Search

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.

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 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.

A late 18th century map of maritime Southeast Asia by the French geographer Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703–1772). The title refers to the ‘Stretto della Sonda’ (Sunda Strait), the strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java.

A page from Abbé Prévost’s ‘Histoire Générale des Voyages’. The top map shows the Bay of Laphao on Timor, while the other drawings are side views (or ‘elevations’) of mountains on the region’s islands to use as landmarks when navigating.

The 20 colourful illustrations around the border of this 18th century map of Asia depict a variety of historical and biblical scenes, including the Crucifixion of Jesus and the sacking of Troy. Each scene has a description in French and Spanish.

This 18th century maritime navigation map charts the waters between the islands of Java, Sumatra and Borneo. A route south towards the Sunda Strait, as taken by the French ship Mascarin in March and April 1772, is highlighted.

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.

Amongst the mountains and jungles of mid-18th century Bali, this map shows three royal palaces, walled encampments, towns, and seven Buddhist temples (or ‘stupa’) on the east coast. Inset illustrations depict a palace and a temple in detail.

This map shows the islands of Java, Sumatra and Borneo, the straits of Sunda, Malacca and Bangka, and the Gulf of Siam. The points of the compass can be seen radiating out from a central compass rose.

The title of this mid-18th century map of Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula claims that it was based on the diaries of sailors. Interestingly, the title is repeated in both German and French, as are the names of some of the locations marked on the map.