Ladrones

la-dronz', a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean about fifteen degrees north of the equator. The group was discovered by Magellan in his voyage of circumnavigation in 1521. He called them the Islands of the Lateen Sails. His crew named them the Ladrones, or Islands of Thieves, on account of the thieving habits of the natives. In 1898 Guam, the largest of these islands, was ceded to the United States. In 1899 Germany bought the remainder from Spain for about $4,000,000. The official name is Marianne Islands, in honor of a Spanish queen. The islands are of volcanic and coral origin. The total area is about 417 square miles. The vegetation is luxuriant, much resembling that of the Philippines. The breadfruit tree, and a cocoanut palm, rice, maize, sugar, tobacco, cotton, and bananas are found. It is said that breadfruit was first seen by white men in the Ladrones. There are only eighty-three white people in the islands. The inhabitants are chiefly Spanish-speaking Tagals from the Philippines.