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An early 19th century map, with the regions of Southeast Asia marked with coloured borders: Malaya is red, indicating it is part of the British Empire; the orange borders around Sumatra, Borneo and Celebes show they are part of the Dutch East Indies.

The islands of maritime Southeast Asia are highlighted in different colours on this early 19th century map. Major rivers, straits and seas are also named.

This early 19th century map depicts the regions of Asia by colour. The continental regions are green, while the archipelago regions are red, except for New Guinea which is yellow.

Southeast Asia is on the last sheet of this map of Asia. The South China Sea is labelled ‘Malayan Sea’. Small islands, shoals and reefs are shown. A label in Cochin China (Vietnam) reads ‘mountains inhabited by the uncivilized people called Kemoys’.

On this early 19th century map, mainland Southeast Asia is divided into regions. Major rivers are named, and the cartouche features a drawing of an elephant.

Map focusing on the passages between the islands of maritime Southeast Asia used to travel between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Includes the Strait of Malacca, many straits between the Sunda Islands, and a route through the Maluku Islands.

Map focusing on the passages between the islands of maritime Southeast Asia used to travel between the Indian and Pacific oceans. Includes the Strait of Malacca, many straits between the Sunda Islands, and a route through the Maluku Islands.

Map of the Birman Empire, with hand-drawn internal borders in red. Many of the names of regions, settlements and rivers are labelled with two names, one local and one Western: e.g. ‘Yoodra Shan oder Cambodia’ (‘oder’ is German for ‘or’).

An early 19th century map by the English cartographer John Cary, highlighting the mountain ranges and rivers of Southeast Asia. The map also features many place names of cities, towns and islands.

Map of the Birman Empire, with hand-drawn internal borders in red. Many of the names of regions, settlements and rivers are labelled with two names, one local and one Western: e.g. ‘Yoodra Shan oder Cambodia’ (‘oder’ is German for ‘or’).

This map of Asia, from an atlas by the German cartographer Karl von Spruner, is colour-coded to show territorial regions in Asia towards the middle of the fifth century. Borneo is labelled ‘Kalemantan’, and Sulawesi is labelled ‘Mangkassar’.

This map of Asia, from an atlas by the German cartographer Karl von Spruner, is colour-coded to show territorial regions in Asia from the 6th to the 9th centuries. Thailand is labelled 'Siang-koue' and Vietnam is 'Tschn-tschin'.