Etymology_and_terminology Malay_Archipelago

pinisi sailing ship exploring komodo island, part of lesser sunda islands

the 19th-century naturalist alfred wallace used term malay archipelago title of influential book documenting studies in region. wallace referred area indian archipelago , indo-australian archipelago. included within region solomon islands , malay peninsula due physiographic similarities. wallace noted, there arguments excluding papua new guinea cultural , geographical reasons: papua new guinea culturally quite different other countries in region, , island of new guinea geologically not part of continent of asia, islands of sunda shelf (see australia).

the archipelago called east indies late 16th century , throughout european colonial era. still referred such, broader usages of east indies term had included indochina , indian subcontinent. area called nusantara in indonesian , malaysian languages. area referred indonesian archipelago . term maritime southeast asia largely synonymous, covering both islands in southeast asia , nearby island-like communities, such found on malay peninsula.