5 Points About Archibald Blair, After Whom Port Blair Was Named

Captain Archibald Blair joined the Bombay Marine as a lieutenant in 1771

The Centre on Friday renamed Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, to Sri Vijaya Puram. Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the name Sri Vijaya Puram honours the “rich history and heroic people of Andaman and Nicobar islands”.

“It also reflects our commitment to break free from the colonial mindset and celebrate our heritage,” PM Modi posted on X.

Home Minister Amit Shah also took to his official X account and said, “While the earlier name had a colonial legacy, Sri Vijaya Puram symbolises the victory achieved in our freedom struggle and the A&N Islands’ unique role in the same. Andaman & Nicobar Islands have an unparalleled place in our freedom struggle and history. The island territory that once served as the naval base of the Chola Empire is today poised to be the critical base for our strategic and development aspirations.”

Port Blair was originally named after Captain Archibald Blair, a British colonial naval officer.

Five Points About Archibald Blair:

1) Captain Archibald Blair joined the Bombay Marine, the naval force of the British East India Company, as a lieutenant in 1771. His naval career was largely defined by his work surveying and exploring remote regions under British control, particularly the Andaman Islands, between December 1788 and April 1789.

2) Captain Blair’s findings were presented to the British governor-general on June 12, 1789, and his reports played a key role in the British decision to colonise the islands.

3) During his expedition, Archibald Blair discovered a natural harbour in the southern part of Great Andaman Island, which he initially named Port Cornwallis, in honour of Commodore William Cornwallis, Commander-in-Chief of the British-Indian Navy. This port was later renamed Port Blair in his honour.

4) Archibald Blair established the first British settlement on Chatham Island in 1789, where he oversaw the building of cottages and the clearing of forests. He recognised the strategic value of the harbour and ensured that it would serve as a key point for British operations in the area.

5) Despite his initial success, the settlement faced significant challenges, including disease and resistance from local tribes. The colony was eventually relocated to a new site, but this too ended in failure. Captain Blair returned to England in 1795. His work, however, laid the groundwork for the British presence in the Andaman Islands, which later became a penal colony in 1858, with the first prisoners being freedom fighters from the First War of Indian Independence.