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Produced by the Intelligence Branch of the British War Office, this map shows Dutch colonial territories in maritime Southeast Asia, and their political and military divisions in Java and Madura. British and Spanish territories are also marked.

Map of Amboina (Ambon) and surrounding islands just south of Ceram (Seram). An elevation (side view) of the islands shows the heights of their mountains. (From ‘Algemeene Atlas van Nederlandsche Indie [General Atlas of the Dutch East Indies]’.)

Includes part of maritime Southeast Asia. New Guinea is labelled as ‘discovered in 1527’—a reference to the Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes—with additional labels describing the terrain (‘Very low land’, ‘Coast is not well known’, ‘An Opening’).

Includes part of maritime Southeast Asia. New Guinea is labelled as ‘discovered in 1527’—a reference to the Portuguese explorer Jorge de Menezes—with additional labels describing the terrain (‘Very low land’, ‘Coast is not well known’, ‘An Opening’).

A late 18th century map of Asia, with notes on the principal states, empires and kingdoms of Asia written in French on the right-hand side.

The southern coasts of Sumbawa (‘Coinbava’) and Sumba (‘Sandet’), and most of the coast of New Guinea (‘Nouvelle Guinée’) are represented by a dotted line on this mid-18th century map, indicating that the exact coastlines were unknown at this time.

Although mainly a navigation map—with a rhumbline network and elevations of mountains—there are also many terrestrial details shown, such as settlements and mountains. The inset map of Hoeamohel details plantations and the cultivation of nut crops.

Map of the ‘Spice Islands’ of maritime Southeast Asia, including the Maluku Islands. It is decorated with a drawing of an Asian man holding a large bird and a spear, and surrounded by baskets and boxes of goods of the spice trade.

This colourful hand-drawn portolan (nautical) chart was designed to aid navigation. It features a rhumbline network (the web of interconnected lines), bathymetry (sea depth), shoals and reefs, anchor points and written notes.

Unusually, north is located to the right of this early 17th century map of the Maluku Islands, rather than the top. The scale is shown on a stone monument. French text on the reverse describes Java.