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<b>Andaman Islands</b>, a group of islands in the ], part of ]. Large and small, they number 204. The main part of the group consists of a band of five chief islands, so closely adjoining and overlapping each other that they have <b>Andaman Islands</b>, a group of islands in the ], part of ]. Large and small, there are 204 islands. There are five chief islands, known collectively as "the great Andaman." The five islands are from north to south: North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island.
long been known collectively as "the great Andaman." The five islands are in order from north to south: North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island.


Four narrow straits part these islands: Austin Strait, Four narrow straits part these islands: Austin Strait, between North and Middle Andaman; Homfray's Strait between Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South
Andaman; Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South Andaman; and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going vessels.
between North and Middle Andaman; Homfray's Strait between
Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South
Andaman; Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South
Andaman; and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland
Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going
vessels.


=== Physical Geography == === Physical Geography ==


The Andaman Islands lie 590 m. from the mouth The Andaman Islands lie 120 m. from Cape Negrais in Burma, the nearest point of the mainland. The extreme length of the Andaman group is 219 m. with an extreme width of 32
m. Together with the chief islands are, on the extreme N., Landfall Islands, separated by the navigable Cleugh Passage; Interview Island, separated by the navigable Interview Passage, off the W. coast of the Middle Andaman; the Labyrinth Island off the S.W. coast of the South Andaman, through which is the navigable Elphinstone Passage; Ritchie's (or the Andaman) Archipelago off the E. coast of the South Andaman and Baratang, separated by the wide and safe Diligent Strait and intersected by Kwangtung Strait and the Tadma Juru (Strait). Little Andaman, roughly 26 m. by 16, forms the southern extremity of the whole group and lies 31 m. S. of Rutland Island across the Manners Strait, the main shipping route between the Andamans and the Madras coast. Besides these are a great number of islets lying off the shores of the main islands. The land area of the Andaman Idands is 2508 sq.
of the Hugli, 120 m. from Cape Negrais in Burma, the nearest
m.
point of the mainland, and 340 m. from the northern extremity of
Sumatra. Between the Andamans and Cape Negrais intervene two
small groups, Preparis and Cocos; between the Andamans and
Sumatra lie the Nicobar Islands, the whole group stretching
in a curve, to which the meridian forms a tangent between Cape
Negrais and Sumatra; and though this curved line measures 700
m., the widest sea space is about 91 m. The extreme length
of the Andaman group is 219 m. with an extreme width of 32
m. The main part of it consists of a band of five chief islands,
so closely adjoining and overlapping each other that they have
long been known collectively as "the great Andaman." The
axis of this band, almost a meadian line, is 156 statute miles
long. The five islands are in order from north to south: North
Andaman (51 m. long); Middle Andaman (59 m.); South Andaman
(49 m.); Baratang, running parallel to the east of the South
Andaman for 17 m. from the Middle Andaman; and Rutland Island (11
m.). Four narrow straits part these islands: Austin Strait,
between North and Middle Andaman; Homfray's Strait between
Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South
Andaman; Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South
Andaman; and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland
Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going
vessels. Attached to the chief islands are, on the extreme
N., Landfall Islands, separated by the navigable Cleugh
Passage; Interview Island, separated by the very narrow but
navigable Interview Passage, off the W. coast of the Middle
Andaman; the Labyrinth Island off the S.W. coast of the South
Andaman, through which is the safe navigable Elphinstone
Passage; Ritchie's (or the Andaman) Archipelago off the E.
coast of the South Andaman and Baratang, separated by the wide
and safe Diligent Strait and intersected by Kwangtung Strait
and the Tadma Juru (Strait). Little Andaman, roughly 26 m. by
16, forms the southern extremity of the whole group and lies 31
m. S. of Rutland Island across Duncan Passage, in which lie
the Cinque and other islands, forming Manners Strait, the
main commercial highway between the Andamans and the Madras
coast. Besides these are a great number of islets lying off
the shores of the main islands. The principal outlying islands
are the North Sentinel, a dangerous island of about 28 sq. m.,
lying about 18 m. off the W. coast of the South Andaman; the
remarkable marine volcano, Barren Idand (1150 ft.), quiescent
for more than a century, 71 m. N.E. of Port Blair; and the
equally curious isolated mountain, the extinct volcano of
Narcondam, rising 2330 ft. out of the sea, 71 m. E. of the North
Andaman. The land area of the Andaman Idands is 2508 sq.
m. About 18 m. to the W. of the Andamans are the dangerous
Western Banks and Dalrymple Bank, rising to within a few fathoms
of the surface of the sea and forming, with the two Sentinel
Islands, the tops of a line of submarine hills parallel to the
Andamans. Some 40 m. distant to the E. is the Invisible Bank,
with one rock just awash; and 34 m. S.E. of Narcondam is a
submarine hill rising to 377 fathoms below the surface of the
sea. Narcondam, Barren Island and the Invisible Bank, a
great danger of these seas, are in a line almost parallel
to the Andamans inclining towards them from north to south.


=== Topography === === Topography ===


The islands forming Great Andaman consist of a The islands forming Great Andaman consist of a mass of hills enclosing very narrow valleys, the whole covered by dense tropical jungle. The hills rise, to a considerable elevation:
the chief heights being in the North Andaman, Saddle Peak (2400 ft.); in the Middle Andaman, Mount Diavolo behind Cuthbert Bay (1678 ft.); in the South Andaman, Koiob (1505 ft.), Mount Harriet (1193 ft.) and the Cholunga range (1063 ft.); and in Rutland Island, Ford's Peak (1422 ft.). Little Andaman is practically flat. There are no rivers and few perennial streams in the islands.
mass of hills enclosing very narrow valleys, the whole covered
by an exceedingly dense tropical jungle. The hills rise,
especially on the east coast, to a considerable elevation:
the chief heights being in the North Andaman, Saddle Peak
(2400 ft.); in the Middle Andaman, Mount Diavolo behind
Cuthbert Bay (1678 ft.); in the South Andaman, Koiob (1505
ft.), Mount Harriet (1193 ft.) and the Cholunga range (1063
ft.); and in Rutland Island, Ford's Peak (1422 ft.). Little
Andaman, with the exception of the extreme north, is practically
flat. There are no rivers and few perennial streams in the
islands. The scenery is everywhere strikingly beautiful and
varied, and the coral beds of the more secluded bays in
its harbours are conspicuous for their exquisite colouring.


=== Harbours === === Harbours ===


The coasts of the Andamans are deeply indented, The coasts of the Andamans are deeply indented, giving existence to a number of safe harbours, which are often surrounded by mangrove swamps. The chief harbours are (starting
northwards from Port Blair, the great harbour of South Andaman) on the E. coast: Port Meadows, Colebrooke Passage, Elphinstone Harbour (Homfray's Strait), Stewart Sound and Port
giving existence to a number of safe harbours and tidal creeks,
Cornwallis. The last three are very large. On the W. coast: Temple Sound, Interview Passage, Port Anson or Kwangtung Harbour (large), Port Campbell (large), Port Mouat and Macpherson Strait. There are many other safe anchorages about the coast.
which are often surrounded by mangrove swamps. The chief
harbours, some of which are very capacious, are (starting
northwards from Port Blair, the great harbour of South
Andaman) on the E. coast: Port Meadows, Colebrooke Passage,
Elphinstone Harbour (Homfray's Strait), Stewart Sound and Port
Cornwallis. The last three are very large. On the W. coast:
Temple Sound, Interview Passage, Port Anson or Kwangtung Harbour
(large), Port Campbell (large), Port Mouat and Macpherson
Strait. There are besides many other safe anchorages about
the coast, notably Shoal Bay and Kotara Anchorage in the
South Andaman; Cadell Bay and the Turtle Islands in the
North Andaman; and Outram Harbour and Kwangtung Strait in the
archipelago. The whole of the Andamans and the outlying
islands were completely surveyed topographically by the Indian
Survey Department under Colonel Hobday in 1883-1886, and the
surrounding seas were charted by Commander Carpenter in 1888-1889.


=== Geology === === Geology ===


The Andaman Islands form part of a range of submarine mountains, 700 m. long, running from Cape Negrais in the Arakan Yoma range of Burma, to Achin Head in Sumatra. This range separates the Bay of Bengal from the Andaman Sea. The older rocks are early Tertiary or late Cretaceous. The newer rocks are in Ritchie's Archipelago chiefly and contain radiolarians and foraminifera. There is coral along the coasts everywhere.
The Andaman Islands, in conjunction with the
other groups mentioned above, form part of a lofty range
of submarine mountains, 700 m. long, running from Cape
Negrais in the Arakan Yoma range of Burma, to Achin Head in
Sumatra. This range separates the Bay of Bengal from the
Andaman Sea; and it contains much that is geologically
characteristic of the Arakan Yoma, and formations common also
to the Nicobars and to Sumatra and the adjacent islands. The
older rocks are early Tertiary or late Cretaceous but there
are no fossils to indicate age. The newer rocks, common also
to the Nicobars and Sumatra, are in Ritchie's Archipelago
chiefly and contain radiolarians and foraminifera. There is
coral along the coasts everywhere, and the Sentinel Islands
are composed of the newer rocks with a superstructure of
coral. A theory of a still continuing subsidence of the
islanda was formed by Kurz in 1866 and confirmed by Oldham in
1884. Signs of its continuance are found on the east coast
in several places. Barren Island is a volcano of the general
Sunda group which includes also the Pegu group to which
Narcondam belongs. Barren Island was last in eruption in
1803, but there is still a thin column of steam from a
sulphur bed at the top and a variable hot spring at the
point where the last outburst of lava flowed into the sea.


=== Climate === === Climate ===


the climate of the Andamans themselves may be described as normal for tropical islands of similar latitude. It is warm always, but with sea-breezes; very hot when the sun is northing; irregular rainfall, but usually dry during the north-east, and very wet during the south-west monsoon. Not only does the rainfall at one place vary from year to year, but there is an extraordinary difference for places quite close to one another.
Rarely affected by a cyclone, though within
the influence of practically every one that blows in the
Bay of Bengal, the Andamans are of the greatest importance
because of the accurate information relating to the
direction and intensity of storms which can be communicated
from them better than from any other point in the bay,
to the vast amount of shipping in this part of the Indian
Ocean. Trustworthy information also regarding the weather
which may be expected in the north and east of India, is
obtained at the islands, and this proves of the utmost value
to the controllers of the great trades dependent upon the
rainfall. A well-appointed meteorological station has been
established at Port Blair since 1868. Speaking generally,
the climate of the Andamans themselves may be described as
normal for tropical islands of similar latitude. It is warm
always, but tempered by pleasant sea-breezes; very hot when
the sun is northing; irregular rainfall, but usually dry
during the north-east, and very wet during the south-west
monsoon. Not only does the rainfall at one place vary from
year to year, but there is an extraordinary difference in the
returns for places quite close to one another. The official
figures in inches for the station at Port Blair, which is
situated in by far the driest part of the settlement, were:--

_______________________________________________________________________
| 1895. | 1896. | 1897. | 1898. | 1899. | 1900. | 1901. |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
| 125.64 | 107.28 | 136.41 | 127.22 | 87.01 | 83.28 | 132.50 |
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

A tidal observatory has also been maintained at Port Blair since 1880.


=== Flora === === Flora ===


The chief timber of indigenous growth is ''padouk'' (Pterocarpus dalbergioides) a useful hardwood. Other timbers are koko (Albizzia lebbek), white chuglam (Terminalia bialata), black chugiam (Myristica irya), marble or zebra wood (Diospyros kurzii) and satin-wood (Murraya exotica). Among the imported flora are tea, Siberian coffee, cocoa, Ceara rubber, Manila hemp, teak, cocoanut and a number of otherss. Tea is grown. The general character of the forests is Burmese with an admixture of Malay types.
A section of the Forest Department of ] has
been established in the Andamans since 1883, and in the
neighbourhood of Port Blair 156 sq. m. have been set apart
for regular forest operations which are carried on by convict
labour. The chief timber of indigenous growth is padouk
(Pterocarpus dalbergioides) used for buildings, boats,
furniture, fine joinery and all purposes to which teak,
mahogany, hickory, oak and ash are applied. This tree
is widely spread and forms a valuable export to European
markets. Other first-class timbers are koko (Albizzia
lebbek), white chuglam (Terminalia bialata), black
chugiam (Myristica irya), marble or zebra wood (Diospyros
kurzii) and satin-wood (Murraya exotica), which differs
from the satin-wood of Ceylon (Chloroxylon swietenia.)
All of these timbers are used for furniture and similar
purposes. In addition there are a number of second-and
third-class timbers, which are used locally and for export to
Calcutta. Gangaw (Messua ferrea) the Assam iron-wood, is
suitable for sleepers; and didu (Bombax insigne) is used
for tea-boxes and packing-cases. Among the imported flora
are tea, Siberian coffee, cocoa, Ceara rubber (which has
not done well), Manila hemp, teak, cocoanut and a number
of ornamental trees, fruit-trees, vegetables and garden
plants. Tea is grown in considerable quantities and the
cultivation is under a department of the penal settlement.
The general character of the forests is Burmese with an
admixture of Malay types. Great mangrove swamps supply
unlimited fire-wood of the best quality. The great peculiarity
of Andaman flora is that, with the exception of the Cocos
islands, no cocoanut palms are found in the archipelago.

=== Fauna ===

Animal life is generally deficient throughout the
Andamans, especially as regards mammalia, of which there
are only nineteen separate species in all, twelve of these
being peculiar to the islands. There is a small pig (Sus
andamanensis), important to the food of the people, and a wild
cat (Paradoxurus tytleri); but the bats (sixteen species) and
rats (thirteen species) constitute nearly three-fourths of the
known mammals. This paucity of animal life seems inconsistent
with the theory that the islands were once connected with the
mainland. Most of the birds also are derived from the distant
Indian region, while the Indo-Burmese and Indo-Malayan regions
are represented to a far less degree. Rasorial birds, such as
peafowl, junglefowl, pheasants and partridges, though well
represented in the Arakan hills, are rare in the islands; while
a third of the different species found are peculiar to the
Andamans. Moreover, the Andaman species differ from those
of the adjacent Nicobar Islands. Each group has its distinct
harrier-eagle, red-cheeked paroquet, oriole, sun- bird and
bulbul. Fish are very numerous and many species are peculiar to
the Andaman seas. Turtles are abundant and supply the Calcutta
market. Of imported animals, cattle, goats, asses and dogs
thrive well, ponies and horses indifferently, and sheep
badly, though some success has been achieved in breeding them.


=== Population === === Population ===


Historically there was a native tribal population. The estimated total at a census taken in 1901 was only 2000. There were twelve distinct tribes of the Andamanese. They had neither worship nor propitiation. An ] deity, Puluga, was the
Our earliest notice of the native population is in a remarkable
cause of all things, but it was not necessary to propitiate him.
collection of early Arab notes on ] and China (A.D.
851) which accurately represents the view entertained of this
people by mariners down to early twentieth century. "The inhabitants
of these islands eat men alive. They are black, with
woolly hair, and in their eyes and countenances there is
something quite frightful. . . . They go naked and have no
boats. If they had, they would devour all who passed near
them. Sometimes ships that are windbound and have exhausted
their provision of water, touch here and apply to the natives
for it; in such cases the crews sometimes fall into the
hands of the latter and most of them are massacred." The
traditional charge of cannibalism has been very persistent;
but it is entirely denied by the islanders themselves, and is
now and probably always has been untrue. Of their massacres
of shipwrecked crews, in the nineteenth century and earlier, there is no
doubt, but the policy of conciliation unremittingly pursued
in the nineteenth century secured a friendly reception
for shipwrecked crews at any port of the islands except the
south and west of Little Andaman and North Sentinel Island.

The Andamanese are probably the relics of a negro race that
once inhabited the S.E. portion of Asia and its outlying
islands, representatives of which are also still to be found
in the Malay Peninsula and the Philippines. Their antiquity
and their stagnation are attested by the remains found in their
kitchen-middens. These are of great age, and rise sometimes to
a height exceeding 15 ft. The fossil shells, pottery and rude
stone implements, found alike at the base and at the surface
of these middens, prove that the habits of the islanders have
not varied since a remote past, and lead to the belief that
the Andamans were settled by their present inhabitants some
time during the Pleistocene period, and certainly no later
than the Neolithic age. The population is not susceptible
of accurate computation, but probably it has always been
small. The estimated total at a census taken in 1901 was
only 2000. Though all descended from one stock, there are
twelve distinct tribes of the Andamanese, each with its own
clearly-defined locality, its own distinct variety of the one
fundamental language and to a certain extent its own separate
habits. Every tribe is divided into septs fairly well
defined. The tribal feeling may be expressed as friendly within
the tribe, courteous to other Andamanese if known, hostile
to every stranger, Andamanese or other. Another division
of the natives is into Aryauto or long-shore-men, and the
Eremtaga or jungle-dwellers. The habits and capacities of
these two differ, owing to surroundings, irrespectively of
tribe. Yet again the Andamanese can be grouped according to
certain salient characteristics: the forms of the bows and
arrows, of the canoes, of ornaments and utensils, of tattooing
and of language. The average height of males is 4 ft. 10 1/2
in.; of females, 4 ft. 6 in. Being accustomed to gratify
every sensation as it arises, they endure thirst, hunger,
want of food and bodily discomfort badly. The skin varies in
colour from an intense sheeny black to a reddish-blown on the
collar-bones, cheeks and other parts of the body. The hair
varies from a sooty black to dark and light brown and red. It
grows in small rings, which give it the appearance of growing
in tufts, though it is really closely and evenly distributed
over the whole scalp. The figures of the men are muscular and
well-formed and generally pleasing; a straight, well-formed
nose and jaw are by no means rare, and the young men are often
distinctly good-looking. The only artificial deformity is
a depression of the skull, chiefly among one of the southern
tribes, caused by the pressure of a strap used for carrying
loads. The pleasing appearance natural to the men is not
a characteristic of the women, who early have a tendency to
stoutness and ungainliness of figure, and sometimes to pronounced
prognathism. They are, however, always bright and merry, are
under no special social restrictions and have considerable
influence. The women's heads are shaved entirely and the
men's into fantastic patterns. Yellow and red ochre mixed
with grease are coarsely smeared over the bodies, grey in
coarse patterns and white in fine patterns resembling tattoo
marks. Tattooing is of two distinct varieties. In the south
the body is slightly cut by women with small flakes of glass
or quartz in zigzag or lineal patterns downwards. In the north
it is deeply cut by men with pig-arrows in lines across the
body. The male matures when about fifteen years of age,
marries when about twenty-six, begins to age when about
forty, and lives onto sixty or sixty-five if he reaches old
age. Except as to the marrying age, these figures fairly
apply to women. Before marriage free intercourse between the
sexes is the rule, though certain conventional precautions
are taken to prevent it. Marriages rarely produce more
than three children and often none at all. Divorce is rare,
unfaithfulness after marriage not common and incest unknown.
By preference the Andamanese are exogamous as regards sept
and endogamous as regards tribe. The children are possessed
of a bright intelligence, which, however, soon reaches its
climax, and the adult may be compared in this respect with
the civilized child of ten or twelve. The Andamanese are,

indeed, bright and merry companions, busy in their own pursuits,
keen sportsmen, naturally independent and not lustful, but
when angered, cruel, jealous, treacherous and vindictive,
and always unstable--in fact, a people to like but not to
trust. There is no idea of government, but in each sept
there is a head, who has attained that position by degrees on
account of some tacitly admitted superiority and commands a
limited respect and some obedience. The young are deferential
to their elders. Offences are punished by the aggrieved
party. Property is communal and theft is only recognized as to
things of absolute necessity, such as arrows, pigs' flesh and
fire. Fire is the one thing they are really careful about,
not knowing how to renew it. A very rude barter exists between
tribes of the same group in regard to articles not locally
obtainable. The religion consists of fear of the spirits of the
wood, the sea, disease and ancestors, and of avoidance of acts
traditionally displeasing to them. There is neither worship
nor propitiation. An ] deity, Puluga, is the
cause of all things, but it is not necessary to propitiate
him. There is a vague idea that the "soul" will go somewhere
after death, but there is no heaven nor hell, nor idea of
a corporeal resurrection. There is much faith in dreams,
and in the utterances of certain "wise men," who practise
an embryonic magic and witchcraft. The great amusement of
the Andamanese is a formal night dance, but they are also
fond of simple games. The bows differ altogether with each
group, but the same two kinds of arrows are in general use:
(1) long and ordinary for fishing and other purposes; (2)
short with a detachable head fastened to the shaft by a thong,
which quickly brings pigs up short when shot in the thick
jungle. Bark provides material for string, while baskets and
mats are neatly and stoutly made from canes and buckets out
of bamboo and wood. None of the tribes ever ventures out of
sight of land, and they have no idea of steering by sun or
stars. Their canoes are simply hollowed out of trunks with the
adze and in no other way, and it is the smaller ones which are
outrigged; they do not last long and are not good sea-boats,
and the story of raids on Car Nicobar, out of sight across a
stormy and sea-rippled channel, must be discredited. Honour
is shown to an adult when he dies, by wrapping him in a cloth
and placing him on a platform in a tree instead of burying
him. At such a time the encampment is deserted for three
months. The Andaman languages are extremely interesting
from the philological standpoint. They are agglutinative in
nature, show hardly any signs of syntactical growth though
every indication of long etymological growth, give expression
to only the most direct and the simplest thought, and are purely
colloquial and wanting in the modifications always necessary
for communication by writing. The sense is largely eked out by
manner and action. Mincopie is the first word in Colebrooke's
vocabulary for "Andaman Island, or native country," and
the term--though probably a mishearing on Colebrooke's part
for Mongebe ("I am an Onge," i.e. a member of the
Onge tribe)--has thus become a persistent book-name for the
people. Attempts to civilize the Andamanese have met with
little success either among adults or children. The home
established near Port Blair is used as a sort of free asylum
which the native visits according to his pleasure. The
policy of the government is to leave the Andamanese alone,
while doing what is possible to ameliorate their condition.

=== Penal System ===

The point of enduring interest as regards
the Andamans is the penal system, the object of which is to turn
the life-sentence and few long-sentence convicts, who alone are
sent to the settlement, into honest, self-respecting men and
women, by leading them along a continuous course of practice
in self-help and self-restraint, and by offering them every
inducement to take advantage of that practice. After ten years'
graduated labour the convict is given a ticket-of-leave and
becomes self-supporting. He can farm, keep cattle, and marry
or send for his family, but he cannot leave the settlement or be
idle. With approved conduct, however, he may be absolutely
released after twenty to twenty-five years in the settlement;
and throughout that time, though possessing no civil rights,
a quasi-judicial procedure controls all punishments inflicted
upon him, and he is as secure of obtaining justice as if
free. There is an unlimited variety of work for the labouring
convicts, and some of the establishments are on a large
scale. Very few experts are employed in supervision;
practically everything is directed by the officials, who
themselves have first to learn each trade. Under the chief
commissioner, who is the supreme head of the settlement,
are a deputy and a staff of assistant superintendents and
overseers, almost all Europeans, and sub-overseers, who are
natives of India. All the petty supervising establishments
are composed of convicts. The garrison consists of 140
British and 300 Indian troops, with a few local European
volunteers. The police are organized as a military battalion
643 strong. The number of convicts has somewhat diminished
of late years and in 1901 stood at 11,947. The total
population of the settlement, consisting of convicts, their
guards, the supervising, clerical and departmental staff,
with the families of the latter, also a certain number of
ex-convicts and trading settlers and their families, numbered
16,106. The labouring convicts are distributed among four
jails and nineteen stations; the self-supporters in thirty-eight
villages. The elementary education of the convicts' children
is compulsory. There are four hospitals, each under a
resident medical officer, under the general supervision of
a senior officer of the Indian medical service, and medical
aid is given free to the whole population. The net annual
cost of the settlement to the government is about L. 6 per
convict. The harbour of Port Blair is well supplied with
buoys and harbour lights, and is crossed by ferries at fixed
intervals, while there are several launches for hauling local
traffic. On Ross Island there is a lighthouse visible for 19
m. A complete system of signalling by night and day on
the Morse system is worked by the police. Local posts are
frequent, but there is no telegraph and the mails are irregular.


=== History === === History ===


Andaman first appears distinctly in Arab writings of the 9th century. The islands
It is uncertain whether any of the names of the
are briefly noticed by Marco Polo, who probably saw without visiting them, under the name Angamanain, with the exaggerated picture of the natives, as dog-faced anthropophagi. The name is probably derived from the Malay ''Handuman''. Later travellers repeat the stories, too well founded, of the ferocious hostility of the people.
islands given by Ptolemy ought to be attached to the Andamans;
yet it is probable that his name itself is traceable in the
Alexandrian geographer. Andaman first appears distinctly
in the Arab notices of the 9th century, already quoted. But
it seems possible that the tradition of marine nomenclature
had never perished; that the 'Agathou daimonos nesos
was really a misunderstanding of some form like Agdaman,
while Nesoi Baroussai survived as Lanka Balus, the
name applied by the Arabs to the Nicobars. The islands
are briefly noticed by Marco Polo, who probably saw without
visiting them, under the name Angamanain, seemingly an
Arabic dual, "The two Angamans," with the exaggerated
but not unnatural picture of the natives, long current,
as dog-faced Anthropophagi. Another notice occurs in the
story of Nicolo Conti (c. 1440), who explains the name to
mean "Island of Gold," and speaks of a lake with peculiar
virtues as existing in it. The name is probably derived
from the Malay Handuman, coming from the ancient Hanuman
(monkey). Later travellers repeat the stories, too well
founded, of the ferocious hostility of the people; of whom we
may instance Cesare Federici (1569), whose narrative is given
in Ramusio, vol. iii. (only in the later editions), and in
Purchas. A good deal is also told of them in the vulgar and
gossiping but useful work of Captain A. Hamilton (1727).
In 1788-1789 the government of Bengal sought to establish
in the Andamans a penal colony, associated with a harbour of
refuge. Two able officers, Colebrooke of the Bengal Engineers,
and Blair of the sea service, were sent to survey and
report. In the sequel the settlement was established by Captain
Blair, in September 1789, on Chatham Island, in the S.E. bay
of the Great Andaman, now called Port Blair, but then Port
Cornwallis. There was much sickness, and after two years,
urged by Admiral Cornwallis, the government transferred
the colony to the N.E. part of Great Andaman, where a naval
arsenal was to be established. With the colony the name also
of Port Cornwallis was transferred to this new locality.
The scheme did ill; and in 1796 the government put an end to
it, owing to the great mortality and the embarrassments of
maintenance. The settlers were finally removed in May
1796. In 1824 Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet
carrying the army to the first Burmese war. In 1839, Dr Helfer,
a German savant employed by the Indian government, having
landed in the islands, was attacked and killed. In 1844 the
troop-ships "Briton" and "Runnymede" were driven ashore
here, almost close together. The natives showed their usual
hostility, killing all stragglers. Outrages on shipwrecked
crews continued so rife that the question of occupation had
to be taken up again; and in 1855 a project was formed for
such a settlement, embracing a convict establishment. This
was interrupted by the Indian Mutiny of 1857, but as soon
as the neck of that revolt was broken, it became more urgent
than ever to provide such a resource, on account of the great
number of prisoners falling into British hands. Lord Canning,
therefore, in November 1857, sent a commission, headed by
Dr F. Mouat, to examine and report. The commission reported
favourably, selecting as a site Blair's original Port
Cornwallis, but pointing out and avoiding the vicinity of a
salt swamp which seemed to have been pernicious to the old
colony. To avoid confusion, the name of Port Blair was given
to the new settlement, which was established in the beginning of
1858. For some time sickness and mortality were excessively
large, but the reclamation of swamp and clearance of jungle
on an extensive scale by Colonel Henry Man when in charge
(1868-1870), had a most beneficial effect, and the health of
the settlement has since been notable. The Andaman colony
obtained a tragical notoriety from the murder of the viceroy,
the earl of Mayo, by a Mahommedan convict, when on a visit
to the settlement on the 8th of February 1872. In the same
year the two groups, Andaman and Nicobar, the occupation of
the latter also having been forced on the British government
(in 1869) by the continuance of outrage upon vessels, were
united under a chief commissioner residing at Port Blair.


In 1788-1789 the government of Bengal sought to establish in the Andamans a penal colony, associated with a harbour of refuge. The settlement was established by Captain Blair, in September 1789, on Chatham Island, in the S.E. bay of the Great Andaman, now called Port Blair, but then Port Cornwallis. There was much sickness, and after two years, urged by Admiral Cornwallis, the government transferred the colony to the N.E. part of Great Andaman, where a naval arsenal was to be established. With the colony the name of Port Cornwallis was also transferred. In 1796 the government put an end to the colony, owing to the great mortality and the expense of maintenance.
The Andaman islands were later occupied by Japan during World War II. After the end of the war they briefly returned to British control, before becoming part of the newly independent state of India.


In 1824 Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the first Burmese war. In 1844 the troop-ships "Briton" and "Runnymede" were driven ashore. The natives showed their usual hostility, killing all stragglers. Attacks on shipwrecked crews were so rife that the question of occupation was taken up again; and in 1855 a project was formed for such a settlement, embracing a convict establishment. This was interrupted by the Indian Mutiny of 1857, but soon after in November 1857, a commission, headed by Dr F. Mouat, was sent to examine and report.
=== Bibliography ===


Anew settlement, named of Port Blair was established in the beginning of 1858. For some time sickness and mortality were excessively large, but the reclamation of swamp and clearance of jungle on an extensive scale had a beneficial effect. For a long time the islands were the final stage in the Indian penal system for life-sentence and a few long-sentence convicts. The number of convicts in 1901 stood at 11,947.
Sir Richard Temple, The Andaman and Nicobar Islands
(Indian Census, 1901); C. B. Kloss, In the Andamans and
The Andaman islands were later occupied by the Japanese during World War II. After the end of the war they briefly returned to British control, before becoming part of the newly independent state of India.
Nicobars (1903); E. H. Man, Aboriginal Inhabitants of
the Andaman Islands (1883); M. V. Portman, Record of the
Andamanese (11 volumes MS. in ] Office, London, and
Home Department, Calcutta), 1893- 1898, Andamanese Monual
(1887), Notes on the Languages of the South Andaman Group
of Tribes (1898), and History of our Relations with
the Andamanese (1899); S. Kurz, Vegetation of the Andamans
(1867); G. S. Miller, Mammals of the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands (vol. xxiv. of the Proceedings of the National
Museum, U.S.A.); A. L. Butler, "Birds of the Andamans and
Nicobars" (Proc. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., vols. xii. and
xiii.); and A. Alcock, A Naturalist in Indian Seas (1902).


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Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed.

Revision as of 06:08, 12 February 2002

Andaman Islands, a group of islands in the Bay of Bengal, part of India. Large and small, there are 204 islands. There are five chief islands, known collectively as "the great Andaman." The five islands are from north to south: North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island.

Four narrow straits part these islands: Austin Strait, between North and Middle Andaman; Homfray's Strait between Middle Andaman and Baratang, and the north extremity of South Andaman; Middle (or Andaman) Strait between Baratang and South Andaman; and Macpherson Strait between South Andaman and Rutland Island. Of these only the last is navigable by ocean-going vessels.

= Physical Geography

The Andaman Islands lie 120 m. from Cape Negrais in Burma, the nearest point of the mainland. The extreme length of the Andaman group is 219 m. with an extreme width of 32 m. Together with the chief islands are, on the extreme N., Landfall Islands, separated by the navigable Cleugh Passage; Interview Island, separated by the navigable Interview Passage, off the W. coast of the Middle Andaman; the Labyrinth Island off the S.W. coast of the South Andaman, through which is the navigable Elphinstone Passage; Ritchie's (or the Andaman) Archipelago off the E. coast of the South Andaman and Baratang, separated by the wide and safe Diligent Strait and intersected by Kwangtung Strait and the Tadma Juru (Strait). Little Andaman, roughly 26 m. by 16, forms the southern extremity of the whole group and lies 31 m. S. of Rutland Island across the Manners Strait, the main shipping route between the Andamans and the Madras coast. Besides these are a great number of islets lying off the shores of the main islands. The land area of the Andaman Idands is 2508 sq. m.

Topography

The islands forming Great Andaman consist of a mass of hills enclosing very narrow valleys, the whole covered by dense tropical jungle. The hills rise, to a considerable elevation: the chief heights being in the North Andaman, Saddle Peak (2400 ft.); in the Middle Andaman, Mount Diavolo behind Cuthbert Bay (1678 ft.); in the South Andaman, Koiob (1505 ft.), Mount Harriet (1193 ft.) and the Cholunga range (1063 ft.); and in Rutland Island, Ford's Peak (1422 ft.). Little Andaman is practically flat. There are no rivers and few perennial streams in the islands.

Harbours

The coasts of the Andamans are deeply indented, giving existence to a number of safe harbours, which are often surrounded by mangrove swamps. The chief harbours are (starting northwards from Port Blair, the great harbour of South Andaman) on the E. coast: Port Meadows, Colebrooke Passage, Elphinstone Harbour (Homfray's Strait), Stewart Sound and Port Cornwallis. The last three are very large. On the W. coast: Temple Sound, Interview Passage, Port Anson or Kwangtung Harbour (large), Port Campbell (large), Port Mouat and Macpherson Strait. There are many other safe anchorages about the coast.

Geology

The Andaman Islands form part of a range of submarine mountains, 700 m. long, running from Cape Negrais in the Arakan Yoma range of Burma, to Achin Head in Sumatra. This range separates the Bay of Bengal from the Andaman Sea. The older rocks are early Tertiary or late Cretaceous. The newer rocks are in Ritchie's Archipelago chiefly and contain radiolarians and foraminifera. There is coral along the coasts everywhere.

Climate

the climate of the Andamans themselves may be described as normal for tropical islands of similar latitude. It is warm always, but with sea-breezes; very hot when the sun is northing; irregular rainfall, but usually dry during the north-east, and very wet during the south-west monsoon. Not only does the rainfall at one place vary from year to year, but there is an extraordinary difference for places quite close to one another.

Flora

The chief timber of indigenous growth is padouk (Pterocarpus dalbergioides) a useful hardwood. Other timbers are koko (Albizzia lebbek), white chuglam (Terminalia bialata), black chugiam (Myristica irya), marble or zebra wood (Diospyros kurzii) and satin-wood (Murraya exotica). Among the imported flora are tea, Siberian coffee, cocoa, Ceara rubber, Manila hemp, teak, cocoanut and a number of otherss. Tea is grown. The general character of the forests is Burmese with an admixture of Malay types.

Population

Historically there was a native tribal population. The estimated total at a census taken in 1901 was only 2000. There were twelve distinct tribes of the Andamanese. They had neither worship nor propitiation. An anthropomorphic deity, Puluga, was the cause of all things, but it was not necessary to propitiate him.

History

Andaman first appears distinctly in Arab writings of the 9th century. The islands are briefly noticed by Marco Polo, who probably saw without visiting them, under the name Angamanain, with the exaggerated picture of the natives, as dog-faced anthropophagi. The name is probably derived from the Malay Handuman. Later travellers repeat the stories, too well founded, of the ferocious hostility of the people.

In 1788-1789 the government of Bengal sought to establish in the Andamans a penal colony, associated with a harbour of refuge. The settlement was established by Captain Blair, in September 1789, on Chatham Island, in the S.E. bay of the Great Andaman, now called Port Blair, but then Port Cornwallis. There was much sickness, and after two years, urged by Admiral Cornwallis, the government transferred the colony to the N.E. part of Great Andaman, where a naval arsenal was to be established. With the colony the name of Port Cornwallis was also transferred. In 1796 the government put an end to the colony, owing to the great mortality and the expense of maintenance.

In 1824 Port Cornwallis was the rendezvous of the fleet carrying the army to the first Burmese war. In 1844 the troop-ships "Briton" and "Runnymede" were driven ashore. The natives showed their usual hostility, killing all stragglers. Attacks on shipwrecked crews were so rife that the question of occupation was taken up again; and in 1855 a project was formed for such a settlement, embracing a convict establishment. This was interrupted by the Indian Mutiny of 1857, but soon after in November 1857, a commission, headed by Dr F. Mouat, was sent to examine and report.

Anew settlement, named of Port Blair was established in the beginning of 1858. For some time sickness and mortality were excessively large, but the reclamation of swamp and clearance of jungle on an extensive scale had a beneficial effect. For a long time the islands were the final stage in the Indian penal system for life-sentence and a few long-sentence convicts. The number of convicts in 1901 stood at 11,947.

The Andaman islands were later occupied by the Japanese during World War II. After the end of the war they briefly returned to British control, before becoming part of the newly independent state of India.

Initial text from 1911 encyclopedia -- Please update as needed.