Andaman Islands
the administrative area
Andaman Islands, island group of India, between the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea, forming the northern part of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India.
the "Ambassador"
(standard Taxi in India)The three principal islands are North Andaman, Middle Andaman, and South Andaman. To the east of the island group is a cluster of small islands known collectively as the Ritchie’s Archipelago; to the south is Little Andaman. Port Blair is the territory's administrative capital, and ships from the mainland use its harbor regularly.
high tech industry (1920's era)
The Andamans are generally hilly and are heavily forested. Timber, coconuts, hemp, tea, coffee, and rubber are the principal products. Most of the inhabitants are Indian; Negritos, the islands' aborigines, now number only in the hundreds.
museum to the aborigine groups
(now protected on isolated islands)The British were the first Europeans to settle in the islands when they established a penal colony at Port Blair in 1789.
Ross island, the former British headquarters
The penal settlement was discontinued after seven years, but in 1858 it was reestablished to imprison Indian freedom fighters.
the Cellular Jail
After annexing the Nicobar Islands in 1869, the British joined the Andaman and Nicobar islands in a single administrative unit in 1872. The islands were occupied by Japanese forces from 1942 until the end of World War II in 1945, when the British regained control of the territory. The islands became a union territory of India when India gained independence from British rule in 1947. Area of the Andamans, 6475 sq km (2500 sq mi). Population (1991 preliminary) 240,089.
Photos
of Wandoor National Park
(a rainforest and
coral preserve)
Link to Information on the Andaman Islands
