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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.

Some regions on this map of Southeast have a descriptive label: Sumatra is described as having mines of gold, silver, iron, and sulphur; and elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, dragons and crocodiles. Gilolo has rice, sago and turtles. Ambon has nutmeg.

Some regions on this map of Southeast have a descriptive label: Sumatra is described as having mines of gold, silver, iron, and sulphur; and elephants, tigers, rhinoceroses, dragons and crocodiles. Gilolo has rice, sago and turtles. Ambon has nutmeg.

This 18th century map of Southeast Asia by the French cartographer Gilles Robert de Vaugondy features the national borders of the Philippines in green, and of modern Indonesia in yellow. The Malay Peninsula and modern Cambodia and Vietnam are in red.

This 18th century map of Southeast Asia by the French cartographer Gilles Robert de Vaugondy features the national borders of the Philippines in green, and of modern Indonesia in yellow. The Malay Peninsula and modern Cambodia and Vietnam are in red.

This 18th century map of Southeast Asia by the French cartographer Gilles Robert de Vaugondy features the national borders of the Philippines in green, and of modern Indonesia in yellow. The Malay Peninsula and modern Cambodia and Vietnam are in red.

This map showcases the colonial territories of Southeast Asia in the 18th century, with text detailing trading information and the products of each region. There are five inset maps featuring plans of specific trading ports.

This map of India and Southeast Asia—or ‘Indiae Orientalis [East Indies]’ as it was called at the time—was published in a book documenting the travels of the German scholar and geographer Adam Olearius (1599–1671).

Dotted lines and colours divide maritime Southeast Asia into three regions on this map: the Philippine archipelago, Maluku Islands and Sunda Islands. The cartouche features cherub mermaids carrying a banner and shield.

French text on the reverse of this map of the eastern Sunda Islands describes the city of Macassar (modern Makassar) on Celebes (Sulawesi, Indonesia). Details include the city’s port, trade and crops, as well as its people and religion.

Dotted lines and colours divide maritime Southeast Asia into three regions on this map: the Philippine archipelago, Maluku Islands and Sunda Islands. The cartouche features cherub mermaids, and a map of mainland Southeast Asia is on the reverse.

From Robert Morden’s ‘Geography Rectified’, a description with maps of the known world in the late 17th century. The map shows the Moluccas, but the text describes the Philippines: Spanish colonial rule, trade, the city of Manila and port of Cavite.