1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Admiralty Islands

425511911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 1 — Admiralty Islands

ADMIRALTY ISLANDS, a group of about forty islands lying north of New Guinea, between 1° and 3° S., and 146° and 148° E., within the Bismarck Archipelago, belonging to Germany. The largest, Manus, is about 60 m. in length, and its highest point is about 3000 ft. above the sea; the others are very small, and rise little above sea-level. Most are of coral formation, but the hills of Manus are believed to be extinct volcanoes. The islands were discovered by the Dutch in 1616, and visited in 1767 by Philip Carteret; but no landing seems to have been effected, owing to the surrounding reefs, until the arrival of the “Challenger” in 1875. The natives are of the Papuan type, but show signs of mixed origin. They are cannibals, and many murders of whites have taken place.