 North Keeling was sketched by Ekeberg, a Swedish captain, in 1749, showing the presence of coconut palms.It also appears on a 1789 chart produced by British hydrographer Alexander Dalrymple.In 1825, Scottish merchant seaman Captain John Clunies-Ross stopped briefly at the islands on a trip to India, nailing up a Union Jack and planning to return and settle on the islands with his family in the future.