The Western, better known as the Pelew, Pellew, or Palau Islands, have a total area of 346 square miles, and are nearly encircled by a coral reef. The principal members of the group are Babelthaup, with an area of 275 miles, Coröre, U τ rucdzapel, Jaracong or Errakong, Kiangle, Eimelius, Pellelew, and Angour or Ngaur; and the general title of Errekeltiu Islands is applied to all the archipelago to the south of Babelthaup. The surface is frequently well wooded and the soil fertile; and bread-fruit, cocoa-nuts, sugar-cane, arums, oranges, and bananas are grown in abundance. Cattle, sheep, and pigs have been introduced; there is a great variety of birds, and the lagoons abound with turtle and fish. The inhabitants are a dark copper-coloured race, and bear evident traces of Malay and Papuan blood. Not only the separate islands, but even the villages form independent but co-operative republics. The most peculiar institution is the Clöbbergoll, a kind of corporation for purposes of mutual aid and defence. The women have clöbbergolls of their own, and possess a considerable share of political influence. The Pelewese still used stone instruments and weapons at the close of last century, but produced a variety of artistic articles with their limited means. They have five kinds of recognized currency in the islands, consisting of pieces or beads of ancient glass and enamel, to which they ascribe a divine origin. The population seems to be rapidly decreasing; Dr Semper calculates that at present the whole group contains 10,000 inhabitants. The Pelews were brought prominently into notice by Captain Henry Wilson, whose ship— the “Antelope ”—was wrecked, in August 1783, on one of the islands. A narrative of his residence on the islands was published by George Keate, in 1788. Dr Semper gives a graphic account of his intercourse with the natives in his Die Palau-Inseln im Stillen Ocean, 1873; and in the Journal des Museum Godeffroy, Hamburg, 1873, Alfred Tetens describes his visit during 1865-1868.

The Central Carolines, or those which are more usually known as the Carolines proper, consist of about 48 groups with 400 or 500 islands. Omitting Ualan, Puynipet, and Rug the area is hardly 20 square miles, but including them it amounts to 360. The Ngoli, Gulu, or Mateiotas group lies to the north-east of the Pelews, and consists of three islands inhabited by a few people from Yap. Yap or Guap lies further to the north-east, is about 10 miles in length, and has an excellent harbour on the south-east. The natives are at a higher level of civilization than most of their neighbours; they cultivate the betel-nut with great care, build first-rate boats, lay out their villages regularly, pave their streets, and construct stone piers and wharves. A Spanish mission was established in the island in 1856. A map and description will be found in the Godeffroy Journal for 1873, which also gives an account of the Ulithi, Elivi, or Mackenzie group, previously described by Captain Wilkes of the United States exploration. The Ulea, Swede, and Lütke Islands are of little importance; but the Hugoleu or Rug group, discovered in 1824 by Duperrey, is composed of five large and about forty smaller islands, and contains nearly 35,000 inhabitants, who are divided into two distinct races—a black and a red—which are often at war with each other. The Mortlock or Young William’s group, which received its former name from its discoverer in 1793, consists of three atolls called respectively Satoan, Etal, and Lukunor. The natives, who number about 3400, are of Samoan origin, and are the only worshippers of regular idols in the archipelago. To the north-east lies Ngatik, Nutik, or Raven Island, discovered in 1773, and inhabited by immigrants from Puynipet, greatly mingled with foreign blood. An account of a visit by the “Star” to the last three or four islands is given in the Geographical Magazine for 1874. Puynipet (Bornabi, Bonabe, Bonibet, Funopet, or Panapee), also called Ascension by the French, along with the two low atolls of Andema and Paphenemo (known to English sailors as Ant’s Islands and Pakeen respectively), constitute the group called by Admiral Lütke the Seniavine. The population at the time of the “Novara’s” visit in 1858 was 2000, reduced by small-pox from 5000 in 1846. There is a small colony of whites, and the island has been the seat of an American mission since 1851. The island is the chief rendezvous for the whalers in that part of the Pacific. There is a remarkable mass of ruins in the centre of the island, which seems to have belonged to a fortification. (See Kubary, “Die Ruinen von Naumatie auf der Insel Ponape,” in the Godeffroy Journal.) Ualan Kusai, or Strong’s Island, which occupies almost the centre of the Carolines proper, is a volcanic island with an area of about 30 square miles and a population from 700 to 1000. It was discovered in 1804 by the American Crozer, and is the seat of an American mission.

The Eastern Carolines are otherwise known as the Mulgrave Archipelago, and comprise the Radak, Ralik, or Marshall group and the Gilbert group. The total population is estimated at 100,000. They were discovered by the two voyagers whose names they bear in 1788.

The Carolines were probably first visited by Alvaro de Saavedra in 1528; in 1579 Drake discovered the Pelews; and in 1686 another group was added to the list by Admiral Francesco Lazeano. To the last-mentioned navigator they owe the name they now bear, which was given in honour of Charles II. of Spain.

See besides the works mentioned above, the voyages of Freycinet, Duperrey, D’Urville, Lütke, and Chamisso; Cheyne’s Islands in the Western Pacific Ocean, 1852; J. Van der Hoeven, Beschrijυing van Schedels van Γnboorlingen der Carolina-Eilanden, 1865; and articles by J. β. Davis and W. T. Pritchard in Anthropological Journal, 1866.