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A plan of the port city of Batavia in the 18th century. Small ships can be seen transporting goods along the river to the pier, and the street plan also includes churches, shopping areas and hospitals, as noted on the map’s detailed legend.

This unusual map of Batavia in the late 18th century shows the port city as seen when approaching from the sea. The castle is depicted prominently as a three-dimensional drawing, with the rest of the city behind more flat like a plan.

This colourful mid-18th century plan of the city of Amboine (Ambon, capital of Ambon Island, in the Maluku Islands, Indonesia) has a detailed legend identifying locations within the city and the surrounding mountains. The text is in French and Dutch.

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.

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.

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.

Six drawings of bays, including the Bay of Tiku (‘Rade de Ticou’) on the west coast of Sumatra, showing Tiku between the mountains Pagaman and Priaman. Two other drawings are marked ‘Poulo Clauis’ and are possibly bays on the coast of Aceh, Sumatra.

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.

These two paintings show the port of Batavia (Jakarta) from the sea. The upper image focusses on the castle, while the lower image depicts a sea battle—possibly a 1618 battle between the British and Dutch—with the city in the background.

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.