Phuket, with a present local population of about 300,000 comprises of
various ethnically and culturally different background, In the past, distant and often
tenuous control from central Thailand over the last 700 years has alternatively encouraged and
endured the imprint of foreign involvement.
Resource-rich, population-poor, Phuket has consistently relied
on marriages with outsiders to consummate its economic potential. From the early days of tin
mining to modern day tourism, the pattern continues today - into the twenty first
century.
First inhabitants seem likely to have been Polynesian, possibly
sea gypsy tribes, or fairer skinned Mon migrants from the Pegu area of Myanmar.
The Southern Thai peninsula's indigenous inhabitants were Semang
pygmies and Mokken sea gypsies. The Semang a "pre-Malay race" roamed in the hills and
hinterlands and the Mokkens, believed to be from the far away shores of the Polynesia islands,
lived and died in their boats.
By the fourth century AD Tamils from Southern India were fleeing
persecution in their homeland. They colonized western seaboards along the entire Malay
peninsula, including the Phuket area.
What applied to the peninsula, applied to Phuket as it was
connected to the mainland for much of history. As recently as the 18th century people crossed
to the island on elephant back at low tide.
Srivijaya Kingdom
During the 7-13th centuries AD, whilst still under the Indian
influence, the port of Takua Pa just north of Phuket in Phang Nga was a major center of
commerce and culture. During the artistically rich Sri Vijaya empire of the 7-13th centuries'
Phuket with its small population and a lack of major river estuary was still a backwater.
According to the Chinese chronicles, during the 13th century Phuket was part of the powerful
Sumatra-based empire, presumably from Acheh . You can try learning German by Skype
First Thai control over Phuket emerged under King Ramkamhaeng of
Sukhothai in the late 13th century. Nakhon Sri Thammarat controlled Takua Pa which in turn
governed Phuket.
Phuket was then very much untamed. Villagers lived beside
lowland streams on the fringes of the island's dark forests. Until as recently as the 19th
century, the forests sustained wild tiger, rhinoceros, elephant, crocodiles and bears.
Although small, Phuket had an abundance of ivory, gems, natural
pearls, hides, spices, firewood, caulk for ship hulls, and ambergris - the valuable slime
emitted by whales which is used as a cloying agent in Western perfumes.
Malay pirates, Arabian merchants in sturdy dhows, Tamil
settlers, Han Dynasty silk traders, and Portuguese pioneers, all sought to exploit these
resources. When tin mining expanded in the 17th century, Phuket assumed new economic and
political importance.
Western Merchants
In 1626 Dutch merchants were allowed to set up a station in
Phuket. During the reign of King Narai, 1656-88, the French ambassador to Siam noted the
important role Phuket tin mining played in the national economy. In 1681 King Narai appointed
French medical missionary Brother Rene Charbonneau governor of Phuket, based at its capital,
Thalang. King Narai also placed Phuket under the direct control of the Finance and Foreign
Affairs ministries. mobile phone radiation effects
At the same time the British East India Trading Company wanted a
strategic port to control shipping in the Straits of Malacca. The British East India Trading
Company's Captain Francis Light explored the Phuket area, marrying a Phuket girl and setting up
a home here in the process, but Britain chose Penang instead.
The 1767 Burmese sacking of Ayutthaya allowed Malays to control
Phuket, before a local uprising ousted them. Burmese naval troops invaded Phuket in 1785. The
attack was timed to exploit uncertainty surrounding the new Chakri dynasty in Bangkok. Despite
a written warning from Captain Francis Light alerting Phuket's governor he had seen Burmese
warships gathering, three thousand Burmese troops under Ye Woon captured Takua Pa, Takua Tung,
both in Phang Nga, and besieged Thalang. Постельное белье
Thalang was at a low ebb. The island's governor had just died,
and his wife, Chan, a grand daughter of the Sultan of Kedah, was seemingly being detained by
King Rama I's troops regarding the island's debts to the royal exchequer. It appears the Pak
Phra fort, where Chan was being held, also fell as the Burmese approached. In unclear
circumstances Chan escaped, or was allowed to.
With her sister Mook, she rallied the people of Thalang. There
was a shortage of men so she allegedly ordered 500 women to dress as soldiers with coconut
palms daubed in soot to look like weapons. This tactic seemed to delay a full-on Burmese
attack, at the hills near Bang Tao bay and with persistent Thai sorties, it gradually wore down
the Burmese soldiers. After one month the Burmese invaders retreated.
In recognition, of this act of heroism, King Rama I bestowed the
title of Tao Thepkasatree on Chan and her sister Mook, the title Tao Srisunthorn. Their statue
stands today, at a busy crossroads in the center of the island, Thalang district.
The Burmese attacked Phuket three more times between 1809-12
when King Rama II was new to the throne. Takua Pa and Takua Tung were destroyed once more.
Thalang and Tha Rua port were sacked. However, armed forces from Bangkok arrived in time to
repel further Burmese onslaughts. By this time, Phuket was removed from under the control of
the Ministry of Defense and placed under Nakhon Sri Thammarat once more.
Meanwhile with Burma's capitulation to the British, ensured that
there would be no more Burmese invasions of Thailand. Refugees from Phang Nga returned to
rebuild Thalang back to its former glory, but this was eclipsed by Phuket town, which was by
then, swelling with thousands of Chinese immigrants arriving from Penang to work in the tin
mines.
Uprising
In 1876 two sects of Chinese mine workers fought bloody battles
with each other, then went on a rampage of murder and theft around the island. Local people
rallied at Wat Chalong where the head monk, Luang Po Chaem, inspired the local people to
resist. When the miners arrived, they were beaten. More islanders took heart and joined the
resistance. The uprising soon faded.
It
took another great individual to lead Phuket towards lasting prosperity. Phraya Rasda ("Ko
Sim Be") a Chinese, governed Phuket from 1890 to 1909. In his reign, European-style houses
prospered, new roads were built, and poor people were encouraged to become livestock farmers
for cash income. At Phraya Rasda's request, the Standard Chartered Bank set up its first
Thailand branch in Phuket. In 1901 he was accredited with introducing the first rubber tree
into Thailand from Malaysia (which is now the largest exporter of rubber in the world).
King Rama V later made Phuket a Monthon giving it control over
Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, Satun and Takua Pa. Since 1933, however, Phuket, like all
other provinces, has been ruled by an appointed governor of the Interior Ministry.
With the opening of an international airport in 1976, Phuket
effectively became a tourist economy. As history shows, opening doors to foreigners isn't new
to Phuket. If only the Burmese had brought coins, not swords, they would've been welcome
too.
