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Maritime routes had to be adjusted in response to the changing monsoon seasons, as is seen on this late 18th century map of the Indian Ocean. Drawings of the heads of children blowing—called ‘wind-heads’—are used to indicate wind direction.

A piece of paper printed with a list of the various regions of Asia, including the regions of Southeast Asia, has been adhered to the right-hand side of this late 18th century map of Asia.

This map of Asia has coloured borders around mainland Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the Sunda Islands (‘Isles de la Sonde’) and the Maluku Islands (‘Isles Moluques’). The cartouche features a drawing of a sailing ship and boxes of goods.

On this map of Asia, Borneo is labelled ‘The Inland Part of this Island is inhabited by the Biayos a savage People’, a description seen on many contemporary maps. The ancient kingdoms of mainland Southeast Asia are also shown.

On this map of Asia, Borneo is labelled ‘The Inland Part of this Island is inhabited by the Biayos a savage People’, a description seen on many contemporary maps. The ancient kingdoms of mainland Southeast Asia are also shown.

This map of Asia has coloured borders around mainland Southeast Asia, the Philippines, the Sunda Islands (‘Isles de la Sonde’) and the Maluku Islands (‘Isles Moluques’). The cartouche features a drawing of a sailing ship and boxes of goods.

The ancient kingdoms of mainland Southeast Asia are shown on this 18th century map, including Ava and Pegu (Myanmar), Siam (Thailand), Tonquin (Vietnam), Laos and—between Cochin China (Vietnam) and Camboja (Cambodia)—‘A Savage Nation called KEMOYS’.

From Antonio Zatta's atlas ‘Atlante Novissimo’, this late 18th century map of Asia features a decorative cartouche consisting of drawings of Asian plants, a ceramic pot emitting smoke, two archery quivers, and pearls in shells.

This map of Asia is taken from Noël Antonine Pluche's ‘Concorde de la géographie des différens âges’ published in 1772.

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.

Longitude is indicated in two different ways on this mid-18th century map: along the top border, it is shown in degrees (number of degrees east of London); more unusually, along the bottom border, it is shown in time (number of hours east of London).

This map of the Eastern Hemisphere was designed to show maritime routes from the Netherlands to Southeast Asia. It shows New Guinea (‘Nieuw Guinee’) and Australia (‘Nieuw Hollande’) as one landmass, connected via an area labelled ‘Karpentarie’.