History Part II - The British Regime (Bad Days)

The history of the British in the Andaman and Nicobar islands began in 1788 when Lord Cornwallis, the then Governor General of India, thought of colonizing the islands and instructed Lt. Archibald Blair and Lt. R.H.Colebrook of the Royal Navy to Survey the islands and submit a report on their suitability for a British Colony. This was also to secure the sailing route from pirates as well as natives.

According to the recommendation of these two officers the first British settlement was founded in 1789 on Chatham Island (a small island that has a saw mill and a jetty today) , near Port Cornwallis (Now Port Blair). The fever forced the British to abolish the settlement in 1796.



After the Great Revolt in 1857, the British Government thought of establishing a penal settlement here. (THE BAD DAYS) In March 1858, the first penal settlement was established, with 200 prisoners, mostly rebels from the Indian Army. Initially the convicts were kept in a jail at Viper island (even today you can see the gallows), which is about 15 minutes boat ride from Port Blair. The island had a jail, gallows, Kutcheri, Doctor's residence, etc. Subsequently, this Jail was abandoned and the Cellular Jail at Port Blair was constructed. During the time of successive Superintendents, E.H.Man, General Steward, and Col. Cadell, the number of convicts increased and they were subjected to inhuman tortures (i have heard stories from old people during my stay in Andamans,most of the stories were from our land lady who we called Naani) at the hands of the British jailors. The foundation of the famous Cellular Jail was laid in 1896. The building was completed in 1906. Many changes, both in policy and practice, took place during Colonel Ferrar's time, which, inter alia, included concession to the convicts, mainland visit, etc. The jail had 7 wings but later i.e. post independence 4 of these wings were demolished. ( The jail , the gallows tell the story of atrocities and is wonderfully depicted by the sound and light show that is played every day).

History of Andaman and Nicobar Part 1

It is sad that prior to British Survey in 1777, there is no clear history of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Before the British surveyed, it is thought that Malays have used these islands for many years for piratical activities in the Strait of Malacca and trading in Andamanese slaves, most popular being the Shompens from Nicobar Islands of bigger and stronger stature compaired to other tribes. The slaves found their way to the courts of Cambodia and Indo-China accelerating the hostility on the part of the aborigines to all visitors to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The Andaman & Nicobar Islands remained the abode of the Negritos and the Mongoloids respectively, who occupied the Islands for centuries. These islands remained secluded from the mainland till the end of the 18th Century when people from the outside world first arrived. The history of these islands could be divided into three broad periods -

a) the British regime - a period of foreign intrusion and settlement
b) the Japanese regime
c) the Post-Independence period.



In the Second Century, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands were located in the maps prepared by the great Greek astronomer, mathematician and geographer, Claudius Ptolemaeus, which possibly is the earliest reference to these islands. The early history of Nicobar is not well known although these islands were familiar to traders in ancient times, the islands being situated close to the trade route to the Far East. Though little is known about Portuguese activities in these islands, it is evident that the Portuguese missionaries started preaching Christianity among the islanders. The Nicobarese language also reflects a few Portuguese words.

The Tribes of Andaman and Nicobar

Andaman and Nicobar Islands are native to 6 tribes Sentinelese, Jarawa, Onge, Great Andamanese, Shompens, Nicobarese. 4 of the these tribes (Sentinelese, Jarawa, Onge, Great Andamanese) are negritos and they reside in Andamans and the other 2 (Shompens and Nicobarese) are residents of the Nicobar islands.

I shall in my future posts write on each of these tribes in detail.

My Childhood

We moved to Andamans in 1979 when my Dad took up the assignment as CEO of one of the plywood companies, (I was 9 then), and since then it's been my parents home. I have done most of my schooling there and spent the best time of my life there.

I think Andamans is one of the best places, with amazing natural beauty, good people, peaceful; some thing you dont find in many cities and towns.

I have been wanting to give back some thing to this lovely place and share my thoughts with the world, I wanted to create a website but then decided I should blog.

Andaman and Nicobar Islands are part India and are a group of Islands in the Bay of Bengal.

In future posts I will cover history, places to see, tribes etc in detail.