East Indies

E118602

The East Indies is a historical term for the lands of South and Southeast Asia, especially the Indian subcontinent and the Malay Archipelago, that were central to European spice trade and colonial expansion.

All labels observed (8)

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (70)

Predicate Object
instanceOf colonial-era concept
geographical term
historical region
alsoKnownAs East Indies
surface form: East India

Indies
colonialInterestOf Denmark
England
France
Netherlands
Portugal
Spain
Sweden
containsImportantWaterBody Andaman Sea
Bay of Bengal
Indian Ocean
Java Sea
South China Sea
culturalCharacteristic linguistic diversity
maritime trading cultures
religious diversity
declineOfTerm 19th century
distinguishedFrom West Indies
historicallyAssociatedWith Age of Exploration
surface form: Age of Discovery

European colonialism
European exploration of Asia
maritime trade routes
spice trade
includesRegion Andaman and Nicobar Islands
People's Republic of Bangladesh (from East Pakistan)
surface form: Bangladesh

Brunei Darussalam
surface form: Brunei

India
Indonesia
Malaysia
Myanmar
Philippines
Singapore
Sri Lanka
Thailand
Timor
influencedBy Chinese trade networks
European colonial powers
Indian culture
Islamic culture
locatedIn Asia
majorProducts cinnamon
cloves
coffee
mace
nutmeg
pepper
spices
tea
textiles
peakUsagePeriod 16th century
17th century
18th century
refersTo South Asia
surface form: Indian subcontinent

Malay Archipelago
South Asia
Southeast Asia
relatedTo British East Indies
Dutch East Indies
British East India Company
surface form: East India Company

Portuguese India
Spanish East Indies
seaRouteFocus Cape Route
surface form: Cape Route around Africa
strategicImportance control of maritime choke points
control of spice trade
termUsedBy European geographers
European traders

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (33)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

West Indies nameContrastsWith East Indies
Jan Pieterszoon Coen workLocation East Indies
Golden Hind visitedRegion East Indies
Council of the Indies namedAfter East Indies
this entity surface form: Indies
Banda Sea partOf East Indies
this entity surface form: East Indian Archipelago
John Company operatedIn East Indies
Spanish East Indies namedAfter East Indies
Sulu Sea partOf East Indies
this entity surface form: East Indies seas
King of the Indies relatedConcept East Indies
this entity surface form: Indies
Orissa partOf East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Lake Toba partOf East Indies
Kameçvara locatedIn East Indies
this entity surface form: Indonesia (historical region)
Khichdi commonInRegion East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
East Indies alsoKnownAs East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Captain Singleton setting East Indies
Molucca Sea partOf East Indies
this entity surface form: East Indies seas
Brouwer Route connects East Indies
Bhubaneswar countrySubdivision East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Delhi–Kolkata rail corridor passesThroughRegion East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
B.B.D. Bagh North locatedInSubnationalEntity East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Savu Sea partOf East Indies
this entity surface form: East Indian Archipelago
Subarnarekha River region East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Surya Shashti culturalRegion East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Raja region East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Giridih region East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Chaibasa region East Indies
this entity surface form: East India
Commander, East Indies Station operatesIn East Indies
this entity surface form: East Indies maritime region
Youth setting East Indies
James Lancaster placeOfActivity East Indies
Sri Isyana Vikramadharmatunggadewa historicalRegion East Indies
this entity surface form: Nusantara