Geologist believe that Phuket was once part of the mainland but millions of years of erosion gradually separated it making it the island we all know today. Phuket was first known as Junk Ceylon a name that the Portuguese used for Phuket island in their maps. Junk Ceylon became an ideal port for traders from China and India.
The Sea Gypsies are one of the first people who colonized Phuket. The sea gypsies are split into three different ethnic groups; the Moken, Moklen and the Urak Lawoi. These people are nomads they mostly live on their boats out on sea or they settle on one bay until all the resources are used up and then they move giving the nature time to recover.
In 1772 Phuket was nearly colonized by the British when Captain Francis Light set up a trading post in Ban Tha Rua to control the Straits Of Malacca. When Capt. Francis Light heard that the Burmese was planning an attack on Phuket and warned the locals. When the governor died leaving Phuket without a leader and outnumbered, his widow Kunying Chan and her sister Mook came up with an idea to disguise Phuket’s local ladies as men. When the Burmese aggressors saw this many people marching along the shore it took them by surprised causing them to think that reinforcements was sent down from the capital. After a month the Burmese was running low on supplies and had to flea.
Phuket has long been and important area for mining and rubber plantations, and saw an up rise of wealth when tin mining and rubber planting grew in the region. In 1969 the tin mining monument was erected in Sapan Hin, Phuket Town on the 60th anniversary of dredging in Phuket.
Tourism began in Phuket in the early 1970s with the first beach bungalow at Patong Beach. At this time Phuket only attracted a few backpackers looking for adventure. Today Tourism plays a major role in the economy of Phuket attracting nearly 3 million tourist each year.
On the 26th of December 2004 Phuket was struck by a large tsunami leaving nearly 4500 dead and 8500 injured.
