East Indies: Did you mean...?

Map showing some of the major regional resouces of the eastern Mediterranean, the Near East, East Africa, and Central and South Asia.

A c. 1759 painting by Charles Brooking East Indiamen in a Gale showing ships of the East India Company. (Royal Museums Greenwich)

Did you know the English East India Company’s tea trade was fueled by the opium trade? The English East India Company (EIC) – also known as the British East India Company – was an immensely successful trading company founded in 1600...

A c. 1665 illustration of the British East India Company's fort at Bombay (now Mumbai). (National Archives of the Netherlands, The Hague)

Map of East India, taken from the Atlas van der Hagen, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague Part 4. This map of South East Asia was published by Nicolaas Visscher II (1649-1702). The map shows the entire trading region of the Dutch East India...

The English East India Company (EIC) was established by Royal Charter on 31 December 1600 under Queen Elizabeth I (reign 1558–1603), granting it a monopoly on English trade east of the Cape of Good Hope. Initially conceived as a commercial...

The original flag of the English East India Company (EIC), founded in 1600 by royal charter. The company later changed its name to the British East India Company and so the cross of St. George in the top right corner was replaced by a Union...

A 1778 allegorical painting commissioned by the East India Company showing the riches of the East being presented to Britannia. Painted by Spyridon Romas. The goods shown include tea, porcelain, and jewels. (British Library, London)

An audiencia began as a judicial institution in medieval Spain, but in the 16th century, it was applied as the highest form of local government in key cities of the Spanish Empire. An audiencia had a panel of judges made responsible for the...

This map illustrates the geopolitical landscape of the ancient Near East following the destructive campaigns of the Old Hittite Empire (circa 1650–1500 BCE), which triggered widespread upheaval and realigned regional power structures. In...