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In the 18th century, European maps tended to use their own country’s meridian, so on this French map of Asia longitude is measured from the Paris Meridian. Southeast Asia is divided into regions such as the Birman Empire, Yunshan and Tonquin.

Map focusing on the passages between the islands of maritime Southeast Asia. Many 18th century routes are labelled with the ship/captain’s name and date, and there are notes on some shoals and reefs recording names, details and incidents/shipwrecks.

Map charting the three expeditions of the British Royal Navy captain James Cook, including HMS Endeavour’s journey via Batavia (Jakarta) in 1770, and HMS Resolution’s journey through the South China Sea (after Cook’s death) in 1779.

Map of Asia, with mainland Southeast Asia in red and divided into ancient kingdoms, Sunda Islands in yellow, and the Philippines in grey. Twelve different scales are shown, as different countries used different measurement systems.

On this map of Asia, borders are outlined and cities underlined in different colours to show the colonial territories of the European powers: e.g. at this time, Benkulen (Bencoolen) on the west coast of Sumatra is British, and Malacca is Dutch.

Map of Asia, with mainland Southeast Asia in red and divided into ancient kingdoms, Sunda Islands in yellow, and the Philippines in grey. Twelve different scales are shown, as different countries used different measurement systems.

On this map of Asia, borders are outlined and cities underlined in different colours to show the colonial territories of the European powers: e.g. at this time, Benkulen (Bencoolen) on the west coast of Sumatra is British, and Malacca is Dutch.

Map of mainland Southeast Asia divided into kingdoms. Larger settlements are marked pictorially with a red building symbol. The desert of Cochinchine (Vietnam) is labelled as being inhabited by the ‘Kemoys Peuples Barbares [Kemoys Barbarian People]’.

Map of mainland Southeast Asia divided into kingdoms. Larger settlements are marked pictorially with a red building symbol. The desert of Cochinchine (Vietnam) is labelled as being inhabited by the ‘Kemoys Peuples Barbares [Kemoys Barbarian People]’.

A simple hand-coloured map of Asia, with a cartouche of shell, leaves and plants. It shows that in the late 18th century, the details of New Guinea and Australia (‘Nieuw Holland’) were uncertain.

This map of Asia features four different scales: French, Russian, Turkish and Chinese. Each country had their own measuring system, so this was not uncommon at the time.

A simple hand-coloured map of Asia, with a cartouche of shell, leaves and plants. It shows that in the late 18th century, the details of New Guinea and Australia (‘Nieuw Holland’) were uncertain.