Admiralty Islands, a group in the S. Pacific, N. E. of New Guinea, between lat. 2° and 3° S., and lon. 146° and 148° E. They consist of one large island, Admiralty or Basko, in the centre of the group, between 50 and CO m. long, one (Matthew) of about 117 sq. m., 150 m. N. E., and 20 or 30 much smaller ones. They are generally low and fertile, though Basko has high mountains, and abound in cocoanut trees. The inhabitants are nearly black, well formed, and of good features, and go almost naked. The islands were discovered in 1616 by a Dutch navigator, Cornelius Schooten (hence sometimes called Schooten's islands), rediscovered in 17G7 by Carteret, who gave them the present name, and have been very seldom visited since, access being difficult on account of the coral reefs which surround them.