Madura
Madura [1]
(1), an island in the Indian Ocean, the possession of the Netherlands, separated from Java on the north-east by the strait of Madura, contains about ninety-seven square miles, and is inhabited by 763,724 people, who adhere either to the religion of Brahma, or are of the Mohammedan faith- about evenly divided. The remains of Hindu temples, however, would lead us to the belief that Hinduism was once the prevailing religion. As in Java, probably Brahmanism was crowded out by the inroads of the Mohammedans in the 14th century, when the Arabs invaded the country. Madura is governed by natives, tributary to the Netherlands, and is divided into three kingdoms. The products of the islands, which are included in the trade-returns of Java (q.v.), are sugar, tobacco, indigo, cocoa-nut oil, edible birds' nests, etc.; but, owing to the extortions of the princes, agriculture is not flourishing.
