AMIRANTE ISLES

group of coral islands in the western Indian Ocean, lying about 200 miles (320 km) southwest of the Seychelles group and forming, with the Seychelles and other islands, the Republic of Seychelles. The Amirante Isles were known to Persian Gulf traders centuries ago and were sighted by the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama on his second voyage to India, in 1502, but they are still virtually uninhabited. Individual islands are frequently leased by the Seychelles government to private companies to exploit, usually by growing and harvesting coconut. Tern eggs are also collected, and guano-enriched topsoil was once collected, but little remains. Pop. (1987) 113.