GENERAL FEATURES OF MALAYSIA 15 



— are separated from each other by straits or passages, 

 each bearing a distinctive name. By far the greater 

 number belong politically to Holland, which here pos- 

 sesses a colonial empire, with its seat of government in 

 Java, rivalling in prosperity the British East Indian 

 possessions. Of all the former extensive dominions of 

 I'ortugal in these seas nothing now remains to her except 

 a portion of the island of Timor. In the Philippines 

 the Spaniard rules almost exclusively. At the north 

 of Borneo we find two abnormal forms of government — 

 an English raja ruling the extensive territory of 

 Sarawak, while a private company, formed somewhat 

 upon the lines of the old East India Company, admin- 

 isters the neighbouring country now known as British 

 JSTorth Borneo. Some islands and portions of islands are 

 still independent, or subject to native sultans. 



2. Physical Features — Volcanoes. 



The Malay Archipelago is traversed throughout its 

 whole extent by one of the most extensive and con- 

 tinuous volcanic belts upon the globe. Commencing in 

 the north-western part of Sumatra, beyond the equator, 

 it extends through that island and Java, then through 

 the Lesser Sunda Islands to the east end of Timor. 

 Here it turns in a north - easterly curve by Banda, 

 Amboina, and Burn to Gilolo and Ternate. Thence, 

 turning westward to the northern extremity of Celebes, 

 it bends abruptly to the north by the Sangir Islands, and 

 passes through the entire range of the Philippines to the 

 extreme north of Luzon. The number of true volcanic 

 peaks and craters in this belt is very great, and they 

 form a continuous chain, with seldom more than an in- 

 terval of a hundred miles from one to the other. A very 



