The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1898-06-03
OWNERS OFTHEINDIEs.
How tho leland. are Dlvided Among the
Enr0penn Nations.
Nov York Tribune |

"H'o1S' "hioh arc now ueluB Drought
into public attention through tho
movements of the American and
Spanish fleets, it will be useful to
havo n statement showing exactly
what insular colonies arc owned by
European nations in those two wide
~ separated points of tho globe
Great Britian's colonies in the
West Indies include tho Bahama is
lands, Jamaica, with the neighbor-
ing Cayman islands; about so of tho
small Virgin islands;s in the Lee.
ward island sroup, Anguillu, st.
Kits Tor St. Christopher), Barbuda,
Nevis, Antigua, Montsorra and Dom
inicar in the Wiudward island group,
which continues tho chain of tho
Loeward islands to tho southwark,
st. Lucia, ST. Vincent, Barbadoes,
tho group known us tho Grenadines,
Of which Grenada is the chief: To
bago and Trinidad. She also has
the continental possession of British
Guiana, on the northern coast of
South America, little over u hun.
drod miles south Of Trinidad The
Bermuda islands, though we'll to the
northward Of tho West Indies, boing
in about the latitude Of Charleston,
S. c., may also be included in tho
British island colonies in this part Of
the Atlantic.
Of all her once humorous island
colonies in and around tho "Spanish
Main" Spain has retained only Cuba
and Porto Rico, which two sho is
now in fair way to lose also.
jamaica and Hayti wero once hers,
as were many others of tho Lesser
Antilles, having been discovered by
Columbus, but all Of these were
taken long ago by other European
powers.
The French West Indian posses
slons are in Tho Leeward islands,
and include part Of st. Martins,
ST. Bartholomew, Guadalupe, Marie
Galantc, lies des Saintcs and Mar.
Unique. In the samo group tho
Dutch own the small island of Saba,
that port of st. Martins which does
not belong to France and the is-
land Of st. Eustatius. In tho south.
ern part Of the Caribbean sea, off
tho Venezuelan coast, Holland also
has tho three islands Of Curacao,
Oruba and Buen Ayre. The Dutch
and French, respectively, own the
other divisions of Guiana, in South
America.
Denmark possesses tho threo is
lands Of st. Thomas, st. John and
Santa Cruz in tho Virgin group,
which have frequently been sug-
gested for purchase by tho United
States She has, besides, consid-
erable number of islets near by.
The islands of tho East Indies,
tho great Malay archipelago, arc
not so evenly divided among tho
European powers. In fact, with tho
exception Of the Philippine, Caro-.
line, and Ladrone islands, which be-
long to Spain; Singapore, two othor
small islands and settlement of Sar-
awak, on the coast Of Borneo, which
aro England's, and few small
Portuguese possessions-the whole
of this vast group Of rich islands is
under tho sway Of Holland. The
most important Of thom-Borneo,
Sumatra, Java and Celebes-are
among tho largest and finest islands
in tho world. Bornco alone, con-
tanning 28o,OOO square miles, is moro
than three timos az largo as the
State Of Kansas, and Sumatra, the
longest Of tho islands, extends for
over thousand miles from north
west to- southeast, with an average
width Of about 200 miles. The Mo
laccas, or Spice islands, east of Cele-
bos, are. another important Dutch
group, and still east Of these the
Dutch own tho western half OF the
great islands Of New Guinea, the
eastern half Of which is divided bo
tween England and Germany.