Indies

     From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term formerly used to describe lands occupying the area around the eastern Indian Ocean roughly occupying modern day Eastern India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Malysia and Indonesia. These lands began to be explored by European powers in the 16th century and became important sources of trade goods, particularly cotton, indigo and spices after the establishment of the British East India Company and Dutch East India Company in the 17th century.

The islands of the Caribbean were initially thought to be the Indies by explorer Christopher Columbus, who had grossly underestimated the westerly distance from Europe to Asia, and were known as such. Later the Caribbean islands became known as the West Indies whilst the lands in the Indian Ocean became the "East Indies".

See also: Bengal, Malay archipelago, Discoverer of the Americas