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The Lesser Sunda Islands are shown spread over these three late 19th century maps. Each island is divided into local administrative districts, with cities, mountains and routes marked. Shoals, lighthouses and anchor points are shown at the coasts.

Map of the Moluccas (Maluku Islands) divided into the residencies of Ternate (orange borders) and Ambon (green borders). Many place names are in Dutch and Malay, and there is an inset map of the city of Ambon. Timor is marked as Portuguese territory.

Map of the western half of the Dutch colonial administrative region (residency) of Timor, featuring Flores, Komodo, Sumba and Savu islands, and their straits. (From ‘Algemeene Atlas van Nederlandsche Indie [General Atlas of the Dutch East Indies]’.)

Map of the eastern half of the Dutch colonial administrative region (residency) of Timor, with an inset map of its capital city and port Timorkoepang (Kupang). (From ‘Algemeene Atlas van Nederlandsche Indie [General Atlas of the Dutch East Indies]’.)

Map of some of the Maluku islands around the Banda Sea, colour-coded by their administrative region, and with an elevation showing heights of mountains. (From ‘Algemeene Atlas van Nederlandsche Indie [General Atlas of the Dutch East Indies]’.)

Although this map’s title refers to the south-western islands of the Banda Islands, it actually focuses on the Lesser Sunda Islands, including Flores, Sumba and Timor. The islands feature mountains and jungle, with shoals and reefs around the coasts.

Map of Timor with Dutch and Portuguese flags marking military forts. Details are represented pictorially e.g. villages by small houses, forests by trees. There are extensive handwritten annotations, with some text translated from Dutch to French.

Hand-drawn portolan (nautical) chart of the Lesser Sunda Islands, featuring a rhumbline network (the web of interconnected lines), shoals, reefs, elevations (side views of landmark mountains), and names of coastal settlements, all to aid navigation.