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Map of the Dutch colonial administrative region (residency) of Samarang (Semarang, Java), with post offices and routes, a saw mill and a sugar factory marked. (From ‘Algemeene Atlas van Nederlandsche Indie [General Atlas of the Dutch East Indies]’.)

Map of the Dutch colonial administrative region (residency) of Samarang (Semarang, Java) with ruined temples, a sugar factory, tobacco warehouse and rice mill. (From ‘Algemeene Atlas van Nederlandsche Indie [General Atlas of the Dutch East Indies]’.)

This map uses a variety of methods to aid navigation, including a rhumbline network (a web of lines to help plot routes). The numbers on the sea surface indicate depth (bathymetry), and the drawings of mountains (elevations) were used as landmarks.

The mountains and forests of early 18th century Java are beautifully illustrated here by the Dutch cartographer Henry Abraham Chatelain (1648-1743). Details include cities, fields of crops, animals and people. An inset map shows the port of Batavia.