British East Andaman
British East Andaman | |
|---|---|
 Flag
 Seal
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| Anthem: God Save the King | |
 Map of British East Andaman | |
| Capital | Exeter 12.140536982442606, 93.1146597559518 |
| Official languages | English |
| Demonym(s) | British Andamanese |
| Government | Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy |
• Monarch | Charles III |
• Administrator of British East Andaman | Sir Edward Harris |
| Legislature | Legislative Council |
| Establishment | |
• First colonised | 1789 |
• De facto independence | 1950 |
• Formal independence | 2024 |
| Area | |
• Total | 1.9 km2 (0.73 sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+5.30 (IST) |
| Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
British East Andaman is a micronation in the Andaman Islands, east of Henry Lawrence Island. It has two islands, Inglis Island and the much smaller Ormond Island.
Its head of state is Charles III, represented by the Administrator, Sir Edward Harris.
History
The Andaman Islands were first colonised in 1789 by the Bengal Presidency. It established two initial colonies: Port Blair, a penal colony on Chatham Island, and Exeter, a naval base on Inglis Island. After two years, the penal colony was moved to the northeast part of Great Andaman and was named Port Cornwallis after Admiral William Cornwallis. However, there was much disease and death in this penal colony and the government ceased operating it in May 1796.
By this point, the Andaman Islands were divided into 3 districts: North and Middle Andaman, South Andaman, and East Andaman, each with its respective capital. The islands continued their usage as penal colonies and naval bases, with East Andaman seeing a small fort constructed on each island.
At the close of World War II, the British government announced its intention to shut down the penal settlement, and did so in 1947. However, the status of who the Andamans would pass to on the division of British Raj was unclear. Two islands would go to Myanmar, with India taking the rest: but no direction for East Andaman, still an active colony, was given. This was likely as a result of oversight, given its small size and lack of a permanent population. Therefore the colony carried on as independent.
In 2024, it declared formal independence in solidarity with other British micronations.
National symbols
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Flag
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Seal
British East Andaman uses a red ensign.
Foreign relations
British East Andaman follows British foreign policy.