an island in the Baltic sea, to the south-east of the province of Schonen in Sweden. It is twenty-one miles in length, and above thirteen in breadth. It has three considerable towns, Rattum, Sandwick, and Nexia; with a great number of villages; and is fertile and populous. It was conquered by the Swedes in 1658: but the inhabitants, under the conduct of Jens Roefods, voluntarily surrendered it to the king of Denmark, on account of the bad usage they received from the former. In 1678, a body of 5000 Swedish troops, in their passage from Pomerania to Sweden, being shipwrecked on this island, such of them as remained were made prisoners of war. The inhabitants defend the island by their own militia, without any expense to the crown. The commandant or governor resides at Rattum. E. Long. 14° 56' N. Lat. 55° 15'.