Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1898-09-17
ae(iseellanepns 8eaaina.
OWNERS Of THE INDIES.
How the Islands Are Divided Among the
Enropean Nations,

How the Islands Are Divided Among th'
European Nations.
New York Tribune.
In view of the number of islands in
West Indian and East Indian waters
which have been brought into pub
lie attention through the movement:
of the American and Spanish fleets, il
will be useful to have a statemen
showing exactly what insular colonie:
are owned by European nations ir
those two widely separated parts O.
the globe.
Great Britain's colonies in the Wes
Indies include the Bahama islands, ia
maica, with the neighboring Caymar
islands about so of the small Virgin
islands; in the Leeward island group
Angullia, St. Kits (or St. Christie
pher,) Barbuda, Nevis, Antigua, Mont
serrat and Dominica !; in the Windwarc
island group, which continues the chain
of the Leeward islands to the south
ward, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Barbados
the group known as the Grenadines, o.
which Grenada is the chief; Tobagc
and Trinidad. She also has the con
tinental possession of British Guiana
on the northern coast of South Amer
ica, a Little over a 100 miles south oi
Trinidad. The Bermuda islands
though we'll to the northward of the
West Indies, being in about the lati
tude of Charleston, S. c., may also be
included in the British island colonie;
in this part of the Atlantic.
Of all her once numerous island
colonies in and around the "Spanist
Main" Spain has retained only Cubs
and Porto Rico, which two she is nov
in fair way to lose also. Jamaics
and Hayti were once hers, as were
many others of the Lesser Antilles
having been discovered by Columbus
but all of these were taken long age
by other European powers.
The French West Indian possession:
are in the Leeward islands and in
clude part of St. Martins, St. Bar
tholomew, Guadalupe, Marie Galan
te, lies das Saintes and Martinique
In the same group the Dutch own the
small island of Saba, that part of St
Martins which does not belong to
France and the island of St. Eustatius
In the southern part of the Caribbean
sea, off the Venezuelan coast, Holland
also has the three islands of Curacao
Oruba and Buen Ayre. The Dutch
and French respectively, own the 9th
er divisions of Guiana, in South Am
erica.
Denmark possesses the three islands
of St. Thomas, St. John and Santa
Cruz in the Virgin group, which have
frequently been suggested for purchase
by the United States. She has, be-
sides, a considerable number of inlets
near by.
The islands of the East Indies, the
great Maylay archipelago, are not SC
evenly divided among the European
powers. In fact, with the exception
of the Philippine, Caroline, and La
drone islands, which belong to Spain
Singapore, two other small islands and
the settlement of Sarawak, on the coast
of Borneo, which are England's and q
few small Portuguese possessions-the
whole Of this vast group of rich islands
is under the sway of Holland. The
most important of them-Borneo, Su'
matra, Java and Celebes-are among
the largest and finest islands in the
world. Borneo alone, containing 1885,
900 square miles, is more than three
times as large as the state of Kansas,
and Sulnatra, the longest ofthe islands,
extends over a 1000 miles from north
west to southeast, with an average
width of about 200 miles. The Mo-
luccas, or Spice islands, east of Cele'
bes, are another important Dutch
group, and still east of these the Dutch
own the western half of the great is,
lands of New Guinea, the eastern hall
of which is divided between England
a,l