History of Phuket summarized

Phuket’s History Summary

Colonists from India founded Phuket Town in the 1st century B.C..

In the 3^rd century A.D a Greek geographer, Ptolemy, referred to it as “Jang Si Lang” which then became “Junk Ceylon”, this is the name you will see on ancient maps of Thailand or Siam.

The oldest inhabitants of Phuket are the sea gypsies who cam to Phuket about 500 years ago. They would settle in one bay until all the resources in the location are finished and then move onto another bay to give nature time to recover.

In 1785 Captain Light discovered the Burmese attack, the Burmese had been repelled a year earlier but came back with a larger army. He quickly warned Phuket’s authorities. Phuket’s governor had just passed away so the organization of the defense was in the hands of his widow, Kunying Chan. She and her sister Mook got all forces they could together and disguised local women as male soldiers, which made Phuket’s military seem unbeatable. After a month the Burmese surrendered and King Rama 1 awarded Kunying Chan with the royal title of “Thao Thep Kasattri”. A memorial was built on Thepkassatri road for locals to pay their respects to Mook and Kunying Chan.

Tin mining drew thousands of Chinese labourers, coming from Penang, Malaysia over 100 years ago, to the island, out to find a better life. They brought with them the Sino-Portuguese style; they built many beautiful houses in this style especially in Phuket Town.

Rubber plantations are another aspect that brought Phuket’s wealth. Phuket was introduced to rubber plantations at the start of the year; rubber plantations once covered 40% of Phuket. Many of the farmers still work their plantations like they did 50 years ago.

When tourism came to Thailand, Phuket was one of the first provinces to embrace the industry and soon became a hotspot around the world for its natural beauty and warm reception. The island receives millions of visitors each year and that number will continue to grow.

On the 26^th December 2004 Phuket was involved in one the worst natural disasters in history. It was triggered by an undersea earthquake which had an estimated magnitude of 9.1 to 9.3,it killed around 230,00 people in Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The west coast of Phuket was very damaged by the tsunami, and most homes, hotels and other buildings on low grounds were badly damaged. Areas including Khao Lak were almost completely wiped out.