Amboyna

Amboyna, the chief, though not the largest of the Molucca or Spice Islands, in the Eastern Archipelago (lat. 3° 45' S., long. 128° 15' E.). It is 32 miles long by 5 or 6 broad, and has an area of 280 square miles. A narrow isthmus divides the island into two halves, Hittoo and Leitimor, the capital town, Amboyna, being in the latter. The country is hilly, but covered with vegetation. The cultivation of cloves forms the principal industry. In good years the crop reaches a million pounds in weight. Cinnamon, coffee, indigo, and sago are also grown. Discovered by the Portuguese in 1515, Amboyna was taken by the Dutch in 1605. The English took the island in 1706, and again in 1814, but restored it to Holland, to which country it now belongs.