Posted on 12/14/2022 10:31:06 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Most people like to travel to exotic places, especially tropical islands, which make for excellent vacation spots. But, if you want to gamble with death, you’ll avert this island at all costs. For starters, it’s also patrolled by the Indian Navy, which enforces a three-to-five-mile exclusion zone around the island. It sounds like something from Jurassic Park, which does share one real-life comparison: the inhabitants will kill you. No, it’s not dinosaurs, but native peoples who have yet to experience the Bronze Age in terms of technology. It’s no exaggeration—these island people are considered “uncontacted” and are viciously protective of their island to the point where they have killed almost anyone who ventured onto its beaches. RealLifeLore had a great video explaining the history of the island and the tragic end many have met while trying to reach Paleolithic people.
Located in the Bay of Bengal, North Sentinel Island was a national news story in 2018 when a Christian missionary John Allen Chau attempted to bring the word of Christ to these people, who he considered lived on Satan’s Island. He knew the risks, and after bribing some fisherman to get him within sight of the island’s shoreline, he met his maker—literally. The Sentinelese butchered the missionary and buried Chau on the beach where it remains today as multiple efforts from local authorities to retrieve the body proved unsuccessful—the natives kept showing up in force.
In 2006, two Indian fishermen were illegally fishing in the waters around the island and got intoxicated, crashing their ship into the surrounding reefs. Witnesses from other fishing boats in the area witnessed Sentinelese men emerging from the dense jungle with weapons and butchering the two men. They later displayed their bodies like scarecrows on the beach as a warning.
In 1976, the cargo ship MV Rusley ran aground near the island, along with the MV Primrose five years later. The crew of the Primrose encountered the belligerent natives and sent an urgent distress call asking for firearms and ammunition for protection. The ship had no weapons, and the crew was waiting for another passing vessel to rescue them. RealLifeLore added that the weapons drop wasn’t necessary as American helicopter pilots working in the area could airlift the besieged crew off the ship. The YouTube account humorously added that this was probably when the Sentinelese got thrust into the Iron Age, as they later scavenged the abandoned ship.
There is no way to communicate with these people, as we haven’t had enough contact to decipher their language. In the 1970s, National Geographic and the Indian Government captured some exclusive footage in the documentary “Man in Search of Man,” which was cut short when one of the boats carrying the crew was later subjected to arrow fire. A bittersweet end after local anthropologists had made numerous gift drops for years to make contact.
The irony is that this island hasn’t moved past the last Ice Age roughly, though it’s around 30 miles from the modern city of Port Blair on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. These people don’t want presents from us. They want to be left alone. The Indian government has recognized that with new law establishing the quarantine zone while also acknowledging that close contact could wipe out this population since their isolation has led to them having no natural immunity against most diseases. It may look pretty from afar, but North Sentinel Island is a location of death for those who wish to visit.
Don’t go.
“always the same thing written about every few years since then anyway.”
Yep. It’s like some young reporter just now finds out about it and thinks he’s the first one or an older reporter was just lazy.
I have to admit, I don’t really understand all the comments about going in and killing the natives, even in jest. Why would anybody think that?
Fighting in the open on the beach? Sure.
Fighting in dense jungle where the natives can be in arms reach without you seeing them? Maybe not.
Exactly! It makes no sense to me either. Let the folks be - if they don’t want visitors, they don’t want visitors. It’s their home. I thought FReepers would respect that.
But then again, this is 2022 FR where even small government and big C Conservatism doesn’t exist anymore. Many people here nowadays are like the DU Dummies of circa 2005 - just without LBGT tendencies. Conservatism is dying off, and I’d bet a 1985 Democrat is more Conservative than over 50% of FReepers these days.
As a constitutional originalist: tell me about it!
For some reason this reminds me of a Sherlock Holmes story... don’t recall the name.
1975 SS Mayaguez Incident
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayaguez_incident
EXCERPTS:
After the Khmer Rouge seized the U.S. merchant vessel SS Mayaguez in a disputed maritime area, the U.S. mounted a hastily-prepared rescue operation. U.S. Marines recaptured the ship and attacked the island of Koh Tang where it was believed that the crew were being held as hostages.
“planners . . . believed that only about 20 Cambodian irregulars armed with small arms were on the island.”
The Defense Intelligence Agency had made an assessment, in part from RF-4C and U-2 reconnaissance flights, that between 150 and 200 Khmer Rouge backed by heavy weapons occupied Koh Tang. This report was conveyed to U-Tapao but was never briefed to the planners, probably due to security classification issues, who believed that only about 20 Cambodian irregulars armed with small arms were on the island.
How about “Naked and Afraid”!
“A platoon with a couple of SAWS, a few M2’s slung under the M-4’s and a couple of fire teams of light flankers should be enough to clear out belligerent natives. Maybe seeing some of their best and brightest get plugged by a few dudes that are barely working up a sweat might persuade the survivors to meet a few new people.”
Why would you want to do that? Leave them alone.
OAHU, HAWAI’I.
I have visited there, and I will certainly die. Damn. Wish I had known that before I went to Hawai’i.
Oh, wait, Correlation is not necessarily causation. Damn, had me going there for a moment!
The wonderful civilization of indigenous peoples.
I was just about to post the same point, but three to four generations max before inbreeding causes too many birth defects to start causing problems on that small an island with too few septs for genetic diversity.
Me, an M-4, and 1,000 rounds of ammo and I say I could almost certainly survive the first few days.
The irony is that this island hasn’t moved past the last Ice Age
= = =
So they don’t have any human caused warming?
Leave them alone. In 200-300 years when they finally make contact the jokes on them.
Pretty much like most college campuses to conservatives.
For some reason this reminds me of a Sherlock Holmes story... don’t recall the name.
‘The Sign of the Four’
Deed them Epstein’s island.
Yep...thanks.
Just like Fox Hill Prison.
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