East Indies

"Indies" redirects here. For other uses, see Indies (disambiguation).
For other uses, see East Indies (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with East India.
A 1606 map of the East Indies
An 1801 map of the East Indies
  East Indies
  Indies (Indian subcontinent and Myanmar)
  Western New Guinea
  West Indies (present-day; historically included the Americas entirely)
  Countries sometimes included in West Indies

The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The Indies broadly referred to various lands in the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found in and around the Indian Ocean by Portuguese explorers, soon after the Cape Route was discovered. In a narrow sense, the term was used to refer to the Malay Archipelago, which today comprises the Philippine Archipelago, Indonesian Archipelago, Borneo, and New Guinea. Historically, the term was used in the Age of Discovery to refer to the coasts of the landmasses comprising the Indian subcontinent and the Indochinese Peninsula along with the Malay Archipelago.[1][2][3]

  1. ^ "A map of the East-Indies and the adjacent countries, with the settlements, factories and territories, explaning [sic] what belongs to England, Spain, France, Holland, Denmark, Portugal & c with many remarks not extant in any other map". 1720.
  2. ^ "East Indies | islands, Southeast Asia | Britannica".
  3. ^ "East Indies | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com.