scattered over the neighl>ouring waters, with 

 a collective area of 10,500 sti. m., and an estimated 



population of 350,000, of which 200,000 are in 

 (Vnini, 00,000 in Hum, 30,000 in Amlioyiia, 20,000 

 in I'lioKser, and UOOOin Handa. Thus the Moluccas, 

 taken in the widest sense, have a total area of o\er 

 20,000 sq. m., and a population of probably not 

 much more than 4(10,0(X), chiclly Orang Malax u, or 

 civilised Malays, in the Little M.iln. .<.. Kanda, 

 and Anilmyna, elsewhere the so called . Mf tiros' 

 i.e. uncivilised or non-Mohamiiii-daii natives, some 

 Indonesians, some true Malays, some mixed Mulayo- 

 I'apuans (see MALAYS). 



The Moluccas lie partly on the line of the great 

 volcanic fault, which sweeps round in a vast curve 

 from Sumatra to the Philippines ami Japan, and 

 which in the Moluccas is indicated by the still 

 active Gunong-Api (1870 feet) in Handa, Tidor 

 (5730). Ternate (5050), Motir (2SOOi. tine.. BOMi 

 in Jilolo, Tolo in Morotai. Am was the scene of 

 a terrific eruption accompanied by eartlir|uak< - in 

 1825 ; Ternate is one of the most restless volcanoes 

 in Malaysia; and several other cones appeal to lie 

 of relatively recent date. For ages the whole 

 region has evidently lieen subject to continuous 

 convulsions, which have reduced it to its present 

 fragmentary state. At a remote geological ei><>eli 

 it probably formed part of Celelies and the Philip- 

 pines, a supposition by which are best explained 

 the many features possessed in common by the 

 natural history of these now scattered lands. The 

 trachitic Morotai was certainly at one time con- 

 nected with Jilolo, and were the connection i. -toi.-d 

 the resemblance would be complete between the 

 curiously shaped islands of Cell-lies and Jilolo, 

 whjch have lieen compared to a mutilated starfish. 

 Jilolo, also called Halmahcra, or the 'Great Land,' 

 largely consists, like Ceram and Huru, of crystalline 

 or metaimirphic and very old sedimentary (coral- 

 line limestone) rocks, whereas Termite, Tidor, 

 Handa, ami the smaller members of the group are 

 partly of igneous, partly of coralline origin. 



Despite their tropical position, U-ing nearly 

 bisected by the collator, the Moluccas enjoy a 

 relatively healthy climate, and in some places the 

 European race (Portuguese and Dutch i has even 

 been acclimatised. The excessive heats are every- 

 where tcin|H-red by sea bree/es and by the mountain- 

 ous character of the islands, winch in Hnru and 

 Ceram rise to heights of sooo and even 10.IHK) feet. 

 In the Southern Moluccas the north-Met trades pre- 

 vail from May te- October, and are accompanied by 

 heavy rains and tliumlei storms. They are followed 

 by the west monsoon, which has already discharged 

 most of its moisture before reaching this region. 

 Ill the north the regular winds become inter- 

 mingled, with the result that the seasons are here 

 extremely variable, line and wet weather alter- 

 nating throughout the year. Hut the temperature 

 oscillates everywhere within very nariow ran 

 seldom rising aliove 85 or falling In-low 7.". !'. on 

 the coast lands. Rainfall, I5O inches at Amboyna. 



Indigenous to most parts of this region are the 

 clove, nutmeg, ami Other spices, although these 

 plants are now cultivated only in Amlmyna and 

 the Handa group; elsewhere they were extirpated 

 by the Dutch government with the view of increas- 

 ing the value of the Handa plantations, and preserv- 

 ing the monopoly of the spice I rade. ( (ther valuable 

 plants are the sago-palm, which supplies the staple 

 food of the Moluccas; the pandanns, remarkable 

 for its aerial roots, the kanai \ nut, dammar pine, 

 and Cajeput (i|.v.). 



In its fauna the Molucca group is connected with 

 Cell-lies by the hahiroussa bog found in Huru, and 

 with New Guinea by the bird of paradise ( Bat- 

 chian), the marsupial cuscus and living opossum 

 <iocurring in several islands. Here are also found 

 tht- cassowary, the Australasian megapodius, or 

 mound-building bird, the crimson lory, the racket- 



