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| 75 Encyclopædia Britannica articles, from the full 32 volume encyclopedia |
| > | Malay Archipelago
largest group of islands in the world, consisting of the more than 13,000 islands of Indonesia and the some 7,000 islands of the Philippines. The regional name “East Indies” is sometimes used as a synonym for the archipelago. New Guinea is usually arbitrarily included in the Malay Archipelago while the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in the northwest and the Bismarck ...
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| > | Malay Peninsula
in Southeast Asia, a long, narrow appendix of the mainland extending south for a distance of about 700 miles (1,127 km) through the Isthmus of Kra to Cape Balai, southernmost point of the Asian continent; its maximum width is 200 miles (322 km). It lies between the Andaman Sea of the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Malacca (west), the Singapore Strait (south), and the Gulf ...
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| > | Malay language
member of the Western, or Indonesian, branch of the Austronesian (Malayo-Polynesian) language family, spoken as a native language by more than 33,000,000 persons distributed over the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Borneo, and the numerous smaller islands of the area, and widely used in Malaysia and Indonesia as a second language. Malay shows the closest relationship to most ...
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| > | sarong
principal silk, cotton, or synthetic-fabric garment worn in the Malay Archipelago and the Pacific islands. Brightly coloured fabric 4 or 5 yards (up to 4 m) long is wrapped around the lower part of the body and tucked in or tied at the waist, forming a draped dress or skirt varying in length from knees to ankles. The most prized sarongs, heavily interwoven with gold ...
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| > | Sabang
kotamadya (city) and free port, Aceh daerah istimewa (special district), Indonesia, on the northeastern coast of We Island, off the northern tip of Sumatra. It lies at the northern entrance to the Strait of Malacca and is the first port of call in the Malay Archipelago for vessels coming from the west. The harbour, built in 1887, is sheltered from the strong winds and ...
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| 16 Student Encyclopedia Britannica articles, specially written for elementary and high school students |
| Citrus fruits.
from the berry article
Oranges, lemons, limes, and grapefruits grow on trees believed to be native to tropical Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago. They have been cultivated since ancient times. Citrus fruits are commercially grown in most of the warmer climates in all parts of the world. The leading producers are the United States (particularly Florida and California), Spain, Israel, ...
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| Wallace, Alfred Russel
(1823–1913), English naturalist; spent 4 years exploring the Amazon and its tributaries, later publishing ‘Travels on the Amazon and Rio Negro'; in 1854 went to Malay Archipelago for 8 years; while there evolved theory of natural selection in evolution, which Charles Darwin had discovered independently; wrote many scientific and philosophic works .
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| Sarong
brightly colored silk, cotton, or synthetic fabric garment worn by both men and women in Malay Archipelago and Pacific Islands; about 4 to 5 yd (3.6 to 4.6 m) long; wrapped around lower part of body and tucked in or tied at waist, forming skirt of various lengths from knees to ankles; most valuable ones are interwoven with gold thread and come from Batu Bara and Sumatra.
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| New Guinea
The second largest island in the world (after Greenland), New Guinea is situated just below the Equator in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Part of the eastern Malay Archipelago, or East Indies, it is located approximately 90 miles (150 kilometers) north of Australia. The island covers an area of about 309,000 square miles (800,000 square kilometers) and is about 1,500 ...
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| Historical Background
from the biogeography article
The earliest explorers were aware of broad global patterns of animal and plant distribution as they discovered new lands and found unknown varieties of plants and animals. Charles Darwin recognized and reported on the significance of geographic distribution patterns. In his classic book On the Origin of the Species (1859), Darwin devoted two chapters to plant and animal ...
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