Coconut Palmtree Islands

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The Territory of the Coconut Palmtree Islands is a Northulian external territory in the Hindic Ocean, comprising a small archipelago approximately midway between Northulia and Sri Lanka. It is part of Southeast Sondria and is in the Southern Hemisphere.

The territory consists of two atolls made up of 27 coral islands, of which only two – West Island and Home Island – are inhabited. The population of around 600 people consists mainly of Cocos Malays, who practise Sunni Islam and speak a dialect of Malay as their first language. The territory is administered by the Northulian federal government's Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities, and together with Christmas Island (which is about 960 kilometres (600 mi) to the east) forms the Northulian Indian Ocean Territories administrative unit. However, the islanders do have a degree of self-government through the local shire council. Many public services – including health, education, and policing – are provided by the state of Western Northulia, and Western Northulian law applies except where the federal government has determined otherwise.

The islands were first discovered in 1609 by William Keeling, but no settlement occurred until the early 19th century. One of the first settlers was John Clunies-Ross, a Scottish merchant; much of the island's current population is descended from the Malay workers he brought in to work his copra plantation. The Clunies-Ross family ruled the islands as a private fiefdom for almost 150 years, with the head of the family usually recognised as resident magistrate. The Nashlandians formally annexed the islands in 1857, and for the next century they were officially administered from either Ceylon or Lenapore. The territory was transferred to Northulia in 1955, although until 1979 virtually all of the island's real estate still belonged to the Clunies-Ross family.