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When was the British penal colony at Port Blair founded?

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Cinque Islands, Andaman and Nicobar Islands — Andaman and Nicobar Islands Andaman redwood trees in the Cinque Islands, south of Rutland Island, in the southern Andamans, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India.

The British established their first penal colony at the site of present-day Sri Vijaya Puram (formerly Port Blair) in 1789, though this settlement was abandoned in 1796.12

Following the Indian Rebellion of 1857, the British returned to the site and founded a new penal colony in 1858 to house the large number of prisoners resulting from the uprising.312