Images

An 1801 map of the East Indies and Southeast Asia ( Singapore, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Philippines).

Believed to be a portrait of Dutch seafarer Willem de Vlamingh (1640-1698), who sailed for the Dutch East India Company. (Australian National Maritime Museum, Sydney)

Dutch East India Company's warehouse and living quarters in Surat, India, as seen in April 1629 by Pieter van den Broecke (1585-1640), a Dutch cloth merchant in the service of the VOC.

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 riots in Boston, Massachusetts over the Stamp Act in August 1765. Illustration by John Cassell, from Cassell's Illustrated History of England, Volume 5, 1865.

A design for a pendulum clock made by Galileo Galilei (1564-1642) in the last year of his life. Galileo never made a working model of the clock (although his son did in 1649). Illustration by Vincenzo Viviani. (Science Museum, London)

A watch mechanism using a balance spring. Made by Thomas Tompion (1639-1713). Such watches, of which this is one of the earliest surviving, greatly improved accuracy over pendulum clocks. Made between 1675 and 1679. (Science Museum, London)

A pocket watch made by the London clockmaker Thomas Tompion (1639-1713). Using a balance spring, such watches greatly improved accuracy over pendulum clocks. Made between 1675 and 1700. Made of silver, steel, and tortoiseshell. (Science Museum...

A detail of a table clock made by Thomas Tompion (1639-1713). Perhaps made for Anne, Queen of Great Britain (r. 1702-1714) around 1708. (Science Museum, London)

The Voice of the Great Spirit, oil on canvas by Joseph Henry Sharp, 1906. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D. C.