OCEANIC. 



193 



in 1586-8; and the fourth, was Oliver Van Noort, who performed 

 the first Dutch circumnavigation, in 1598-1601. Mendana disco- 

 vered the Solomon isles, in 1595; and Quiros discovered the Mar- 

 quesas, in the same year. Quiros also discovered the New Hebrides, 

 in 1606; and named them Tierra Australia del Espiritu Santo; but 

 Bougainville called them the Great Cyclades ; and Capt. Cook gave 

 them their present name, in 1774. The Caroline Isles, were disco- 

 vered by the Spaniards, in 1686. 



Among other voyages around the world, are those of Dampier, 

 who sailed in 1683, and visited Juan Fernandez ; of Jlnson, in 1740, 

 chiefly for warlike purposes ; of Byron, in 1764, who discovered 

 King George's, Prince of Wales', and other islands ; that of Bou- 

 gainville, who visited the New Hebrides, in 1768 ; and of Capt. 

 Cook, who made three voyages around the world, beginning in 1768, 

 on the third of which he was killed at Owyhee, in 1779. He dis- 

 covered the Society Islands, in 1769, the Friendly Islands, in 1773, 

 and the Sandwich Islands, in 1778 ; and first surveyed the eastern 

 coast of New Holland, in 1770. Furneaux, in 1773, completed 

 the exploration of the coast of New Holland, by connecting Tas- 

 man's discoveries, with those of Cook. The unhappy voyage of 

 Laperouse ; both of whose vessels were lost, in 1788 ; and the later 

 voyages around the world, by Krusenstern, Kotzebue, and others, we 

 have no room here to describe. 



The following table gives the extent and population of Oceanica, 

 as nearly as we can ascertain them. 



Islands. Sq. Miles. 



Sunda Islands ____ 245,000. 



Celebes and 7 

 Moluccas 5 

 Borneo .......... 360,000. 



Philippine Islands . 105,000. 



New Zealand ...... 90,000. 



We proceed to treat of these islands, in the order above named. 



1. The name Malaysia, is applied to the group of the Sunda 

 Islands, Celebes, and the Moluccas, Borneo, and the Philippine 

 Islands ; from their being inhabited chiefly by the Malay race, and 

 lying near Asia. They are sometimes called the Indian Archipelago ; 

 being regarded as a part of the East Indies. They abound in the 

 richest tropical productions ; and have an extensive commerce ; but 

 the inhabitants are generally pagans, living in tribes, and in a half 

 civilized or barbarous state. 



The Sunda Islands, include Sumatra, and, south-east of it, Java, 

 and Sumbawa ; to which we would add Floris, and Timor, more 

 eastward, in the same range. These islands contain several volca- 

 noes, some of which are almost continually in action. Their chief 

 cities, are, in Sumatra, Palcmbans? ; and in Java, Batavia, the 

 Dutch capital, and Samarang. The small island of Banca, east of 

 Sumatra, has valuable mines of tin, wrought by the Chinese. These 

 islands, however, belong principally to the Dutch ; and trade in rice, 

 25 R 



