Citations:Pratas


 * Captain King began now to entertain apprehenſions, leſt, in the proſecution of our ſearch for thoſe iſlands, we ſhould get ſo far to the ſouth as to be under the neceſſity of paſſing to leeward of the Pratas ; in which caſe, it might have proved extremely difficult for ſuch bad ſailing veſſels as our to fetch Macao, eſpecially if the wind ſhould continue to blow (as it now did) from the north-north-eaſt and north. . . . On the approach of day-light, we had ſight of the iſland of Prata ; and, between the hours of ſix and ſeven, we ſtood towards the ſhoal, but finding ourſelves unable to weather it, we bore away, and ran to leeward. . . . The iſland of Prata was now three or four leagues diſtant, bearing north three quarters eaſt. Near the southern extremity of the iſland, and on the ſouth-weſtern ſide of the reef, we imagined that we ſaw, from the maſt-head, ſeveral openings in the reef, which ſeemed to promiſe ſecure anchorage. The extent of the Prata ſhoal is conſiderable ; for it is about ſix leagues from north to ſouth, and extends three or four leagues to the eaſt of the iſland : its limits to the weſtward we had not an opportunity of aſcertaining.
 * Pratas Island was found to bear from Pedro Branco S. 42¾°E. distant 130½ miles, and from the North end of the Great Lema S. 59°E. distant 157 miles.
 * In the 'Zoologist' for 1860 (Zool. 7236) I contributed a list of animals observed on Pratas Island, situated at one side of the Pratas Reef, a coral formation in the China Sea. Since then I have come across a short account of my visit to the Pratas Shoal, which possibly may interest some of your readers, as conveying some notion of what these isolated coral islands are like.
 * CHINA SEA.—Proceeding from north to south, we first meet the Pratas Shoal (lat. 20° N.), which, according to Horsburgh (vol. ii. p. 335), is composed of coral, is of a circular form, and has a low islet on it. The reef is on a level with the water's edge, and when the sea runs high, there are breakers nearly all round; 'the water within seems pretty deep in some places; although steep in the most parts outside, there appear to be several parts where a ship might find anchorage outside the breaks;' coloured blue.
 * It is emphatically with Japan that the most serious trouble has taken place. Early in the year it was discovered by the Chinese authorities that the Pratas Islands had been occupied by Japanese and that their supplies of nitrates were being carried off to Japan without so much as a "By your leave.". . .The question of the jurisdiction over Chientao has been before the two Governments for the last two and a half years and it was causing a good deal of friction between them, so Japan gave way in the matter of Pratas Island, more or less, and this was after all a most insignificant affair, with the hope of getting her own way about Chientao.
 * On July 12, 1862, the Phantom, under the command of Captain Henry Jackson Sargent, Jr., was wrecked on Pratas shoal in thick, heavy weather.
 * DESCRIPTION OF THE GUANO ISLANDS PRATAS ISLAND OR TUNG-SHA-TAO LATITUDE 20° 42' N., LONGITUDE 116° 43' E. Situated on the western side of Pratas Reef, a large circular reef with a circumference of about 64 kilometers, a width of up to 3 kilometers, and a large interior lagoon. According to the "Sailing directions for the western shores of the China Sea" (United States Hydrographic Office, 1937a) the island is horseshoe shaped, about 1.6 kilometers long, is sandy and bears trees.
 * They asked 72-year-old An Fu-lee, an experienced sailor, to set sail for Pratas Island as a stopping point en route to Taiwan.
 * Since 1949, Taiwan has remained under Nationalist (Kuomintang) control along with the off-shore islands of Chin-men (Kinmen) and Ma-tsu (Lien-chiang County) in Fujian Province. Chin-men and Lien-chiang County are to end their period of direct military rule and to elect their first country magistrates in 1993. In addition, the Nationalists maintain garrisons and weather stations in the South China Sea on T'ai-p'ing Island in the Nansha or Spratly Islands and in the Tungsha or Pratas Islands (see Figure 6.1).
 * It is emphatically with Japan that the most serious trouble has taken place. Early in the year it was discovered by the Chinese authorities that the Pratas Islands had been occupied by Japanese and that their supplies of nitrates were being carried off to Japan without so much as a "By your leave.". . .The question of the jurisdiction over Chientao has been before the two Governments for the last two and a half years and it was causing a good deal of friction between them, so Japan gave way in the matter of Pratas Island, more or less, and this was after all a most insignificant affair, with the hope of getting her own way about Chientao.
 * On July 12, 1862, the Phantom, under the command of Captain Henry Jackson Sargent, Jr., was wrecked on Pratas shoal in thick, heavy weather.
 * DESCRIPTION OF THE GUANO ISLANDS PRATAS ISLAND OR TUNG-SHA-TAO LATITUDE 20° 42' N., LONGITUDE 116° 43' E. Situated on the western side of Pratas Reef, a large circular reef with a circumference of about 64 kilometers, a width of up to 3 kilometers, and a large interior lagoon. According to the "Sailing directions for the western shores of the China Sea" (United States Hydrographic Office, 1937a) the island is horseshoe shaped, about 1.6 kilometers long, is sandy and bears trees.
 * They asked 72-year-old An Fu-lee, an experienced sailor, to set sail for Pratas Island as a stopping point en route to Taiwan.
 * Since 1949, Taiwan has remained under Nationalist (Kuomintang) control along with the off-shore islands of Chin-men (Kinmen) and Ma-tsu (Lien-chiang County) in Fujian Province. Chin-men and Lien-chiang County are to end their period of direct military rule and to elect their first country magistrates in 1993. In addition, the Nationalists maintain garrisons and weather stations in the South China Sea on T'ai-p'ing Island in the Nansha or Spratly Islands and in the Tungsha or Pratas Islands (see Figure 6.1).
 * DESCRIPTION OF THE GUANO ISLANDS PRATAS ISLAND OR TUNG-SHA-TAO LATITUDE 20° 42' N., LONGITUDE 116° 43' E. Situated on the western side of Pratas Reef, a large circular reef with a circumference of about 64 kilometers, a width of up to 3 kilometers, and a large interior lagoon. According to the "Sailing directions for the western shores of the China Sea" (United States Hydrographic Office, 1937a) the island is horseshoe shaped, about 1.6 kilometers long, is sandy and bears trees.
 * They asked 72-year-old An Fu-lee, an experienced sailor, to set sail for Pratas Island as a stopping point en route to Taiwan.
 * Since 1949, Taiwan has remained under Nationalist (Kuomintang) control along with the off-shore islands of Chin-men (Kinmen) and Ma-tsu (Lien-chiang County) in Fujian Province. Chin-men and Lien-chiang County are to end their period of direct military rule and to elect their first country magistrates in 1993. In addition, the Nationalists maintain garrisons and weather stations in the South China Sea on T'ai-p'ing Island in the Nansha or Spratly Islands and in the Tungsha or Pratas Islands (see Figure 6.1).
 * They asked 72-year-old An Fu-lee, an experienced sailor, to set sail for Pratas Island as a stopping point en route to Taiwan.
 * Since 1949, Taiwan has remained under Nationalist (Kuomintang) control along with the off-shore islands of Chin-men (Kinmen) and Ma-tsu (Lien-chiang County) in Fujian Province. Chin-men and Lien-chiang County are to end their period of direct military rule and to elect their first country magistrates in 1993. In addition, the Nationalists maintain garrisons and weather stations in the South China Sea on T'ai-p'ing Island in the Nansha or Spratly Islands and in the Tungsha or Pratas Islands (see Figure 6.1).
 * Since 1949, Taiwan has remained under Nationalist (Kuomintang) control along with the off-shore islands of Chin-men (Kinmen) and Ma-tsu (Lien-chiang County) in Fujian Province. Chin-men and Lien-chiang County are to end their period of direct military rule and to elect their first country magistrates in 1993. In addition, the Nationalists maintain garrisons and weather stations in the South China Sea on T'ai-p'ing Island in the Nansha or Spratly Islands and in the Tungsha or Pratas Islands (see Figure 6.1).