﻿«S7 



MOLDAVIA. 



MOLUCCAS. 



of the Carpathian Mountains. About the middle of the 13th century 

 a colony of the same inhabitants re-occtipied the country, under a 

 chieftain called Bogrlan, whence it is called by the Turks and tho 

 natives Bogdvmia, The language of the inhabitants, who call them- 

 selves Roomoon, consists of Latin with an admixture of Slavonic. 

 Divine service is performed in the Slavonic tongue. 



From that time the rulers of Moldavia, called 'voyvodes' (a Sla- 

 vonic term which signitieg military leader), wire often subject to the 

 kings of Hungary, but also frequently asserted th<-ir indep ndenci-, 

 until they submitted to the protection of the Turks in 1536, under 

 the voy vod>! Roydan. The sultan granted to Moldavia his protection, 

 for which an annual tribute was paid. The voyvodes were to be elected 

 by the principal clergy and the boyars, or nobles, and their election 

 was to be con6rmed by the sultan, who was not to interfere in the local 

 administration of the principality, neither were Turks permitted to 

 settle there. The voyvodes had the power of life and death over their 

 own Bubjeo-ts, and even the right to make peaco and war, without being 

 accountabi-! to the Sublime Porte. No inhabitant of Moldavia wag 

 to be summoned by the Turkish government to Constantinople or any 

 part of the Turkish domiuions on any pretext whatever. 



Moldavia was exposed to several wars which were carried on between 

 Turkey and Poland, as the latter country had an old claim on the 

 principality, which was finally abandoned by the peace of 1621. 



In 1711 the Turks abolished the privilege of electing the voyvodes, 

 and nominated to that dignity the Oreek princes of the Fanar (the 

 nama of the Oreek quarter of Constantinople). The princes, called 

 also ' hospodars,' governed with the aaflstance of a council, composed 

 of 12 members appointed by the prince every year, with the exception 

 of the metropolitan, whose ecclesiastical dignity entitles him to a per- 

 manent seat The laws were administered according to a code framed 

 after that of Justinian. There were a great many offices, several of 

 which were copied from those of the Greek empire. The national 

 army was composed of about 6000 men. 



The tribute paid to the Porte was not so opprewive as the monopoly 

 of trade : several articles, aa wheat, timber, and cattle were exported 

 to Constantinople, and bought from the inhabitants at a fixed price, 

 which amounted to about one-fourth of the current market-price. As 

 the hospodan were obliged to give considerable presents to the Turkish 

 officers, and as they also sought to enrich themselves, the country was 

 ground down by a most oppresaive taxation. 



Peter the Qreat in 1710 made an unsucoeasful campaign, fur the 

 purpose of gaining possession of Moldavia. Moldavia was occupied 

 by the Russians in 1739, but wa« evacuated by the peace of Belgrade. 

 By the 10th article of the treaty of Kutchuk Kainarji, in 1774, 

 Russia obtained the right to intercede with the Porte in favour of the 

 above-mentioned principalities. The 4th ar^ole of the treaty of Jassy, 

 January 9, 1792, confirms all the privileges of the two principalities, 

 and exempts the inhabitants from the payment to the Sultan of 

 tribute for two years. By the treaty of Bucharest (1812) the eastern 

 part of Moldavia, situated on the left bank of the Pruth, was ceded to 

 Kusaia, the rights and privileges of the two principalities were con- 

 firmed, and a release from tribute again granted for two years. 



The events of the Greek revolution had a fatal influence on Moldavia, 

 which was entered by Prince Ipeilaoti at the bead of a troop of the 

 Heterists, or Greek patriots ; be was defaatad and obliged to escape 

 to the Austrian territory, but the Turkish troops, which occupied both 

 the principalities, committed great excesses. Tbia lad to many demands 

 on the part of Russia, which were temporarily adjusted by the treaty 

 of Akerman in 1823. At the peace of Adrianople in 1829 it was 

 stipulated " that the hospodars should, instead of for seven years, as 

 bad hithfrto been the case, be invested with their dignity for life ;" 

 tbat the hospodars should administer the internal government of their 

 provinces, with the assistance of tbeir divan, according to their own 

 pleasure, but without any infraction of the rights guaranteed to the 

 two countries by treaties or battiaberifs (ordinances of the sultan), nor 

 •hall tbeir administration be disturbed by any command tending to 

 Uie violation of those rights ; that the Turks should evacuate all the 

 fortifii^ points and cities on the left bank of the Danube ; that no 

 Turks should be permitted to settle in the principalities ; that the 

 principalities siiould be relieved from all those contributions of com, 

 Movi^oos, cattle, and timber, which they were formerly bound to 

 mmish for the supply of Constantinople and the victualling of the 

 fortress O S on the Danube; and that forced service from labourers 

 'ibould be aboliabed. In order to indemnify the Turks for the renun- 

 riatioD of tboae rights, the principalities are bound, independently of 

 tbe annual tribute formerly paid, to pay yearly a pecuniary compen- 

 ■ation. Moreover, upon every fresh nomination of the bo8p<Klar, tho 

 principality where tbat event occurs shall be bound to pay to the 

 Sublime Porte a sum equal to the annual tribute of tbe province. A 

 Boasian general, Kisseleff, admiuistarad the provinces from 1832 to 

 18S4, when Michel Stnrdza was elected Hospodor of Moldavia. He 

 governed tranquilly till April, 1848. At this date the revolutionary 

 movementwhioh originate<l in France reached Jaasy, whose inhabitants 

 demanded a new constitution. The hospodiu: put down tbe move- 

 ment, but nevertheless resigned bis power. In June 1840 Gregory 

 Obika, a native boyard, was elected hoapodar, not however for life, 

 bat for a term of savon years, according to an article of the convention 

 of BalU Liman, cooclnded between Russia and Turkey, May 1, 1849. 



At the outbreak of hostilities between Russia and Turkey in 1S53 a 

 Russian army occupied Moldavia and Wallncbia, and advanced to the 

 Danube for the purpose of invading Bulgaria <ind marcliing upon 

 Constantinople. Repulsed from the Danube in Little Wallachia, and 

 unable, in consequence of the bravery of the Turks and the vigilance 

 of their general, Omer Pasha, to effect a passage of the river from 

 Wallachia, they crossed the Danube near Galatz in the spring of 1854, 

 and after seizing the foriresses of the Dobrudsoha advanced to 

 attack Silistria, which they bombarded for forty dnys. On the arrival 

 of French and English troops at Varna for tbe support of the sultan, 

 the Russians, after losing vast numbers of men, raised the siege of 

 Silistria, reero3.sed the Danube, and in the latter end of autumn 

 ev.iouated the priucipalities, which were immediately occupied by an 

 Austrian army. During the Russian occupation the hospodars retired 

 from their states, but returned with the Austrians. [Wallachia.] 

 MOLFETTA. [Bam, Terra di.] 

 MOLINA. [Castilla la Nueva.I 

 MOLITERNO. [Basilioata.] 

 MOLLEN. [LAnKNBUBG.] 



MOLOSSI, a paople of ancient Epirus, who occupied the southern 

 part of that country along the banks of the river Ar.ichtus, and 

 extended to the shores of the Ambracian Gulf. Their principal town 

 was Ambracia. [EpiBtTS.] 

 MOLSHEIM. [Hhein, Bas.] 

 MOLTON, SOUTH. [South Molton.] 



MOLUCCAS, or SPICE ISLANDS, a group of tho Indian Archi- 

 pelago, which extends from the eastern coast of Celeb-'S to the western 

 coa^t of Papua or New Guinea, and includes tho islands from which 

 spices are obtained, and several others. The principal of them are 

 Amboyna, Banda, Ceram, Gilolo, Booro, Waigiou, Zula, Mangola, Ooby, 

 Batchian. Several of these islands are noticed in separate articles in 

 this work, Ambotxa, Banda, Booro, Ceram, &o. The present article 

 presents a general view of the group. 



Surface, Soil, ic. — Nearly all tbe Moluccas arc mountainous, and 

 some of them contain peaks which rise to tbe height of 7000 or 8000 feet. 

 The rocks of which they are composed seem to be mostly of a volcanic 

 nature, and there are at least eight volcanoes still in action. These 

 volcanoes seem to be the southern extremity of that extensive series 

 which commences on the north in the peninsula of Kamtchatka, and 

 continues southward through the Kurules, Japan, and tho Philippines, 

 inclosing the eastern shores of Asia, as it were, with a v.)lc;mic barrier. 

 On the other band, it may be said that the most southern of these 

 volcanoes constitute the eastern extremity of another volcaaic barrier, 

 which skirts Eastern Asia on the south, and proceeds from the 

 Moluccas westward through tbe Lesser Sunda Islands and Java, where 

 it terminates. Like other volcanic countries, the surface of all these 

 islauds is very rugged and broken, but their lower parts possess a 

 great degree of fertility ; and tbe coast, which in many parts rises 

 from tbe water's edge to a considerable elevation with a very steep 

 acclivity, contains a great number of harbours for every kind of vessels. . 

 Except where the declivity is too steep, tho mountains are covered 

 with forests, containing a great variety of trees, valuable as timber or 

 for cabin<:t-work. 



Climate. — As none of these islands is more than 9 degrees from the 

 equator, the climate is hot all the year round, but the heat is not 

 excessive, on account of their comparatively small size and the uninter- 

 rupted continuance of the monsoons for at least tea months of the 

 year. Tbe seasons are dependent on these periodical winds. The 

 rainy season begins in October or November, with the north-westerly 

 monsoon ; for while the north-cast monsoon and fair weather prevail 

 in the Chinese Sea and in the sea between Sumatra and the eastern 

 coasts of Africa, the wind blows from north-west and west in the S'.as 

 surrounding the Moluccas. During this wind the rains fall in torrent.s, 

 but seldom continue above two or three hours at a time. The rainy 

 season is also the hot season, and the mid-day heat during that 

 time varies between 89" and 95'; tho extremes are 77'" and 100°, 

 or somewhat more. The rains cease in tbe end of April or in May, 

 when the wind settles in the south-east, and the weather becomes mors, 

 temperate. Rains however occur from time to time, and the atmos- 

 phere contains considerable moisture. The mid-day heat is a few 

 d^rees lower than it is during the rains, and the ditference between 

 it and tbe temperature of the cool nights is greater, but hardly 

 exceeds 12 degrees. 



Productions, — The agricultural productions do not differ from those 

 of Java, with the exception of rice, which U not cultivated, but im- 

 ported, though not in great quantities. The common food of the 

 people is derived from the sngo-palm, which grows wild in the forests 

 and also in plantations. Fish, wild deer, and hogs are also articl s of 

 food. The productions raised for exportation to Europe are cloves 

 and nutmegs ; edible birds'-nestg, sea-slugs (trepang), and shark-fins 

 are sent to China. A small quantity of gold is also exported, as well 

 as birds of paradise, which visit these Islands from New Guinea and 

 the Arroo Islauds, where they breed. The fertility of the soil and tho 

 climate favours the growth of all tropical products; turtle-shills, 

 mother-of-pearl, honey, bees'-wax, ambergris, sandal-wood, and various 

 kinds of beautiful wood for cabinet furniture are to ba had, but the 

 jealous spirit of the Dutch has hitherto excluded all European 

 vessels but their own from the islands, and consequently the articlej 



