Far East - Popularisation

Popularisation

The term Far East was popularized during the period of the British Empire as a blanket term for lands to the east of British India. In pre-World War I European geopolitics, the Near East referred to the relatively nearby lands of the Ottoman Empire, the Middle East denoted northwestern South Asia and Central Asia, and the Far East meant countries along the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean. Many European languages have analogous terms, such as the French Extrême-Orient, Spanish Extremo Oriente, Portuguese Extremo Oriente, German Ferner Osten, Italian Estremo Oriente, Polish Daleki Wschód, and Dutch Verre Oosten.