The indigenous inhabitants of the region were the
Andamanese, who may have been isolated from other populations during the
Paleolithic era, which ended 30,000 years ago. The islands are referred to by various historians and travellers such as
Ptolemy in the first century CE,
Marco Polo in the 13th century CE,
Friar Odoric in 14th century CE, and
Cesare Federici in 16th Century CE. (1872) prison under construction In 1789,
Archibald Blair of the
Royal Indian Navy colonised the
Andaman Islands, and established a
naval base. On 22 February 1858, the British re-established a colony at Port Blair, named after Archibald Blair. The prisoners were used for hard labour and the clearing of forests led to frequent confrontation with the native Andamanese people. Many of the prisoners died in conflict, while some were hanged for trying to escape, apart from deaths due to disease and starvation. In 1872, the
Andaman and Nicobar Islands were united under a single command and administered by a chief commissioner based out of Port Blair. The construction of the
Cellular Jail started in 1896 and was completed in 1906. The jail was used to house
political prisoners and
independence activists away from the Indian mainland. During
Second World War, the Andaman and Nicobar islands were invaded by
Japan. The Japanese captured Port Blair on 23 March 1942. Japan gave provisional control to the
Azad Hind organisation of
Subhash Chandra Bose on 29 December 1943. Bose had limited power while the real control of the islands remained with the Japanese, with reports of widespread looting, arson, rape, and
extrajudicial killings during the Japanese occupation. On 7 October 1945, the territory was officially handed back to the British in a ceremony at the Gymkhana Ground in Port Blair. During the
Partition of India, the British announced their intention to retain possession of Port Blair and use them to resettle
Anglo-Indians and
Anglo-Burmese on these islands. The islands were claimed by the
Indian National Congress by both India and Pakitan during the partition negotiations. After the
Indian Independence in 1947, the islands became part of the
Dominion of India, and as per the
Constitution of India, the islands were to be administered by a lieutenant governor appointed by the
Government of India. The islands became a separate
union territory administered by the Government of India, following the
re-organisation in 1956 with the capital at Port Blair. It has been developed into a key defence establishment since the 1980s due to its strategic location in the Bay of Bengal across the
Strait of Malacca. On 26 December 2004, the coasts of the islands experienced high
tsunami waves following
an undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The locals and tourists on the islands suffered the greatest casualties while the indigenous people largely survived unscathed due to movement to high grounds. Port Blair survived sufficiently to act as a base for relief efforts in the islands. In 2017, Port Blair was selected as one of the cities to be developed as a
smart city under the
Smart Cities Mission. On 13 September 2024, the Government of India officially renamed the city to Sri Vijaya Puram. ==Climate==