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This map highlights the colonisation of Southeast Asia, showing French Indochina (green), British Burma and Malaya (orange), the Dutch East Indies (pink), and the Spanish Philippines (green). In the region, only Siam (yellow) is independent.

Mountain chains are represented by black lines; volcanoes by black dots. Three insets maps: expansion of Reguain—island of Taung-ywa, off the coast of Myanmar—due to volcanic activity; geology of Java (with heights of mountains); volcanoes of Luzon.

This map of Asia is from the mid-19th century ‘Grosser Atlas der Erde [Great Atlas of the Earth]’ by the German publisher Albrecht Platt. It shows part of Southeast Asia, including the region’s borders with India and China.

This title of this map refers to orography (which is shown in the use of hachures, short lines/dashes that give a sense of the shape and steepness of terrain) and hydrography (which is shown in the highlighting of coastal regions, shoals and reefs).

Navigation map of the northern South China Sea, with bathymetry (sea depth), islands, shoals and reefs. There are five maritime routes to Canton and one to Manilla marked, and inset maps of the Gulf of Tonkin and bays and islands in the Philippines.

Navigation map of the northern South China Sea, with bathymetry (sea depth), islands, shoals and reefs. There are five maritime routes to Canton and one to Manilla marked, and inset maps of the Gulf of Tonkin and bays and islands in the Philippines.

This mid-18th century map of Asia features a drawing of religious imagery: Asian people are seen making offerings to two figures, including the Greek god Poseidon (or the Roman god Neptune), and kneeling as cherubs descend from the sky.

The cartouche on this early 18th century navigation map features the title in Latin and Dutch, as well as a wealth of detailed drawings illustrating the region’s trade: Asian merchants, their goods and animals, and two female European customers.

Hand-drawn portolan (nautical) chart, featuring a rhumbline network (the web of interconnected lines), bathymetry (sea depth), shoals and reefs, names of coastal settlements, and an elevation (side view) of a mountain at the north tip of Borneo.

Four long rivers flow south through mainland Southeast Asia on this map: the ‘Menan’, ‘Manthabam’ and ‘Cosmin’ originate at a mythical lake (‘Chiamai Lac’) in southern China, while the ‘Mecon’ (Mekong) flows from the hills of Cochinchina (Vietnam).

Map of Asia illustrated with four large allegorical drawings representing the Dutch East India Company, by the Dutch Baroque artist Romeyn de Hooghe. Includes scenes of Asian merchants, the capturing of crocodiles and elephants, and mythology.

This map of Southeast Asia features a rhumbline network, a web of lines used to aid navigation. Coastal areas are detailed while interiors are mainly blank, and there are illustrations of sailing ships, reinforcing the maritime focus of this map.