The Great Andamanese

     Of the four tribes of the Andaman Islands, colonisation proved most disastrous for the Great Andamanese. When the British arrived they were a people of more than 5,000; today, only 53 survive.

Hundreds of Great Andamanese were killed in conflicts with British settlers, as the tribe defended their territory from invasion. The British then changed their tactics and set up an ‘Andaman Home’ where they kept captured Andamanese. Many more of the tribe died from disease and abuse in the home, and of 150 babies born there, none survived beyond the age of two.

In 1970, the remaining Great Andamanese were moved to the tiny Strait Island by the Indian authorities, where they are now totally dependent on the government for food, shelter and clothing. Abuse of alcohol, often supplied with the compliance of government officials, is rife among the surviving Great Andamanese.