Phuket had an abundance and readily accessible tin veins in the
Far East. Since the 16th century it meant money and royalties for the Ayutthaya kingdom. It
also meant invasions, migrations, riots and the sacking of towns.
The possession of tin was an important commodity, in the old
days. Between the 16th and early 19th centuries, tin smelting meant power, especially for the
making of spear tips, swords, body armor, muskets and bullets. Thus, it is an important mineral
for the European and Oriental powers.
In 1511 the Portuguese captured Malacca, in the Malaya
peninsula and established themselves as a major power in the region. In 1518 the
Portuguese, won permission from King Rama Thibodi II of Ayutthaya to set up a tin trading
station in Phuket.
Tin was shoveled from vertical pits, sorted, and crudely smelted
in small furnaces. The resultant tin ore was 70-75% pure. Weaponry as a result was often
defective.
By King Narai's reign, 1656-1688, French ambassador Chevalier de
Chaumont noted the importance of Phuket tin for Ayutthaya's royal exchequer. Tin mines were
also opened in neighboring Takua Pa ("lead forest") in Phang Nga, and in Ranong.
The temptation of tin was too much for the warring Burmese. They
invaded Phuket four times 1785-1812, prompting a refugee exodus to eastern Phang Nga.
The invaders, however, couldn't consolidate their gains due to
advancing Thai troops and instability at home. With lower Burma falling to the British in 1824,
peaceful trading expanded into the Andaman especially during the reign of King Rama III
1824-51. With better tin mixtures from alchemical processes, demand for tin and related alloys
boomed. Bangkok needed it for coins and roof tiles. Industrializing Europe wanted it for
anti-rust coatings, foils, tin cans and electronics. Специалисты высокого класса быстровозводимые здания все необходимое в одном месте.
To solve labor shortages in Phuket tin mines, thousands of
impoverished Chinese migrated to Phuket in the mid 19th century. Many mines were European
owned. Tin mining techniques were crude and labor intensive.
In 1876 the miners rioted. They were aggrieved about work
conditions, their violence fuelled by secret sect rivalries among themselves. An orgy of rape
and mayhem broke out. With 25,000 migrant Chinese on the island Thais were outnumbered. As the
violence raged the clans called on reinforcements from Penang. Order was finally restored at
Wat Chalong when the local people rallied behind by two temple abbots and the rebellion blew
over. glucosemeter
By the turn of the century labor intensive tin mining was in
decline. The first offshore tin dredger arrived in 1906, captained by Australian Edward Thomas
Miles.
Ground sluicing, hydraulic pumps, giant excavators and 40 ton
furnaces were also installed, the latter burning at 1,350 Celsius to produce 99.9% pure tin.
As the century progressed global oversupply caused low prices.
Most Phuket mines ceased operation. As foreign concerns left, land owners switched to rubber
plantations, latex sheet smoking factories, brick making, and para wood processing. Chinese
laborers shifted to the plantations or became commercial workers in Phuket town. Government
legislation forced Chinese integration with Thais through education and language policies.
Tin mining on Phuket has now all but ceased. There are only
three tin dredgers left in Phuket Bay. Tin exporting countries like Thailand now agree to limit
exports in order to bolster low global prices. Real money is now made from selling old tin mine
sites as real estate for hotel or housing developments. In Bang Tao, the former slurry pits now
do service as water sport lagoons and cat fish farms.
The economic baton has been passed noticeably on two occasions:
from tin to rubber, and from rubber to tourism.
The rubber tree was introduced to Phuket and South Thailand at
the start of the century, coincidentally at the same time as onshore tin supplies started to
dwindle and prices dip. Cash from rubber production breathed life into Phuket's small and
faltering economy. Rubber plantations expanded to cover some 40% of Phuket's surface. Today it
is around 33%.
You can recognize rubber plantations by their regimented rows of
trees growing 4 m. apart - the assertion of symmetrical order and monoculture over the riot of
native species which preceded it.
The rubber tree is indigenous to South America but was
introduced to colonial South East Asia by the British, last century. There was strong
competition and intense pressure to increase plantation yields. Europe, in the mid of an
industrial revolution, developed an insatiable demand for rubber.
There was a lot of experimenting with hybrid strands to increase
yields. Thailand was slow to start. In 1899 Trang governor Phraya Ratsada enviously inspected
the new rubber estates of North Malaya.
It wasn't until 1901 that he finally sailed to Dutch Indonesia.
While there he wrapped dozens of rubber shoots in wet cotton wool, covered them with newspaper
and placed them in four boxes aboard his private steam boat. According to one Thai version, he
then "took a very rapid and instantaneous trip back to Thailand."
The governor planted 18 acres near Trang and forced government
officials to distribute seeds to farmers. Temporary laws were quickly written in Bangkok to
allow rice growers to clear native forest for rubber production.
The agricultural ministry distributed seeds of the Indian rubber
tree (ficus elastica) at cost price throughout South Thailand where the climate was suitable.
The government brought in a European expert from Java, HWL Couperus, to teach cultivation
techniques.
By 1910 rubber was a big player in Phuket's economy. The main
market was North Malay, from where sheets were sent to meet industrial demand in Britain.
Chinese immigrants who came to work the tin mines in Phuket switched to rubber tapping. Most
rubber holdings in Phuket were Chinese owned. The Chinese were the only non-Thais allowed to
own plantations in South Thailand. Family-run small holdings abounded on the Thai side of the
border, while North Malaya encouraged larger estates with hybrid strains, Indian migrant labor,
and foreign ownership.
Nevertheless, Thailand's small holdings supplied 4% of the world
rubber market by 1936. With over 2,000 mm. of rain a year, the fertile growing climate of South
Thailand propelled the country to the position of world's number one by the mid 1990s. Thailand
now produces around 1.8 mil tons a year, 90% of which is exported, earning some 60 billion Baht
annually. Indonesia and Malaysia follow closely behind.
Rubber for car and plane tires is by far the biggest end
product, followed by industrial casings, shoes, bags, elastic bands and condoms.
