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A Brief History of Phuket Thailand, history of Phuket, historic Phuket, Phuket's history - Indian Chief Travel
THAILAND  |  Phuket, Thailand Travel Guide
Thursday, March 28, 2024
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A Brief History of Phuket

A Brief History of Phuket

Burmese Invasions

Every British child knows what happened in the year 1066 when William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings. Likewise, American youngsters remember the year 1492 when Columbus sailed the ocean blue and discovered America, or to be more precise a small island in the Bahamas called San Salvador. For the people of Phuket the year to remember is 1785, when two women thwarted an invasion of Burmese with artificial guns made of wood.

A British sea captain, Francis Light, knew that the Burmese fleet with 3,000 men was preparing to invade and wrote to the governor of Phuket who, in fact, had just died. Captain Light thought, like many historians, that the Burmese wanted to capture Thais and take them back to Burma as slaves. The governor’s wife, Kunying Jan, a granddaughter of the Sultan of Kedah, intercepted the message and with the help of her sister Mook rallied the islanders into action. There was a shortage of men so she ordered several hundred women to dress as soldiers. There was also a shortage of weapons so they were armed with coconut palms and sticks. For a month the Burmese tried to establish a foothold near Bang Tao Bay but continual Thai sorties prevented that. After a month, on March 13, 1785, the Burmese were facing starvation and retreated.

King Rama I, amazed by their exploits, bestowed noble titles on the sisters. Kunying Jan became Thao Thepkrasatri and her sister was named Thao Srisunthorn. Today the two heroines are remembered by statues, erected in 1966, that adorn a roundabout on the highway to the airport. You will notice that many local people make the Thai wai greeting as they pass the roundabout, which is at the Tha Ruea intersection, 12 kilometers north of Phuket City.

But the Burmese were not done with their visits to Phuket. When King Rama II was new to the throne they pillaged the area three more times between 1809 and 1812. Takua Pha and Takua Tung were destroyed and Thalang and Tha Rua port left in ruins. Armed forces from Bangkok arrived in time to repel further onslaughts. Then the British took over Burma and the Burmese raids stopped.

In 1825 many of the islanders who had fled to Phang Nga and Krabi returned to re-establish Thalang and concentrated on rice growing. Meanwhile an area south of Thalang was becoming more important as the center of the tin trade and in 1850 was elevated to town status and became Phuket Town. In 2004 that status was elevated again and it became Phuket City.

The Sea Gypsies

The sea gypsies – the semi-nomadic Moken people known as the chao ley (people of the sea) – have lived as hunter-gatherers, dwelling on boats or in stilted dwellings along the coasts of Thailand and Myanmar for hundreds of years. Today their main centers in Thailand are in the Surin Islands, on Sirey Island (a small islet off Phuket City), and at Rawai Beach, on the southern end of Phuket. They are probably the oldest inhabitants of Phuket. It is unfortunate that their culture is being eroded because of the tourist invasion. Now they get visitors to their settlements and some of their traditional habits are vanishing. They used to exist without money, managing to barter their way through life with their skills as fishermen. Now those photo opportunities bring cash and they have homes with electricity and running water.

They are gentle, friendly people whose future looks like being further transformed as local government tries to integrate them into regular Thai society. They are still of great interest to scientists and anthropologists because of their uncertain background. There are no written records of where they came from and yet they have a unique language and their own form of spirit worship.

The sea gypsies are very involved in the collection of birds’ nests, which is a very lucrative and dangerous enterprise.

Scientists have discovered that the sea gypsies’ children have incredible underwater vision, twice as good as a European child, which enables them to find the tiny shells and shellfish when they dive to the sea bed. The men normally fish with roughly made harpoons and use nets only to store their catch while they are underwater. Many of them can dive to depths of 75 feet and it is only recently that they have used snorkels in their search for food. The sea gypsies welcome visitors to their settlements and going on your own seems a more peaceful way to see what remains of a culture that will one day disappear.

Chinese Immigrants

Tin mining attracted large numbers of Chinese workers but, because they came from different cultures within China, bloody battles ensued. In 1876 two sects fought each other and then went on a rampage of murder and theft throughout the island. The temple at Chalong became a meeting point for islanders trying to stop the uprising. When the Chinese gangs arrived at the temple the islanders, normally peaceful, battled with the Chinese. More Thais joined the fight and eventually the uprising was quelled.

The Chinese played an important role in Phuket’s development. Praya Rasda, a Chinese grandee, governed Phuket from 1890 to 1909. During his term of office European-style houses were built in the town, new roads constructed and poor people were encouraged to become livestock farmers. At Praya Rasda’s request the Standard Chartered Bank set up its first Thailand branch in Phuket. In 1901 he was credited with introducing the first rubber tree into Thailand. The kingdom became the largest exporter of rubber in the world.

King Rama V later made Phuket a monthon, a Thai governing authority, giving it control over Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, Satun and Takua Pha. Since 1933 Phuket, like all other provinces, has been ruled by an appointed governor of the Interior Ministry. It was not until 1967 that the Sarasin Bridge was built to connect the main land with Phuket. With the opening of an international airport in 1976, Phuket turned its attention to the fast-growing tourist industry.

Last updated October 10, 2008
Posted in   Thailand  |  Phuket
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