The Profile of Admiralty Islands

Admiralty Islands or Admiralties, group of islands in the west Pacific Ocean, north of New Guinea, part of Papua New Guinea. The Admiralty Islands, which form part of the Bismarck Archipelago (q.v.), consist of about 18 islands. Manus Island (area, 1554 sq km/600 sq mi) and Rambutyo Island (area, about 207 sq km/about 80 sq mi) are the only large islands of the group. Coconut growing and pearl fishing are the leading industries. Lorengau, at the east extremity of Manus Island, is the chief town. The Admiralties were annexed by Germany in 1886. In 1920, following the defeat of Germany in World War I, the group was mandated to Australia. Japan occupied the islands in 1942, during World War II. Early in 1944, the Allies invaded the group. Japanese resistance ended on March 18, 1944. Administered by Australia after World War II, the islands became part of the newly independent nation of Papua New Guinea in 1975. Total area of Admiralty Islands is about 2072 sq km (800 sq mi). The population of Admiralties Islands were estimated about 60K in 2000.

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The Profile of Adriatic Sea

Adriatic Sea is arm of the Mediterranean Sea. Adriatic Sea is situated between the east coast of Italy and the west coast of Otranto, which the south extremity is the Strait of Otranto, which connects it with the Ionian Sea. The Gulf of Venice, in the north, and the Gulf of Trieste, in the northeast, are the principal Adriatic embayment. The west coast is comparatively low and has few inlets, and the north is marshy and edged with lagoons. On the east, the Albanian coast is steep and rocky, and the coast of Yugoslavia (formerly) is fringed with islands. The area of the sea is about 155,000 sq km (about 60,000 sq mi). The rocky east coasts are dangerous for mariners in the winter because of the prevailing northeast gales (bora). Trieste, Venice, Ancona, Bari, and Brindisi, Italy, are the chief ports. The fisheries of the Adriatic Sea are highly productive.

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The Story of Aleutian Islands

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The Story of Aleutian Islands

Aleutian Islands, chain of about 150 small islands, South West Alaska, separating the North Pacific Ocean from the Bering Sea. The archipelago extends about 1930 km (about 1200 mi) west from the Alaska Peninsula toward Kamchatka Peninsula in the Russia. The four main subgroups of the Aleutian Islands from east to west are the Fox Islands, Andreanof Islands, Rat Islands, and Near Islands.

Geologically, the archipelago is a continuation of the Aleutian Range, which is on the Alaskan mainland, and contains a number of volcanic peaks. Shishaldin (2857 m/9372 ft), on Unimak Island, is the highest volcano. Few trees, all of stunted growth, are found, but grasses grow abundance. Although a few good harbors are found in the archipelago, navigation is dangerous because of perpetual fog and numerous reefs. The aborigines, known as Aleuts, belong to the Inuit-Aleut linguistic group but are generally classified ethnologically as North American Indians. Fishing, hunting, and sheep raising are the principal pursuits of the inhabitants. The chief trade center is Unalaska, on the island of Unalaska. The Aleutians were discovered in 1741 by the Russian navigator Alexey Ilich Chirikov (1703-48) and Vitus Bering, a Danish navigator in the service of Russia. During World War II, in June 1942, Japanese forces occupied Attu and Kiska islands in the Aleutians, but were forced to surrender them to U.S. forces the following year.

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The Profile of Adriatic Sea

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Indonesia’s Industries and Products

Indonesia in agriculture. Besides growing crops for local use, many Indonesians work on plantations where they raise mainly export products. Most of these plantations are on Java and Sumatra. Although production was higher before World War II, Indonesia is still an important producer and exporter of rubber, copra, pepper, palm oil, kapok, and quinine. Because of the population increase, rice is now grown on several plantations and is imported from abroad to prevent famine.

Indonesia in forestry. There are many products from the tropical forest. Besides woods such as teak, sandal, and ebony, forests yield many resins, fibers, and fruits. The bark of the coastal mangrove is used for leather tanning, and that of the cinchona tree for making of quinine. Bamboo is a plant having many uses, and rattan is made into wicker products, such as furniture.

Indonesia in fishing. The nearness of sea and stream make it possible for the people to catch many fish. Also, the wet rice fields and flooded coastal areas are used as fish ponds. Fish are important as a daily food diet because religion often prohibits the eating of certain kind of meat.

Indonesia in mining. Many of the islands have valuable mineral deposits. Petroleum is found on Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua (West Irian). Tin is mined on Bangka and Billiton. Diamonds, gold, and silver are found on Borneo and Sumatra. Coal, although not of a high grade, is also found on Sumatra.

Indonesia in manufacturing. Just before World War II the country began to develop shipbuilding, cement-making, and textile and paper production in many of the islands. People also engage in food processing, tire manufacturing, sugar-refining, the manufacture of chemicals, and glass-making. Local craftsmanship is of high quality, especially in the field of textile design, wood carving, and silversmith.

Indonesia in trade. Indonesian’s principal exports are agriculture and forest products, petroleum, copra, and tin ore. Imports consist of food stuffs, machinery, textiles, iron and steel and manufactured products.

Indonesia transportation and communication. Although Indonesia is an island country, water transportation is not well developed. Distances and lack of shipping prevent serious problems. Java has the best roads and railroads. On the other islands, mountains and jungles interfere with land transportation, so most Indonesians walk or use buffalo carts. In the cities many people use bicycles or three-wheeled Pedicabs called “becaks”. Jakarta is served by many foreign airlines, while the Garuda Indonesian Airways supplies inter-island service and flies to cities in the Philippines and on the Asia mainland. Telephone, telegraph, and postal services are owned by the government.

Indonesia major cities. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, lies near the northwestern coast of Java. Jakarta has a population over 11,000,000. Jakarta was founded in 1619, looks much like Amsterdam, with Dutch architecture, and many bridges crossing its canals. Other Javanese cities are Bandung, Surabaya, and Yogyakarta, the center of Javanese culture. Banjarmasin is the largest city on Indonesian Borneo. Balikpapan, also on Borneo, is a petroleum center. Belawan and Padang are two important ports in Sumatra, while Palembang on the Musi River is a petroleum center. Maccasar is the largest city in Celebes, and Manado is a leading port. The largest town on Indonesian Timor is Kupang, a steppingstone in air travel between Indonesia and Australia. Ambon on the island of the same name is the leading city of the Moluccas.

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The Land of Indonesia [3]

Celebes consists of four peninsulas that branch out from a mountainous area in the center of the island and are separated by three gulfs: Bone, Tomini, and Tolo. Celebes covers an area of about 69,000 square miles and has a population of over 20,000,000 people, most of whom live on the southwestern peninsula. The island is bordered on the northeast by the Philippines, on the west by the Macassar Strait, and on the east by the Molucca Sea. Rice, maize, copra (dried coconut meat), and rattan (palm) are leading products. The Minahessa people of northern Celebes have Dutch names and practice the Lutheran religion. They are hardworking people, who take time off for fun only on Saturdays and on Sundays after church.

The Moluccas. The Mollucas, also known as the Spice Islands, lie between Celebes and The New Guinea. They consist of hundreds of islands, with a total area of more than 33,000 square miles. Long before European traders arrived here, spice such as cloves, nutmeg, and mace had found their way from these islands to Indian and Chinese markets. The leading islands-Ternate, Tidore, Ambon, Halmahera, Ceram, Buru - later became a stronghold of Christianity. The major crop of the Moluccas is copra, while sago is a leading staple.

The Lesser Sunda Islands. To the east of Java stretches a chain of mountainous islands known as the Lesser Sunda Islands. Their total area is about 28,000 square miles. Bali, with an area of about 2,000 square miles, is the best-known of the Lesser Sunda Islands. It is famous for its scenic beauty, temples, sculpture, and crafts. The temples date from the Hindu period, and Hindu customs and the Hindu religion are still widespread on the island. On the island of Bali girls at the age of 5 are taught to dance the intricate steps which tell old Hindu stories. By the age of 7 they start to take part in the village rituals.

Papua, with an area of about 160,000 square miles, is the Indonesian part of the second largest island in the world. About 2,000,000 rather primitive people (nowadays, their living have had turn into more modernize), known as Papuans, live here. The lowlands are fever-ridden. In the interior, the peaks of the Jayawijaya (or Snow) Mountains rise to great heights, with Mount Jaya (formerly Castensz) rising to 16,400 feet. Not all of Papua has been explored, but in the western part, known as the Bird’s Head, a large supply of petroleum has been found.

Climate and Soil. In general the climate of Indonesia is tropical, with high temperatures, much rainfall, and as year-round growing season. Indonesia’s location on and near the equator, and the monsoons, which are seasonal winds, determine its climate. From June to October is the season of the dry monsoon, while from November to March there is the wet monsoon. Because of the mountains, these seasons are often reversed on many islands. Year-round temperatures average about 80 degrees Fahrenheit in the lowlands. Only in the mountains can relief be found from the monotony and humidity. The western part of Indonesia receives more rain (over 200 inches in parts of Sumatera) than the eastern (less than 25 inches in parts of Celebes). Jakarta on Java receives about 70 inches per year.

Soil is general are not fertile, since high annual rainfall leaches out the soil’s mineral content. Only in areas with volcanic soil, such as Java, and in the river valleys do soils produce a variety of crops in great amounts (Finish).

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The Land of Indonesia [2]

The Greater Sunda Islands. With a population of more than 120,000,000 people, Java is the most highly populated and the most developed islands in Indonesia. The islands lies south of the equator. Java has an area of about 49,000 square miles. It stretches 650 miles from east to west, with a width that varies from 40 to 130 miles. A low coastal plain is found in the north, while inland there are volcanoes, mountains ranges, and plateaus. Some isolated plains are found in the south. Java’s volcanic soil is fertile, and this has made it possible to grow many commercial crops, aside from such staples as rice and maize. The longest rivers in Java are the Solo and the Brantas. Other rivers are short, containing many rapids. In the Sunda Strait, which separates Java from Sumatera, is Krakatau, note for its terrible volcanic eruption of 1883.

Borneo is the third largest island in the world. It has an area of about 287,000 square miles, of which the greater part belongs to Indonesia. The northern coastal areas consist of Sabah and Serawak, which are part of Malaysia. Indonesian Borneo has only some 10,000,000 people, who live mainly in the coastal regions. The population includes many Indonesian (Chinese ancestry), who combine Chinese and Indonesian traditions in their way of life. The interior of the island is rugged, with mountains, swamps, and dense rain forest and jungle. The people who live here, known as Dayaks, are members of primitive tribes who were one headhunters (nowadays, all of them have turn their life in more modern ways). Large quantities of rubber come from Borneo. Petroleum, diamonds, gold, and silver are also found here.

Sumatera, with about 60,000,000 people, covers an area of more than 163,000 square miles. Along the eastern coast are high swamps. The Bukit Barisan, mountains with many active volcanoes, stretches along the southwestern coast. Most of the rivers, including Musi, Hari, Indragiri, and Kampar, begin in these mountains and flow eastward and northeastward. There are large rubber estates on Sumatera where the men work at taping rubber trees. Palm oil, tobacco used for cigar wrappers, tea, and pepper are other leading agricultural products. The Indonesian government has encouraged many people to move from the crowded island of Java to Sumatera by giving away free land for small farms. Petroleum is found in central and eastern Sumatera, and there are large oil refineries on the island. Tin is mined on the nearby is lands of Bangka and Belitung (Billiton) [to be continued in the next post].

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The Land of Indonesia [1]

Indonesia has a total land area of some 735,000 square miles. The greatest distance from the northern tip of Sumatera to the eastern end of West Irian (West New Guinea) is about 3.500 miles. Today, the name of West Irian had changed. The new name of West Irian is Papua.

The country is usually divided into several island groups. The four major islands (with Indonesian names is parentheses) are Java (Jawa), Sumatera, Borneo (Kalimantan), and Celebes (Sulawesi). As a group, these islands are known as the Greater Sunda Islands (Sunda Besar). To the east of Java lie the Lesser Sunda Islands (Nusa Tenggara), which consist of Bali (The Islands of Gods), Lombok, Sumba, Sumbawa (The Islands of Wild Horses), Flores, and some others. Timor Timur had declared their own independent and had separated from NKRI (Negara Kesatuan Republik Indonesia-Indonesia Republic of Unified Nation) after struggling for about two decades, Timor Timur decided to claim their own freedom.

Between Celebes and New Guinea are located the Moluccas (Maluku), which include Buru, Ceram (Seram), Ambon, Halmahera, the Aru Islands, Morotai, and many other small islands. The easternmost part of Indonesia is Papua, which is 1963 was transferred to The Republic of Indonesia by the Netherlands.

The vegetation-tropical hardwoods, evergreens, dense jungle, and abundant flowers-is pretty much the same throughout the region. The animal life of the western part, however, with elephants, tigers, and rhinoceroses, resembles that of Asia, while marsupials (kangaroos and opossums) like those found in Australia are more common in the eastern part (to be continued in next post).

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Indonesian’s Way of Life

Just about two or three decades ago, in the cities clothing in western style is worn by Indonesian men. Native influence is seen only in their black velvet caps they wear on their heads. Indonesian women wear batik-patterned warp-around skirts, long-sleeved jackets, and scarves called selendang over their shoulders.

Nowadays, most of Indonesian men or women that live in the cities more prefer wearing t-shirt and jeans, just make something no differ with western people. Of course, what that just have mentioned, just be valid when applied for informal conditions. In formal conditions, nor Indonesian men or women, prefer wearing international well known formal coat.

The style of Indonesian houses varies from island to island and from rural regions to cities. In Java, for instance, most houses are one-story square-shaped structures with bamboo walls, while on Borneo the Dayak people build their homes on stilts.

A great majority of Indonesians are farmers who till small plots of land. In large parts of the country rice is the main crop, but on the drier eastern islands maize (corn) or, in some cases, sago (a starch) is the staple crop. In addition to these crops, vegetables, fish eggs, chickens, and spices make up the daily diet.

Farm families are generally larger than city families. The entire family must work for their daily bread. Young girls help their mothers sew and thresh rice in the afternoons, after they have finished school and religious training. A boy of 8 will help his father weed and plow in the rice paddies. On Muslim religious holidays there are grand festivities, in which all the families of a community take part.

Just about two or three decades ago, in the cities some people work in small local industries, where food is processed, leather tanned, and the famous batik cloth with color designs in woven and dyed. Many men are employed by the government. Their families get up very early every morning so that the men can get to the government offices by 7 a.m. The mother then goes to market, and the children go to school. At 2 p.m., when the workday is over, the entire family eats a big meal and then sleeps for a few hours. In the evening, after eating a smaller, informal meal, people usually get together with friends. Nowadays, people work in such very varieties kind of work in many sectors of industries.

As a result of foreign contact, art in Indonesia has flourished. Hindu and Buddhist influences are seen in many temples, such as those on the island of Bali and the Borobudur in central Java. Drama is often in the form of puppet plays called wayang, in which puppets are used to enact stories from such ancient Hindu epic literature as the Mahabharata and Ramayana. The wayang, accompanied b music played on native instruments by a gamelan (orchestra), are very popular. Local dances base on legends also attract many spectators.

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Indonesia Is My Beloved Country

Indonesia, formerly the Netherlands East Indies, is a republic in Southeast Asia. The country is made up of many thousands of islands, stretching along the equator between Australia and the Asia mainland. The word of Indonesia, means islands of the Indies. Since 1950, after it won its independence from the Netherlands, the country has been known as the Republic of Indonesia.

Presently, Indonesia has a population of about 220 millions. It consists of Malay people who came to the islands from the mainland of Asia about 4000 years ago. The more primitive people whom the Malays found upon arrival moved eastward into New Guinea and the islands of the western Pacific.

The majority of Indonesians have light brown skin and straight hair. They are rather short and slim. Of the foreign population, the Chinese, who numbers about 10 millions, make up the largest group. There are also small groups of Arabs, Indians, and Eurasians.

More than 60 percent of the Indonesians live on the island of Java. In some of Java’s fertile valleys population density is as high as 3000 persons per square mile.

Bahasa Indonesia was chosen as the national language of Indonesia. It is closely related to Malay and is spoken in all the islands. Many other languages and dialects are spoken by the Indonesian people. Some of those spoken in Borneo are still little-known.

In the early years after its independent, a large portion of the population cannot read and write. This number, however, is steadily decreasing. Now, most of its peoples can read and write well. Primary and Secondary education are compulsory. Higher education is optional. Both secular and religious (Islamic) schools are supervised by the government. Besides state institutional schools, there are many of private schools that form their base from the private education or non-education foundations. Most of the private schools are forming their base in point of view in Christian and Catholic. There are only few schools base in Buddhism or even Hinduism.

There are several best-known state institutions of higher learning are: the Bandung Institute of Technology (in Bandung), the University of Indonesia (in Jakarta, the capital of the country), the University of Gadjah Mada (in Yogyakarta), the Surabaya Institute of Technology (in Surabaya), the University Padjadjaran (in Bandung), the Bogor Institute of Agriculture (in Bogor), the University of Airlangga (in Surabaya), the University of Diponegoro (in Semarang), and so on. The number of universities is increasing so quickly that the government has established a Directorate General of Higher Education.

The major religion of Indonesia is Islam, and at least 90 percent of the people are Muslims. About 5 percent of the people are Christians and Catholics. The rest, are Buddhists, Hindus, Khonghucus, Tao followers, and others religious sectarians. They live mainly in Sumatera, Java, Celebes, and the Moluccas. On the island of Bali, most of the inhabitants are Hindus. Also, many people in Indonesia still believe in spirits. The “adapt”, or local custom, also plays an important part in the life of the people.

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