>Shyamal: Restored revision 1021979423 by 117.217.27.91 (talk): Blogs are not considered a reliable source - rollback AGF edit - see WP:RS

2021-06-15T08:51:17Z

Restored revision 1021979423 by 117.217.27.91 (talk): Blogs are not considered a reliable source - rollback AGF edit - see WP:RS

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The '''Battle of Aberdeen''', on the [[Andaman Islands]] of India close to [[Port Blair]], was an armed conflict that occurred on 14 May 1859 (according to [[Maurice Vidal Portman|Portman]] but 17 May according to other sources<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pandya|first=Vishvajit|date=1991-01-01|title=From photography to ethnography: Andamanese documents and documentation|journal=Visual Anthropology|volume=4|issue=3–4|pages=379–413|doi=10.1080/08949468.1991.9966570|issn=0894-9468}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Pandya|first=Vishvajit|date=2002|title=Contacts, images and imagination: The impact of a road in the Jarwa reserve forest, Andaman Islands|journal=Bijdragen tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde|volume=158|issue=4|pages=799–820|jstor=27867994}}</ref>) between the [[Andamanese|natives of the Andaman islands]], armed with arrows and spears, and the gun-bearing officers and to some extent the [[convict]]s ([[List of Indian independence activists|Indian independence activists]]) of the [[Ross Island Penal Colony]]. There had been [[skirmish]]es with the [[British Raj|British colonials]] right from 1857 when the penal settlement was established. The plan of the impending attack by the natives was revealed by [[Dudhnath Tewari]], an escaped convict who had lived with them. Tewari, convict number 276, had escaped on 6 April 1858 with several other prisoners from [[Ross Island]] and had been taken prisoner by the tribals after the others had been killed. Tewari had then been accepted and allowed to live with the tribals, and even made to marry two tribal girls. When he heard of the plan to attack the prison colony, Tewari returned on 23 April to inform the superintendent of the [[penal colony]], Dr [[James Pattison Walker|J.P. Walker]] of the impending attack. The natives armed with only bows and arrows, spears and knives while the British army used guns. Tewari had been imprisoned for his desertion and role in the [[Indian Rebellion of 1857]] and his account has been questioned by some authors.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/a-battle-and-a-betrayal/article19472513.ece|title=A battle and a betrayal|last=Saini|first=Ajay|date=13 August 2017|work=The Hindu|access-date=12 November 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| journal=History of Anthropology Newsletter|volume=36| issue=2| year=2009| title=Native Among Savages: Reading the Escape Narrative of Dudhnath Tewari |pages= 3–9| author=Sen, Satadru| url=http://repository.upenn.edu/han/vol36/iss2/3 }}</ref>

The prelude to the battle was long drawn out series of skirmishes. On 6 April 1859, 248 convicts were shot at with arrows by 200 tribals on Haddo (derived from the [[Haddo House]]). On 14 April another bunch of convicts were attacked at noon by 1,500 armed tribals. The convicts were forced to jump into the sea to escape. The tribals were described as showing intent to attack only those who did not have [[fetters]] (legcuffs) on them. According to the account of Portman, the Andamanese objected to the destruction of the [[jungle]] by clearings that were being made by convict workgangs. On 28 April a seaman aboard the [[schooner]] ''[[Hired armed schooner Lady Charlotte|Charlotte]]'' was struck by an arrow off North Point and Dr Walker forbade anyone from landing there. On 14 May, the tribals attacked Aberdeen from Atalanta Point. The navy schooner ''Charlotte'' was nearby and fired its guns at the tribals. The British fended themselves with guns, and the natives never returned to fight again.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/historyofourrela01portuoft#page/274/mode/1up|title=A history of our relations with the Andamanese. Volume I.|author=Portman, M.V.|publisher=Government Press|year=1899|place=Calcutta|pages=274–281|author-link=Maurice Vidal Portman}}</ref> Shortly after this incident Dr Walker resigned from duty and was succeeded by Colonel J.C. Haughton.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/stream/andamanislands035497mbp#page/n71/mode/2up/|pages=36–39|title=The Andaman Islands|author=Dass, F.A.M. |year=1937|publisher=Printed At The Good Shepherd Convent Press Bangalore}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Sentinelese]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links ==
* [http://pib.nic.in/feature/feyr2002/fdec2002/f051220021.html Jaiswal, O.N. 2002 The battle of Aberdeen in restrospect. Public Information Bureau]
* [https://www.thehindu.com/society/history-and-culture/a-battle-and-a-betrayal/article19472513.ece A battle and a betrayal - Ajay Saini, The Hindu, 13 August 2017]

{{British colonial campaigns}}
{{Union Territory of Andaman and Nicobar Islands}}

[[Category:Andaman and Nicobar Islands]]
[[Category:Conflicts in 1859]]
[[Category:Rebellions in India]]

Battle of Aberdeen (Andaman Islands) - Revision history

>Shyamal: Restored revision 1021979423 by 117.217.27.91 (talk): Blogs are not considered a reliable source - rollback AGF edit - see WP:RS