The name ‘Andaman’ was derived from the character name ‘Hanuman’ of ‘Ramayana’ – one of the holy books of the Hindus.The place became the naval base of the great Maratha admiral, Kanhoji Angre in the early 18th century. He frequently crossed swords with the Europeans – the British, the Dutch and the Portugese. In 1713, he captured the yacht of the British governor of Bombay, releasing it only after obtaining a hefty ransom. Though attacked later by a combined British/Portugese naval task force, Angre remained undefeated until his death in 1729. The first westerners to set foot on these isles were the Danes in the mid-18th century. Governor General of India Lord Cornwallis was very much interested to establish colony in these islands. The East India Company decided to establish a colony on the Andamans. In the year 1788 A.D., Lt. Archibold Blair was appointed by the East India Company to survey the Andaman Sea. He reached Andamans in the year 1789 A.D. & stayed here along with many peoples and named the Port after the name of the present Governor Lord Cornwallis.After revolt of 1857 against the British Empire, the Britishers started to establish these sectors. British government decided to shift the revolutionaries in these remote Islands as open prisoners.Port Cornwallis had been renamed Port Blair by the end of the 18th Century in recognition of the services rendered by Capt. Archibold Blair.These Islands were under Japanese rule from 23rd March 1942 to 24th October 1945. As a result of the Second World War, Japan was forced to surrender; and that was the end of Japan rule in these Islands too. The administration of these islands again passed into the hands of British on 25th October 1945. The Britishers rule came to an end with the independence of India.