A History of Phuket and the Surrounding Region

This is the first book to comprehensively examine the little-known history of the Phuket region. It incorporates over 1000 direct contemporary writings and quotes from commentators and visitors over the last 2,000 years. The book is divided into 38 chapters and is illustrated with over 100 maps, pictures and some previously unpublished photographs, many of which have never been published before.

This epic story begins with the arrival of the first humans and goes on to cover: the influence of early Negro, Malay, Indian, Chinese, Arab, Greek settlers and visitors; Phuket's important position on the ancient east-west maritime trade route; the rise and fall of mysterious early kingdoms and empires; the coming of Islam and Thai regional dominance; the social history and the scourge of piracy; swashbuckling attempts by Portuguese, Japanese, Dutch, French and British adventurers to control Phuket in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries; the destruction of the 18th and 19th century Burmese wars; the tin mining boom; mass Chinese immigration and their rise to regional power; European colonial pressure and why Phuket was never colonized; the birth of Thailand; Japan's WWII invasion, local resistance battles and the eventual Allied conquest of Phuket; and the island's post-war transformation into a jet-set destination.