384 AMBOYNA of beautiful shells. The commonest fruits are the cocoanut, mango, banana, nutmeg, and pineapple, the last having been introduced from the West Indies. Excellent indigo is raised, and the cajeput tree furnishes a medi- cinal oil. Indian corn has been introduced, and now forms with sago the staple food of the Malay natives. Cacao is extensively cultivat- ed, and is rapidly supplanting the clove, of which, however, there are still valuable gar- dens on the hillsides. The production of cloves was once a valuable monopoly of the Dutch government. At the time of the Span- ish occupation (1581-1607) it was immeasur- ably greater than it is now. The spice is cul- tivated on this island and the three little isl- ands of Haraku, Saparua, and Nusalaut, lying immediately east of it, and the total yield of the four is about 785,000 Ibs., of which Amboyna supplies about one third. The population of Amboyna consists principally of Malays, most of whom profess Mohammedanism. Savage abo- rigines called Horaforas still exist in the forest, and there are Chinese, Europeans, and half- breeds at the capital. The native villages are governed by rajahs appointed by the Dutch resident. The island was discovered by the Portuguese in 1515, was acquired by Spain in 1581, when Philip II. conquered Portu- gal, captured by the Dutch in 1607, and by the English in 1615, and retaken by the Dutch in 1622, when a horrible massacre of the English settlers took place, for which Cromwell afterward compelled the Nether- lands to make compensation. In 1796 the isl- and was once more taken by the British. They restored it at the peace of Amiens in 1802, seized it a third time in 1810, and it re- verted finally to Holland in 1814. Amboyna, the capital of the island and of the Dutch gov- ernment of the same name, which includes Amboyna, Ceram, Amblauw, and Euro, is sit- uated on the S. E. shore of the bay of Binnen, in lat. 3 40' S., Ion. 128 15' E., 8 or 9 m. from the sea ; pop. 14,060, of whom 9,000 are natives, 400 Arabs, 800 Chinese, and 700 nom- inally Europeans, though nine tenths of them are half-caste Dutch. The city has a pleasant aspect from the sea, occupying a level area, with broad, straight, and well shaded streets. It has a hospital, a public garden, and two Christian churches. The government is ad- ministered by a Dutch assistant resident, subor- dinate to whom are a rajah for the Malay pop- ulation and a " captain China " for the Chinese. There is a fort called Nieuw Victoria. Good anchorage is found in the harbor, and the port is annually visited by about 200 vessels and praus of all kinds. There is a monthly mail steamer to Batavia. The imports, valued at $200,000 to $300,000 annually, consist chiefly of cotton goods and rice, and the exports of cloves, cocoa, cajeput oil, nutmegs, mace, and various kinds of wood. The port has been free since 1854, but the trade is much less prosperous than it was during the last English occupation. AMBROSE AMBRACIA (now Arta), a town of ancient Greece, on the left bank of the Arachthus, N. of the Ambracian gulf (now gulf of Arta), which separated Epirns from Acarnania, though originally the town was included in the latter division. It was colonized by the Corinthians about 660 B. C., and early ac- quired importance. About the time of Alex- ander the Great it became subject to the kings of Epirus, of whom Pyrrhus made it his capi- tal, and adorned it with public buildings. Having joined the yEtolian league, it was taken by the Roman conquerors in 189 and stripped of its works of art. At a later period its in- habitants were transported to the new city of Nicopolis, at the western extremity of the gulf, opposite Actium, founded by Augustus Crosar to commemorate his victory over Mark Antony off the last named place. (See AETA.) AMBRIZ, one of the divisions of the Portu- guese colony of Angola in W. Africa; area, 89,300 sq. m. ; pop. reported at about 2,100,- 000, but much less according to the official statements of the Portuguese government. The town of Ambriz, or Oporto do Ambriz, is at the mouth of the Loge or Ambriz river, in lat. 7 52' S. It was formerly the port of the small negro kingdom of Ambriz, the capital of which is Quibanza. The Portuguese annexed the town in 1855 ; in 1865 it contained 16 fac- tories or trading stations, two of which -were American. AMBRONES, a nation of Gaul, who lived near the Alps between Switzerland and Provence. They joined the Cimbri and Teutones in their invasion of the Roman territories, and were routed, together with the latter, and almost annihilated, by Marius, in the battle of Aquae Sextiro (Aix), in 102 B. C. Their women, after a futile attack upon the Roman soldiers who Avere following in pursuit of the flying foe, offered to yield on the condition that their chastity should be respected. This proposition being rejected, they first slew all their chil- dren and then themselves. AMBROSE, Saint, one of the fathers of the Latin church, born at Treves, in Gaul, in 840, died at Milan in 397. His father was the Ro- man governor of Gaul, but his mother was a Christian. He was trained to the law; and in- trusted at an early age with the government of a province. His probity and wisdom in this public administration seemed to justify his re- moval to the place of bishop, although at the time of his election he had not even been bap- tized. The various objections and stratagems by which he tried to escape the honor thus pressed npon him were all disregarded ; and at the age of 34 he was consecrated bishop of Milan, and continued to hold this office until his death, a period of more than 22 years. His predecessor, Auxentius, was an Arian. The sympathies of Ambrose, however, were with the supporters of the Nicene creed. He would not tolerate the Arian worship, and though he protected an Arian priest from the
