fort, called Hollandia, commands the harbour. Banda Neira lies S.. of Lantoir. It is the seat of the Dutch resident, whose jurisdiction extends not only over the Banda Islands, but also over a part of Ceram and several other small groups. Fort Nassau, which was built in 1G09, is the chief defence of the islands ; and to the right and left of it extends the village of Neira. Gunong Api is to the north of Neira, and derives its name Fire Mountain from its large cone-shaped volcano, which rises 2320 feet above the level of the sea, and is constantly emitting smoke. The peak was ascended by Professor Reinwardt in 1821, by M. S. Miiller in 1828, and in 18G5 by Mr Bickmore, who has given an interesting account of the adventure. Eruptions took place in 1586, 1598, 1G09, 1615, 1632, 1690, 1696, 1712, 1765, 1775, 1778, 1820, 1824; and earthquakes without eruptions occurred in 1629, 1683, 1710, 1767, 1816, and 1852. On the last occasion the sea swept up in an enormous wave over Fort Nassau. Pulo Way The Water Island lies north of Neira. It is about 400 or 500 feet high, consists of coral rock, and is esteemed the healthiest of the group. Pulo Rond or Roon the Chamber Island is about four miles further N., and was at one time the seat of an English " factory." Rosyngain, about seven miles S.E. of Lantoir, is likely to become of some importance for its gold-mines. It was formerly a convict station for Amboyna. Pulo Pisang Banana Island two miles N.E. of Neira, produces fine fruits. The other islands Craka, Capella, Sonangy, &c., are uninhabited. In the space between Banda Lantoir and . the islands of Banda Neira and Gunong Api there is a very good harbour, formed with entrances both from the E. and W., which enable vessels to enter it from either of the monsoons. These channels are well defended with several batteries, particularly the western one, which is very narrow. Between Gunong Api and Banda Neira there is a third channel into this harbour from the N., but it is navigable for small vessels only. The principal articles of commerce in the Banda group are nutmegs and mace. The native population having been cleared off by the Dutch, the plantations were worked by slaves and convicts till the emancipation of 1860. The introduction of Malay and Chinese labourers has since taken place. The plantations or perlcen can neither be sold nor divided. About 700,000 Ib or upwards of nutmegs are obtained in a year, with a proportionate quantity of mace. The imports are pro visions, cloth, and iron-ware from Batavia, and various native productions from the Aru Islands, Ceram, &c.|1}} {{ti|1em|The Banda Islands were discovered and annexed by the Portuguese Abreus about 1511; but in the beginning of the 17th century his countrymen were expelled by the Dutch. In 1608 the English built a factory on Pulo Way, which was demolished by the Dutch as soon as the English vessel left. Shortly after, however, Banda Neira and Lantoir were resigned by the natives to the English, and in 1620 Pulo Roon and Pulo Way were added to their dominions ; but, in spite of treaties into which they had entered, the Dutch attacked and expelled their British rivals. In 1654 they were compelled by Cromwell to restore Pulo Roon, and to make satisfaction for the mas sacre of Amboyna; but the English settlers not being adequately supported from home, the island was retaken by the Dutch in 1664. They retained undisturbed posses sion of their conquests in this quarter of the globe until the year 1796, when the Banda Islands, along with all the other Dutch colonies, were conquered by the British. They were restored by the treaty of Amiens in the year 1300, again captured, and finally restored by the treaty of Paris concluded in 1814. In the Presidency of Banda there are 111,194 inhabitants of whom 6000 belong to
Neira.
See Wallace s Malay Archipelago; Biclcmore s Indian Archi pelago ; Liudeu s Banda en Zijnc Icwoners, 1873 ; Trans, of Ducih Geog. Soc., 1874.
BANDELLO, Matteo, an Italian novelist, was born at C astelnuovo, near Tortona, about the year 1480. He received a very careful education, and entered the church, though he does not seem to have prosecuted his theological course with great zeal. For many years he resided at Mantua, and superintended the education of the celebrated Lucrezia Gonzaga, in whose honour he composed a long poem. The decisive battle of Pavia, which gave Lombardy into the hands of the emperor, compelled Bandello to fly; his house at Milan was burnt and his property confiscated. He took refuge with. Cesar Fregoso, an Italian general in the French service, whom he accom panied into France. In 1550 he was raised to the bishopric of Agen, a town in which he resided for many years before his death in 1562. Bandello wrote a number of poems, but his fame rests entirely upon his extensive collection of Novelle, or tales, which have been extremely popular. They belong to that species of literature of which Boccaccio s Decameron and the queen of Navarre s Heptameron are, perhaps, the best known examples. The common origin of them all is to be found in the old Fabliaux of the French Trouveurs, though some well known tales are evidently Eastern, and others classical. Bandello s novels are esteemed the best of those written in imitation of the Decameron, though Italian critics find fault with them for negligence and inelegance of style. They have little value in a purely literary point of view, and many of them are disfigured by the grossest obscenity. Historically, however, they are of no little interest, not only from the insight into the social life of the period which they afford, but from the important influence they exercised on the Elizabethan drama. The stories, on which Shake speare based several of his plays, were supplied by Bandello, probably through Belleforest or Paynter (see Simrock, Qnellen des Shakespeare}. The same is true of Massinger, Beaumont and Fletcher, and others. The most convenient edition of Bandello is that in 9 vols., 1813.
BANDINELLI, Bartolommeo or Baccio, a Florentine sculptor, was born in 1487, and died 1559. His father was an eminent goldsmith, distinguished for his exquisite designs in chasing gold and silver ornaments ; and in this domestic school Bandinelli obtained the first elements of drawing. Showing a strong inclination for the fine arts, he was early placed under Rustici, a sculptor, and a friend of Leonardo da Vinci, with whom he made rapid pro gress. The ruling motive in his life seems to have been, jealousy of Michel Angelo, one of whose cartoons he is said to have torn up and destroyed. Vasari, who gives a very full history of his life, manifests the greatest dislike for his moral character, but at the same time gives him the highest praise as an artist. He is regarded by some as inferior in sculpture only to his great rival, Michel Angelo ; at all events, his productions entitle him to a very high place among Italian sculptors. His best works are the marble colossal group of Hercules and Cacus in the Piazza del Gran Duco ; his group of Adam and Eve ; his exquisite lassi-rilievi in the choir of the cathedral of Florence ; his copy of the Laocoon ; and the figures of Christ and Nicodemus on his own tomb. (See Vasari, Lives, iii. 232-296.)
at Florence on the 25th Sept. 1726. Having been left an orphan in his infancy, he was supported by his uncle, Joseph Bandini, a lawyer of some note. He received his education among the Jesuits, and showed a special inclina tion for the study of antiquities. His first work was a
dissertation, De Veterum Saltationibus, published in 1749.