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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).

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.

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 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.

This mid-18th century map of Asia has colour-coded regions, with mainland Southeast Asia and the Greater Sunda Islands bordered in blue, and India in red.

A map of a small island chain off the west coast of the island of Gilolo (modern Halmahera in the Maluku Islands of Indonesia). The military forts on the islands were used by the European colonial powers during conflicts over the area’s spice trade.

From the second edition (1749) of ‘Atlas Portatif Universel et Militaire’ by the French cartographer Gilles Robert de Vaugondy (1688–1766), this map features the Philippines (in blue) and Maluku Islands (in red).

The southern coasts of Sumbawa (‘Coinbava’) and Sumba (‘Sandet’), and most of the coast of New Guinea (‘Nouvelle Guinée’) are represented by a dotted line on this mid-18th century map, indicating that the exact coastlines were unknown at this time.

The coast of New Guinea (‘Nouvelle Guinée’) is represented in part by a dotted line on this mid-18th century map, indicating that the exact coastlines were unknown at this time. The western tip is labelled ‘C. de Bonne Esperance [Cape of Good Hope]’.

The note in French at the top left of this map states that although the map is accurate, the names of many small islands have been omitted to avoid confusion, and that more details will come later.