Ritchie's Archipelago
Encyclopedia
Great Andaman
Great Andaman is the main archipelago of the Andaman Islands of India. It comprises five major islands. From north to south, these are North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Baratang and Rutland Island...
, the main island group of the Andaman Islands
Andaman Islands
The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east...
. the Andamans are located in the Bay of Bengal
Bay of Bengal
The Bay of Bengal , the largest bay in the world, forms the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. It resembles a triangle in shape, and is bordered mostly by the Eastern Coast of India, southern coast of Bangladesh and Sri Lanka to the west and Burma and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands to the...
, bordering with the Andaman Sea
Andaman Sea
The Andaman Sea or Burma Sea is a body of water to the southeast of the Bay of Bengal, south of Burma, west of Thailand and east of the Andaman Islands, India; it is part of the Indian Ocean....
and are some 200 km (124.3 mi) south of the nearest Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n mainland, Cape Negrais
Cape Negrais
Cape Negrais is a cape in Burma , 193 kilometres from the Indian union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands....
in Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
.
The archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
comprises some 4 larger islands, 7 smaller islands and several islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s, extending in a roughly north-south chain, parallel to the main Great Andaman group. Baratang Island
Baratang
Baratang, less commonly known as Baratang Island, is an island in the Andaman Islands, India, with an area of approximately . It is one of the main islands of the Great Andaman group, a closely set archipelago in the Bay of Bengal, adjoining the Andaman Sea. Middle Andaman is to its north, and...
and South Andaman Island
South Andaman Island
South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of the Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the population of the Andaman Islands. Port Blair, the capital of the islands, is located on the southern part of this island. Some areas of the island are restricted areas for non-Indians; however,...
lie to the west across Diligent Strait; the active volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
Barren Island
Barren Island (Andaman Islands)
Barren Island is located in the Andaman Sea, one of the most easterly of the Andaman Islands. It is the only confirmed active volcano in South Asia...
is some 75 km (46.6 mi) further to the east.
The main islands in the archipelago (in decreasing order of approximate size) are:
- Havelock IslandHavelock IslandHavelock Island is the largest of the islands with an area of 113.93 km2 which comprise Ritchie's Archipelago, a chain of islands to the east of Great Andaman in the Andaman Islands. Havelock is situated 57 km North East of Capital City Port Blair...
- 113.93 km² (44 sq mi) (pop. 5354) - Henry Lawrence IslandHenry Lawrence Islandthumb|200px|right|Outline map of the [[Andaman Islands]], with Ritchie's Archipelago highlighted .Henry Lawrence Island is the second largest Island of the Ritchie's Archipelago, it has an area of 55 km2. It was named after Sir Henry Montgomery Lawrence...
- 55 km² (21.2 sq mi) - John Lawrence Island - 41.98 km² (16.2 sq mi) (pop. 25)
- Sir William Peel Island - 23 km² (8.9 sq mi) (more commonly abbreviated to Peel I.)
- Wilson Island - 14 km² (5.4 sq mi)
- Outram Island - 13 km² (5 sq mi)
- Neil IslandNeil IslandNeil Island is an island in the Andaman Islands of India. It occupies an area of . The island is located north-east of Port Blair, the capital of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is the southernmost island of Ritchie's Archipelago, save for uninhabited Sir Hugh Rose Island, which is another...
- 18.9 km² (7.3 sq mi) (also Neill I.) (pop. 2868) - Nicholson IslandNicholson IslandNicholson Island is the westernmost of the Bailey Rocks, lying 0.1 nautical miles northeast of Budnick Hill in Newcomb Bay, Windmill Islands. First mapped from air photos taken by U.S. Navy Operation Highjump, 1946-47. Named by Antarctic Names Committee of Australia for R.T...
- 1.8 km² (0.694983885466563 sq mi) - Inglis IslandInglis IslandInglis Island is the largest of a group called The English Company's Islands, Northern Territory, Australia. It is 23.4 km long and up to 7 km wide. Its area is 83.5 km², and it reaches a height of 70 meters...
- 1.4 km² (0.540543022029549 sq mi) (also called East I.) - Sir Hugh Rose Island - 0.6 km² (0.231661295155521 sq mi) (often abbreviated to Hugh Rose I.)
- Middle Button Island - 0.4 km² (0.154440863437014 sq mi)
- North Button Island - 0.25 km² (0.0965255396481338 sq mi)
- South Button Island - 0.1 km² (0.0386102158592535 sq mi)
The islands were originally populated by the indigenous
Indigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
Great Andamanese
Great Andamanese
Great Andamanese is a collective term used to refer to related indigenous peoples who lived throughout most of the Great Andaman archipelago, the main and closely situated group of islands in the Andaman Islands. Numbering between 200 and 700, each of the Great Andamanese peoples maintained a...
peoples, in particular the tribal and linguistic grouping known as Aka-Bale. However, as the populations of the various Andamanese
Andamanese
The Andamanese people are the various aboriginal inhabitants of the Andaman Islands, which is the northern district of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory of India, located in the southeastern part of the Bay of Bengal. They include the Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, and...
indigenous peoples declined greatly in the decades following the establishment of colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
settlements by the British Raj
British Raj
British Raj was the British rule in the Indian subcontinent between 1858 and 1947; The term can also refer to the period of dominion...
(and later, independent India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
), the indigenous communities of these islands have vanished. The present population of the islands consists of immigrant Indian
Demographics of India
The demographics of India are inclusive of the second most populous country in the world, with over 1.21 billion people , more than a sixth of the world's population. Already containing 17.5% of the world's population, India is projected to be the world's most populous country by 2025, surpassing...
and a few Karen (Burmese)
Karen people
The Karen or Kayin people , are a Sino-Tibetan language speaking ethnic group which resides primarily in southern and southeastern Burma . The Karen make up approximately 7 percent of the total Burmese population of approximately 50 million people...
settlers.
Together with the rest of the Andamans, Ritchie's Archipelago is incorporated into the India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n union territory
Union Territory
A Union Territory is a sub-national administrative division of India, in the federal framework of governance. Unlike the states of India, which have their own elected governments, union territories are ruled directly by the federal government; the President of India appoints an Administrator or...
of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and part of the Andaman district
Andaman district
Andaman district was a district of India, one of three districts in the Indian Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The district's administrative territory encompasses all of the Andaman Islands, which are located in the Indian Ocean...
. It is administered by the tehsil
Tehsil
A Tehsil or Tahsil/Tahasil , also known as Taluk and Mandal, is an administrative division of some country/countries of South Asia....
(a local government sub-division, roughly equivalent to a county
County
A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain modern nations. Historically in mainland Europe, the original French term, comté, and its equivalents in other languages denoted a jurisdiction under the sovereignty of a count A county is a jurisdiction of local government in certain...
) of Port Blair
Port Blair tehsil
Port Blair tehsil is one of 5 local administrative divisions of the Indian district of Andaman, part of the Indian union territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands....
. The territory's capital and administrative centre (also called Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
), is located approximately 45 km (28 mi) to the southwest of the archipelago, accessible via a 3-5 hour ferry trip.
The 2001 census of India reported 8,247 people living on the three inhabited islands of Ritchie's Archipelago: Havelock Island (5354), Neil Island (2868), and John Lawrence Island (25).
Geography
The interior of most of the islands consists of undulating hills and plains, with a topography
Topography
Topography is the study of Earth's surface shape and features or those ofplanets, moons, and asteroids...
not exceeding 100 m (328.1 ft) above mean sea level
Above mean sea level
The term above mean sea level refers to the elevation or altitude of any object, relative to the average sea level datum. AMSL is used extensively in radio by engineers to determine the coverage area a station will be able to reach...
. Occasionally the land rises reasonably abruptly from the sea to a domed plateau, and there are a few rocky coastal cliffs; however, in the main the coastlines are relatively flat, interspersed by both rocky and sand beaches and some low-lying lagoon
Lagoon
A lagoon is a body of shallow sea water or brackish water separated from the sea by some form of barrier. The EU's habitat directive defines lagoons as "expanses of shallow coastal salt water, of varying salinity or water volume, wholly or partially separated from the sea by sand banks or shingle,...
s and estuaries
Estuary
An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea....
on the larger islands. Coral reef
Coral reef
Coral reefs are underwater structures made from calcium carbonate secreted by corals. Coral reefs are colonies of tiny living animals found in marine waters that contain few nutrients. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, which in turn consist of polyps that cluster in groups. The polyps...
s surround many of the islands, particularly on the "sea-ward" (i.e., eastern) coastlines.
Havelock, John Lawrence, Henry Lawrence, Peel and Outram Is. have a few tidal creeks
Creek (tidal)
A tidal creek, tidal channel, or estuary is the portion of a stream that is affected by ebb and flow of ocean tides, in the case that the subject stream discharges to an ocean, sea or strait. Thus this portion of the stream has variable salinity and electrical conductivity over the tidal cycle...
winding into their interiors; in general freshwater stream
Stream
A stream is a body of water with a current, confined within a bed and stream banks. Depending on its locale or certain characteristics, a stream may be referred to as a branch, brook, beck, burn, creek, "crick", gill , kill, lick, rill, river, syke, bayou, rivulet, streamage, wash, run or...
s are few.
History
The archipelago is named after an 18th century BritishBritish Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
marine surveyor
Marine surveyor
A Marine Surveyor is a person who conducts inspections, surveys or examinations of marine vessels to assess, monitor and report on their condition and the products on them. Marine Surveyors also inspect equipment intended for new or existing vessels to ensure compliance with various standards or...
, John Ritchie, who spent nearly two decades in the employ of the Council of Bengal charting and documenting the Andamans and surrounding regions.
Of the archipelago which now bears his name, Ritchie's accounts and maps were the first reliable sources of information on the islands, which until then were very sketchily known to Europeans. Ritchie was one who championed that the British administration in India make further investigation and use of the Andamans. During Ritchie's time these entreaties were largely ignored. Perhaps frustrated and disillusioned after years of thankless work under difficult circumstances, Ritchie requested to be returned for home leave, which he was in 1787. An extract from his parting note to his superiors explained:
"The condition of my health being such as requires an immediate change of climate... after a series of 19 years continuous service in the office of Marine Surveyor, I hope there is no impropriety in my requesting the favour, also... to continue my allowance to me... It is a small salary, and the receipt of it has been the only advantage I have ever reaped from the Company's service, and because my Line of Service, from its singularity, has had no gradation of advancement... whilst its Duties have been uncommonly severe, uncommonly hazardous, and equally unprofitable; for what advantage could be obtained from tracking a Labyrinth of Woods and Rivers? Or from exploring the Shoals of a shelving and broken Sea Coast? All of which uninhabited, and seldom visited, except perhaps in the disastrous case of shipwreck... In the meantime it has been from my Labours, that the Hon'ble Company have obtained all authentic knowledge of the Sea Coast and Tide Rivers of their possessions in Bengal, together with other services more important and beneficial."
Two years after Ritchie's departure, an attempt was made to set up a colony in the Andamans, but this was aborted after only a few years. It was not until 1867 that a permanent European presence was established, when the whole islands were annexed
Annexation
Annexation is the de jure incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities, barring physical size...
by the British and a penal colony
Penal colony
A penal colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general populace by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory...
established at Port Blair
Port Blair
Port Blair is the largest town and a municipal council in Andaman district in the Andaman Islands and the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, a union territory of India...
on South Andaman Island
South Andaman Island
South Andaman Island is the southernmost island of the Great Andaman and is home to the majority of the population of the Andaman Islands. Port Blair, the capital of the islands, is located on the southern part of this island. Some areas of the island are restricted areas for non-Indians; however,...
.