Map of the Maluku Islands

This beautiful hand-painted map of the Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas) was produced by the French cartographer Jacques-Nicolas Bellin in 1760. It represents the islands of Herij, Ternate, Tidore, Pottebackers, Timor, Makian, and Bacan. The Maluku Islands were part of the Dutch East Indies. Today, the Maluku Islands are part of Indonesia.

The islands were known as the Spice Islands because of the nutmeg, mace and cloves that were exclusively found there, the presence of which sparked colonial interest from Europe in the sixteenth century.