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Phuket's history
dates back to 1025 AD. The island's present name derives its meaning from
the Tamil word, manikram, or crystal mountain.
However, for the greater part of the last millennium,
Phuket was known as Junk Ceylon, which, with variations, is the name found
on most old maps. The name is thought to have its roots in Ptolemy's
Geographia, written by the Alexandrian geographer in the 3rd century AD. He
mentioned that in making a trip from Souwannapum to the Malay Peninsula, it
was neccesary to pass the cape of Jang Si Lang.
Phuket
was a way station on the route between India and China for seafarers
to stop for shelter. The island appears to have been part of the Shivite
empire (called the Tam Porn Ling in Thai) that established itself on the
Malay Peninsula during the first millennium AD. Later, as Muang Takua-Talang,
it was part of the Srivichai and Siri Tahm empires. Governed as the eleventh
in a constellation of twelve cities, Phuket's emblem, by which it was
known to others, in those largely pre-literate times, was the dog.
During
the Sukothai Period, Phuket was associated with Takua Pa, in what is now
Phangnga Province, and another area with vast tin reserves.
The
Dutch established a trading post during the Ayuthaya Period of the 16th
century. The island's northern and central regions were governed by the
Thais, and the southern and western parts were given over to the tin trade,
a concession in the hands of foreigners.
After Ayuthaya
was sacked by the Burmese in 1767, there was a short interregnum in
Thailand, ended by King Taksin, who drove out the Burmese and
re-unified the country. The Burmese, however, were anxious to return to the
offensive. They outfitted a fleet to raid the southern provinces, and carry
off the population to slavery in Burma.
This
led to Phuket's most significant historic event. A passing sea captain,
Francis Light, sent word that the Burmese were en route to attack. Forces in
Phuket were assembled by two heroines, Kunying Jan, wife of the recently
deceased Phuket governer, and her sister, Mook, After a month's siege, the
Burmese were forced to depart on 13 March, 1785. Kunying Jan and her sister
were credited with the successful defense.
In
recognition, King Rama I bestowed upon Kunying Jan the honorific Thao
Thepkrasatri, a title of nobility usually reserved for royalty. Her sister
became Thao Srisunthorn.
During
the 19th century, Chinese immigrants arrived in such numbers to work
for the tin mines that the ethnic character of the island's interior became
predominantly Chinese, while the coastal settlements remained populated
chiefly by Muslim fishermen.
In Rama V's reign, Phuket became the administrative center of a group of tin
mining provinces called Monton Phuket, and in 1933, with the change from
absolute monarchy to a parliamentary system, the island was established as a
province by itself.
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