History of the Andaman Islands: from Isolation to Tourism

Jan 3, 2012
Karen Warren

Port Blair, Andaman Islands, India - Karen Warren

India's Andaman Islands were isolated for many centuries but were eventually colonised by Europeans and are now gradually being opened up to visitors.

The remote Andaman islands, in the Bay of Bengal, consist of 394 islands covered in tropical forest. Although closer to Thailand than to India (being 1000 km from India’s east coast), they have been a part of India for administrative purposes since 1956. Even today the majority of the islands are uninhabited.

Early history

The islands have been inhabited for thousands of years but were virtually unknown to outsiders until the 18th century. The first recorded mention was by the Roman writer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, and later travellers were aware of their existence but seem not to have visited (possibly prevented from doing so by pirates who patrolled the area).

There are four main indigenous peoples – the Jarawas, Sentinelese, Anadamanese and the Ouges – but it is not known where they originated from. The 13th century explorer Marco Polo described the islanders as ‘idolaters who live like beasts’, and who eat human flesh. But this is clearly not an eyewitness account, as he goes on to say ‘you may take it for a fact that all the men of this island have heads like dogs, and teeth and eyes like dogs’. Again, it is likely that these were rumours designed to deter visitors.

Colonisation

In the 18th century the British tried to settle South Andaman as a penal colony. Conditions were harsh and many prisoners died from malaria or were killed by hostile natives. The camp was moved to North Andaman but the same problems arose and the new prison was abandoned a few years later.

However, there were continued attempts to colonise the islands by traders and missionaries. The capital, Port Blair, was founded by Archibald Blair of the British East India Company in the nineteenth century, and a further penal colony was established to accommodate political prisoners from the Indian Mutiny. This prison remained in use until 1945.

Although some of the indigenous people converted to Christianity, the effect of colonisation and missionary activity was largely negative. Their population fell substantially through exposure to alien diseases and the clearing of forest habitats, as well as through the use of alcohol and opium brought to the islands by colonists.

World War II and Indian rule

In 1942 the islands were occupied by the Japanese. The following year Subhas Chandra Bose of the Indian National Army established an independent government. However in practice the Japanese retained effective control until liberation in 1945.

After the British withdrew from India in 1947 the intention was for the Andaman Islands to become independent but this never happened and they formally became a part of India in 1956. There has been a steady flow of refugees, economic migrants and government employees to the islands so that the indigenous tribes now only form 1% of the total population.

The Andaman Islands in the present day

One challenge is to protect the vastly reduced native population. Some groups have managed to maintain their traditional way of life but others have a much more troubled relationship with the Indian authorities, as there are continuing issues over access to, and the maintenance of, tribal lands.

Concerns over deforestation have led to the need to diversify away from the timber trade upon which the economy previously depended. The rubber industry is important for the island, as is the growing of coconuts, medicinal plants and spices.

Tourism is being developed too, but this brings its own problems. The islands are still recovering from the 2004 tsunami and the infrastructure is inadequate for large numbers of visitors. At the same time the government is aware of the need to protect the ecological balance of the area. The challenge is to encourage tourists while preserving the environment by strictly limiting the parts of the islands to which visitors have access.