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Navigation map of the southern part of the South China Sea, including the straits of Malacca and Singapore, and the Riau Archipelago. Bathymetry (sea depth), lighthouses, shoals and other obstructions are marked, with hills to use as landmarks.

Navigation map of the southern part of the South China Sea, including the straits of Malacca and Singapore, and the Riau Archipelago. Bathymetry (sea depth), lighthouses, shoals and other obstructions are marked, with hills to use as landmarks.

This detailed map of the Dutch East Indies in the mid-19th century contains a great deal of information: topographical details, settlements and administrative areas, roads, railways and maritime routes, telegraph lines, inset maps etc.

Map of the Dutch colonial administrative region (residency) of Riouw (Riau) focusing on the islands and sea passages, with bathymetry (sea depth) marked. (From ‘Algemeene Atlas van Nederlandsche Indie [General Atlas of the Dutch East Indies]’.)

This detailed map of the Dutch East Indies in the mid-19th century is spread over eight sheets, plus a cover sheet showing the whole area. There are numerous inset maps of islands, bays, cities etc.

This map of the Dutch East Indies is spread over eight sheets, with a hand-drawn cover sheet showing the whole area. There are numerous inset maps of islands, bays, cities etc. Two of the inset maps have a replacement map pasted over them.

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.

Hand-drawn map of islands in the Riau Archipelago, with bathymetry (sea depth) marked. It features side views of hills (‘elevations’) to use as landmarks, including ‘Jehore hill’, probably in Johor at the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

Map of the Indian Ocean dominated by a rhumbline network—a web of interconnected lines used to help plot routes—with a compass rose at the centre. At the top there are (incomplete) drawings of people with text in Dutch, French, English and Spanish.

Early navigation map of the South China Sea. The web of lines is a rhumbline network, while the numbers indicate sea depth (bathymetry), both used to aid navigation. A route around the Gulf of Thailand is marked with text and the dates 1643 and 1644.

A brightly-coloured hand-drawn map of the South China Sea. The compass is at the centre of a rhumbline network, a web of lines to aid navigation. Bathymetry (sea depth), islands, anchor points, shoals and reefs are also marked.