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Three maps of the Caroline Islands. One shows colonised areas in Southeast Asia: Dutch East Indies; British North Borneo, British New Guinea; German New Guinea; Philippines (Spain); Portuguese Timor. The route of the Challenger expedition is marked.

Maritime map of the Philippines, with inset maps of bays showing bathymetry (sea depth), shoals, reefs and anchor points. There is also an inset map of Taal Volcano, and elevations (side views of terrestrial landmarks like mountains and islands).

This map focuses on maritime Southeast Asia, with coastal settlements, rivers, bays, islands, straits and seas named. Shoals and reefs are marked. The only land feature is the mountains of Borneo, represented by short lines/dashes (called hachures).

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).

Maritime map of the Philippines, with inset maps of bays showing bathymetry (sea depth), shoals, reefs and anchor points. There is also an inset map of Taal Volcano, and elevations (side views of terrestrial landmarks like mountains and islands).

Map of Southeast Asia highlighting European colonial possessions. Unusually, the south coast of the Philippine island of Mindanao is shown twice, reflecting uncertainty about its true location. Names of indigenous peoples are listed on Borneo.

A late 18th century maritime map of Southeast Asia, marked with expedition routes including the return of Captain Cook’s HMS Endeavour from Australia in 1770, and Captain Philip Carteret’s circumnavigation expedition in 1768.

These three maps are marked with shoals, rocks, water depth, safe entry points, and anchorage locations, to help ships safely anchor. The sites include the Joseph Freewill Islands (Mapia Atoll, Indonesia) and the coast of Mindanao in the Philippines.

First published in 1734, and commonly known as the ‘Velarde map’, this map by the Spanish cartographer Pedro Murillo Velarde is regarded as the first important map of the Philippines. This is a later version, lacking 12 drawings on the map's sides.

This map features a rhumbline network, a web of lines to help plot routes and aid navigation. Where the lines meet, there is a compass rose with an arrow pointing to north.

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.