MINUTES OF HISTORY
(ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS)
| Year 1014 |
Tamil rulers of the Chala dynasty conquered the islands and used them as a naval base against the Srivijaya (Indonesian: Sriwijaya) Empire of Sumatra, Indonesia. However, no settlement was encouraged and the islands were called ‘Tinmaittivu” or ‘the impure islands’. |
| Year 1700 | The great Kanhaji Angre, the first naval chief of the country used the islands as a maritime base. From here, he attacked Portugese Dutch and English merchant vessels, fighting until his death in 1729. |
| Year 1755 | European colonisation on the islands began, with the Dutch settling in a establishing the Danish East India Company. The Nicobar Islands were turned into a Danish colony and renamed ‘New Denmark’. |
| Year 1789 | The British set up their penal colony and naval base on the islands. They already had a stronghold on the Indian mainland by this point. However, the attempt to colonise the islands did not succeed. |
| Year 1857 | The Indians revolted against British colonisation in the great mutiny. Several freedom fighters were taken as prisoners. The idea of establishing a permanent penal settlement on the islands was born into the minds of the British rulers. |
|
Year 1858 |
The first batch of 200 convicts arrived on the island. Within three months, this number went up to 773 prisoners. They were kept in open enclosures. |
| Year 1868 |
Denmark sold
the rights of the Nicobar Islands to the British. The islands were now
officially a part of British India.
|
| Year 1872 | The islands were united under a single chief commissioner at Port Blair. |
| Year 1906 | Construction of the Cellular Jail was completed with prisoners being used as labour. Construction material was sources from Burma. |
| Year 1942 | Japanese forces occupied the islands after the British hastily abandoned them during the World War II. They ruled for the next four years, building airfields and constructing a strong air defence network. |
| Year 1945 | The Indian Infantry Brigade surrounded Port Blair on October 9. About 20,000 armed Japanese forces surrendered and the islands were reclaimed from Japanese control. |
| Year 1947 | India was granted independence from British rule. The islands were incorporated into the Indian union. |
| Year 1950 |
The islands
were named a Union Territory, as part of the Indian subcontinent.
|