was recovered by General
Whitlock on the 20th of April 1858. The fiscal system was remodelled, and
the district has since enjoyed a greater degree of prosperity only
interrupted by famine.

BANDA ISLANDS, a group of the Dutch East Indies, consisting of three chief
and several lesser islands in the Banda Sea, south of Ceram, belonging to
the residency of Amboyna. The main islands are Great Banda or Lontor; Banda
Neira to its north; Gunong Api, west of Banda Neira; Wai or Ai still
farther west, with Run on its south-west; Pisang, north of Gunong Api; and
Suwangi, north-west again. The total land area is about 16 sq. m. A
volcanic formation is apparent in Lontor, a sickle-shaped island which,
with Neira and Gunong Api, forms part of the circle of a crater. The
arrangement is comparable with Santorin in the Aegean Sea. Gunong Api (Fire
Mountain), 2200 ft. high, is an active volcano, and its eruptions and
earthquakes have frequently brought destruction, as notably in 1852, when
the damage was chiefly due to a huge wave of the sea. Banda, the chief
town, on Neira, is a pleasant settlement, commanded by two Dutch forts of
the early 17th century, Nassau and Belgica. The largest island, Lontor, was
found too unhealthy to be the site of the principal settlement; but the
climate of the islands generally, though hot, is not unhealthy. In the
space between Lontor, Neira and Gunong Api there is a good harbour, with
entrances on either side, which enable vessels to enter on either of the
monsoons. Between Gunong Api and Neira there is a third channel, but it is
navigable for small vessels only. The principal articles of commerce in the
Banda group are nutmegs and mace. The nutmeg is indigenous. The native
population having been cleared off by the Dutch, the plantations were
worked by slaves and convicts till the emancipation of 1860. The
introduction of Malay and Chinese labourers subsequently took place. The
plantations (_perken_) were originally held by the conquerors of the
natives, the government monopolizing the produce at a fixed rate; but in
1873 the government monopoly was abolished. The production amounts annually
to nearly 1,500,000 lb of nutmegs, and 350,000 lb of mace. The nutmegs are
grown, in accordance with natural conditions, under the shade of other
trees, usually the _canari_. Jalti or jatti wood is cultivated on the small
island of Rosingen. The total population of the islands is about 9500, of
which some 7000 are d