1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Manihiki

MANIHIKI (Manahiki, Monahiki), a scattered archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, between 4° and 11° S., and 150° and 162° W., seldom visited, and producing only a little copra and guano. It may be taken to include the Caroline or Thornton Islands, Vostok and Flint to the east; Suvarov, Manihiki or Humphrey, and Tongareva or Penrhyn to the west, and Starbuck and Malden to the north, the whole thus roughly forming the three corners of a triangle. There are pearl and pearl-shell fisheries at Tongareva and Suvarov. The natives (about 1000) are Polynesians and nominally Christian. There are ancient stone buildings of former inhabitants on Malden Island. The islands were mostly discovered early in the 19th century, and were annexed by Great Britain mainly in 1888–1889.