Phuket has a long history as a center for maritime trade and commerce. Its topography lends itself perfectly as a stopover point for traders and merchants escaping the monsoon storms and rough seas. Phang Nga bay among other smaller bays serve as a perfect sheltering place from the prevailing Westerly winds and waves coming in off the Andaman Sea. Geologists believe that what is known as Phuket island now was once connected to the mainland and formed a large cape protruding into the Anadaman Sea. Through history and the processes of nature the cape was changed and eventually completely separated from the mainland to become the island we see today.

The first known record of the cape was made by the Greek philosopher, Claudius ptolemy. In his book written in the year 157 he refers to a cape named Jung Ceylon between the latitudes 6N and 8N. This location corresponds to today’s Phuket island. The main town on the island then was called Ta Lang and was in the north of the island. Locals often referred to the island as Cha Lang, a variation from that name. Phuket town, todays main town is now located in the South.

During the 16th century Phuket attracted many European traders and business men. The main industry was tin mining. Phuket was a busy trading port for this with English, Dutch, Portuguese and French merchants. This trade created a development of mining that had not been seen before in the region. To work in the mines, Phuket attracted many immigrants, mainly from Portugal and China. Trade also expanded to include connections to a lot of Europe, Central Asia and China. Chinese businessmen also arrived and the wealth and importance of this little island increased. The Europeans have left there mark in architecture. In Phuket town a Sino-Portuguese style architecture can be seen, notable along the Thalang and Yaowarat Roads.

Phuket has twice been invaded by the Burmese. the first time was in 1785 when Thalang town was surrounded by Burmese troops who invaded the coastal provinces in this area. the widow of the Town governor, Chan and her sister Muk took it upon themselves to unite the local people and drive the invaders out of Phuket. The people under the command of Chan and Muk fought for one month before successfully reclaiming the town as their own.
Today at the junction 12 kilometers North of Phuket town called Ruea Intersection, stand a monument to the two sisters heroines. The were renamed noble titles Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao Si Sunthon and are still held in high respect today.

The second invasion took place 24 years later. This time the Burmese succeeded in taking the town of Thalang. Many residents fed to the neighboring provinces of Phang Nga and Krabi. Later in 1825 some of those who returned established a new town in the south of the island. This became todays Phuket town. Those who returned developed rice farming communities and made Phuket town the trading center for the tin mining industry.

Phuket received official status of a town in 1850. This attracted many more people to move to the area from neighboring communities and Thalang town. Later in 1894 Phuket became an independent administrative unit under supervision of the central administration Bangkok. Before this in 1902 the newly appointed governor, a Sino-Thai business man named Phraya Ratasada Korisimbi made improvements to the welfare of people in the area. He contributed to the modernization of Phuket town and established a market system in the countryside. As a consequence Phuket became and independent province in 1916.

In 1985 the price of tin halved. Even before this, tin mining was gradually decreasing and was no longer an important source of wealth for Phuket. At this time though it was Phuket’s other natural sources that attracted peoples attention and became the focus of a new, growing, global business. The white sand beaches, pleasant climate and the beautiful Andaman Sea beyond the palm fringed coastline became Phuket's major asset. Tourism had arrived and Phuket found it had everything to offer visitors from all across the globe.

[Phuket Map - Source Google Map]