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Phuket
: History |
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Phuket Island was assumed by geologists
to be once part of the mainland in the form of a cape
sticking out into the Andaman Sea but millions of years
later the cape was gradually eroded by natural forces
and finally detached from the main land. The cape was
mentioned in a book written around the year 157 by Claudius
Ptolemy, a famous Greek philosopher, that to travel to
Malay Peninsula by ship, the travellers had to pass a
cape known among them as Junk Ceylon. It was located between
latitudes 6 N and 8 N which is the present site of Phuket
Island. Junk Ceylon was at that time visited by merchants
of several nations including India, Persia, and Arabia
because the island offered a bay that protected its harbour
from the wind and monsoon, making it a good stopover.
Moreover, it had plenty of tin ore deposits that fetched
high prices at that time because the mineral was much
wanted by some foreign countries.
Junk Ceylon was later known among the locals as Thalang,
which was also the name of the main town in the north
of the island. In 1785, Thalang town was besieged by the
Burmese troops invading the coastal area but Chan, the
widow of the governor who had just died, and her sister
Muk rose to the occasion by jointly shouldering the successful
task of defending the land for over 30 days until starvation
forced the enemy to retreat. Due to their heroic deeds,
noble titles were bestowed on Chan and Muk as Thao Thep
Krasattri and Thao Si Sunthon respectively. In 1966 a
monument was erected at Tha Ruea Intersection, 12 km to
the north of Phuket Town in memory of the sisters, who
are still highly respected by Phuket people nowadays.
However, 24 years later, the Burmese succeeded in taking
Thalang and many Thalang people fled to Phang-nga and
Krabi. In 1825, some of them returned and re-establish
a town on a new location but soon they moved back to their
original site because of its better location for rice
farming. This return of Thalang people did not make their
town as important as in the past. Instead, the area in
the south of the island (Phuket town today) grew quickly
and became the centre of tin trade at that time. Known
as Phuket, it was elevated to be a town in 1850. More
people immigrated from Thalang and the nearby communities
to Phuket. In 1894, Phuket was promoted to be a monthon
(an administrative unit of that time). An important person
who constructed Phuket as a modern city was Phraya Ratsada,
who was appointed to govern Phuket monthon in 1902. His
contributions also included improving the welfare of the
locals, and setting up a network of markets in the countryside.
In 1916, Phuket became a province. It was not until 1967
that Sarasin Bridge was built to connect the main land
with Phuket.
Though the tin mining industry has played a specially
important role in the economic development of the island
province, it has declined especially after 1985 when the
price of tin fell by half. The decline has also been due
to the gradual decrease in the deposits after centuries
of exploitation. So, Phuket had to look for a new industry
on which to base its future economic development. Fortunately,
its natural beauty was soon discovered and there was a
boom of tourism in 1980's, which has lasted up to the
21st century. |
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