East Indies Station

The Commander-in-Chief, East Indies was a British Royal Navy admiral and the formation subordinate to him, from 1865 to 1941. Even in official documents, the term East Indies Station was often used.

History

From 1831–1865, the East Indies and the China Station were a single command known as the East Indies and China Station. The East Indies Station, established in 1865, covered the Indian Ocean (excluding the waters around the Dutch East Indies, South Africa and Australia) and included the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. These responsibilities did not imply territorial claims but rather that the navy would actively protect British trading interests.

The East Indies Station had bases at Colombo, Trincomalee, Bombay, Basra and Aden. In response to increased Japanese threats, the separate East Indies Station was merged with the China Station in December 1941, to form the Eastern Fleet.

On 7 December 1941, cruisers on the station included the heavy cruisers Cornwall, Dorsetshire, and Exeter; the light cruisers Glasgow, Danae, Dauntless, Durban, Emerald and Enterprise (some sources also place the heavy cruiser Hawkins as being on station on that date, while others report her being under refit and repair in the UK between early November 1941 & May 1942 and six armed merchant cruisers). Also assigned to the station was 814 Naval Air Squadron at China Bay, Ceylon, which unit was at that time equipped with Fairey Swordfish torpedo bombers.

East Indies

The East Indies or Indies (or East India) is a term that has been used to describe the lands of South and South East Asia. In a more restricted sense, the Indies can be used to refer to the islands of South East Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago. The name "Indies" is derived from the river Indus and is used to connote parts of Asia that came under Indian cultural influence (except Vietnam which came under Chinese cultural influence).

Dutch-held colonies in the area were known for about 300 years as the Dutch East Indies before Indonesian independence, while Spanish-held colonies were known as the Spanish East Indies before the US-conquest and later Philippines' independence. The East Indies may also include the former French-held Indochina, former British territories Brunei and Singapore, and former Portuguese East Timor. It does not, however, include the former Dutch New Guinea western New Guinea (West Papua), which is geographically considered to be part of Melanesia.

The inhabitants of the East Indies are almost never called East Indians, distinguishing them both from inhabitants of the Caribbean (which is also called the West Indies) and from the indigenous peoples of the Americas who are often called "American Indians." In colonial times they were just "natives". However, the peoples of the East Indies comprise a wide variety of cultural diversity, and the inhabitants do not consider themselves as belonging to a single ethnic group. Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam are the most popular religions throughout the region, while Christianity, Sikhism, Jainism and various other traditional beliefs and practices are also prominent in some areas. The major languages in this area draw from a wide variety of language families, and should not be confused with the term Indic, which refers only to a group of Indo-Iranian languages from South Asia.

East Indies duck

The East Indies is an ornamental breed of domestic duck. Despite the breed's name, it was not developed in Southeast Asia, but rather in the United States in the 19th century. Sometimes called the Black East Indies, it is best known for its striking appearance: very dark, lustrous green plumage and black bills. Females may sometimes develop white feathers as they age. A bantam breed weighing around 1-2 pounds (453-907 grams), East Indies are largely kept by fanciers for exhibition purposes. Being small in size, they are relatively good fliers. Admitted to American Poultry Association's Standard of Perfection in 1874, East Indies are popular among breeders. They are generally shyer and quieter than Call Ducks.

See also

References

Indies (disambiguation)

The Indies is used to describe the lands of South and Southeast Asia.

Indies may also refer to:

See also