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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.

This map of the Sunda Isles (‘Isles de la Sonde’) (with red borders) and Maluku Islands (‘Isles Moluques’) (green borders) also includes mainland Southeast Asia (blue borders), the Philippines (yellow borders) and New Guinea (green borders).

In the 18th century, European maps tended to use their own country’s meridian, so on this French map of Southeast Asia longitude is measured from the Paris Meridian. Eleven different scales are also shown.

This map of the Sunda Isles (‘Isles de la Sonde’) (with red borders) and Maluku Islands (‘Isles Moluques’) (blue borders) also includes mainland Southeast Asia (green borders), the Philippines (yellow borders) and New Guinea (green borders).

This late 18th century map of Southeast Asia is by the Dutch cartographer Henri Abraham Chatelain (1648–1743). As often found on maps of this time, larger settlements are represented by drawings of small groups of buildings.

Map of the Bay of Bengal, with the western coast of mainland Southeast Asia. Shoals, reefs and islands are marked. The web of lines is a rhumbline network, while the numbers indicate sea depth (bathymetry), both used to aid navigation.

Map of the Bay of Bengal, with the western coast of mainland Southeast Asia. Shoals, reefs and islands are marked. The web of lines is a rhumbline network, while the numbers indicate sea depth (bathymetry), both used to aid navigation.

The arrows on this map show the direction of the seasonal monsoons of Southeast Asia during the late 18th century. Each arrow has a label in French, indicating the month. The hatched sea areas are where the winds always blow in the same direction.

On this late 18th century map, the modern nation states of mainland Southeast Asia can be seen emerging: Myanmar (here labelled Ava), Laos, Vietnam (Tong-King and Cochinchine), Cambodia (Camboge), Thailand (Siam) and Malaysia (Malaca).

Mid-18th century French-language map of Asia, with Southeast Asia divided into four regions: the mainland in yellow, the Philippines in green, the Sunda Islands in red, and the Maluku Islands in yellow.

Mid-18th century French-language map of Asia, with Southeast Asia divided into four regions: the mainland in yellow, the Philippines in green, the Sunda Islands in red, and the Maluku Islands in yellow.

An early 18th century map of Asia by the French cartographer Guillaume Delisle (1675–1726). Regions are indicated with coloured borders, and the southern part of Borneo is labelled ‘Côte de Mahometans [Coast of the Muslims]’.