The Malay Archipelago and Maritime Southeast Asia are names given to the archipelago located between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. Located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the group of 20,000 islands is the world's largest archipelago by area. It includes the countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia (only East), East Timor, and most of Papua New Guinea. The island of New Guinea is not always included ...
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The Malay Archipelago and Maritime Southeast Asia are names given to the archipelago located between mainland Southeastern Asia and Australia. Located between the Indian and Pacific Oceans, the group of 20,000 islands is the world's largest archipelago by area. It includes the countries of Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia (only East), East Timor, and most of Papua New Guinea. The island of New Guinea is not always included in the Malay Archipelago, while Peninsular Malaysia also is included within Maritime Southeast Asia.
The concept of a “Malay race” which included the peoples of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines was put forward by European colonialists due to their observations regarding the influence of the Malay empire, Srivijaya. Nineteenth century naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace used the term “Malay Archipelago” as the title of his influential book documenting his studies in the region.
As Wallace himself noted, there are arguments for excluding...
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