The archipelago was discovered by the Portuguese Vasco da Gama on his second voyage of discovery in 1502 and was named "Ilhas do Almirante" ( German : Admiralty Islands ). It is possible that Arab and Indian traders had previous knowledge of the islands .
From 1814 the islands were occupied by the British and initially belonged to Mauritius , since the Seychelles split off in 1909 as a separate colony. They lie between 5 and 6 ° south latitude and consist of 3 atolls and several individual islands or groups of islands. Together they cover a land area of around 10 km². The total population of an estimated 100 people is mainly distributed over the five largest islands of the Amiranten.
For the sake of completeness, the following table also lists a shoal and two reefs in the area of the island chain . The different island types are identified by different background colors.