Historian HG Quaritch Wales has argued the South Thai peninsula's indigenous inhabitants were Semang pygmies and Mokken sea gypsies. The Semang roamed in the hills and the Mokkens, a "pre-Malay race", lived and died in their boats. Enigmatically, Quaritch Wales also describes the South's indigenous people as "Mons and Khmer mixed with proto-Malay".

What applied to the peninsula, applied to Phuket as it was connected to the mainland for much of history. As recently as the 18th century people crossed to the island on elephant back at low tide.

By the fourth century AD Tamils from Klingkarach in India were fleeing persecution in their homeland. They colonised western seaboards along the entire Malay peninsula, including the Phuket area.

During the 7-13th centuries AD, the Indianised port of Takua Pha just north of Phuket in Phangnga was a major centre of commerce and culture. During the artisticallyrich Srivichai empire of the 7-13th centuries' Phuket with its small population and lack of a major river estuary was a backwater. Nevertheless, Chinese chronicler Tchau JouKoua in 1225 AD noted that "Silan" (Phuket) was part of the powerful Sumatra-based empire.

First Thai control over Phuket emerged under King Ramkamhaeng of Sukhothai in the late 13th century. Nakhon Sri Thammarat controlled Takua Pha which in turn governed Phuket.

Phuket was then very much untamed. Villagers lived beside lowland streams on the fringes of the island's dark forests. Until as recently as the 19th century, the forests sustained wild tiger, rhinoceros, elephant, crocodiles and bears.

Although small, Phuket had an abundance f ivory, gems, natural pearls, hides, spices, firewood, caulk for ship hulls, and ambergris - the valuable slime emitted by whales which is used as a cloying agent in Western perfumes.

Malay pirates, Arabian merchants in sturdy dhows, Tamil settlers, Han Dynasty silk traders, and Portuguese pioneers all sought to exploit these resources. When tin mining expanded in the 17th century, Phuket assumed new economic and political importance.

In 1626 Dutch traders were allowed to set up a station in Phuket. During the reign of King Narai, 1656-88, the French ambassador to Siam noted the important role Phuket tin played in the national economy. In 1681 Narai appointed French medical missionary Brother Rene Charbonneau governor of Phuket, based at its capital, Thalang. Narai also placed Phuket under the direct control of the Finance and Foreign Affairs ministries.

At the same time the British East India Trading Company wanted a strategic port to control shipping in the Straits of Malacca. The Company's Captain Francis Light econnoitred the Phuket area, marrying a Phuket girl and setting up home there in the process. But Britain chose Penang instead.

The 1767 Burmese sacking of Ayutthaya allowed Malays to control Phuket, before a local uprising ousted them. Burmese navy troops invaded Phuket in 1785. The attack was timed to exploit uncertainty surrounding the new Chakri dynasty in Bangkok. Despite a written warning from Captain Francis Light alerting Phuket's governor he had seen Burmese warships gathering, three thousand Burmese troops under Ye Woon captured Takua Pha, Takua Tung, both in Phangnga, and besieged Thalang.

Thalang was at a low ebb. The island's governor had just died, and his wife, Chan, a grand daughter of the Sultan of Kedah, was seemingly being detained by King Rama I's troops regarding the island's debts to the royal exchequer. It appears the Pak Phra fort, where Chan was being held, also fell as the Burmese approached. In unclear circumstances Chan escaped, or was allowed to.

With her sister Mook, she rallied the people of Thalang. There was a shortage of men so she allegedly ordered 500 women to dress as soldiers with coconut palms daubed in soot to look like weapons. The ruse seemed to delay a full-on Burmese attack. At the Khoke Chana Pama hills near Bang Tao bay persistent Thai sorties wore down the Burmese soldiers. After one month the invaders retreated.

In recognition, King Rama I bestowed the title of Tao Tepkrasatree on Chan. Her sister Mook became Tao Srisunthorn. Their statue stands today, at a busy crossroads in the centre of the island.

The Burmese pillaged Phuket three more times 1809-12 when King Rama II was new to the throne. Takua Pha and Takua Tung were destroyed once more. Thalang and Tha Rua port were sacked. However, armed forces from Bangkok arrived in time to repel further onslaughts. When the dust settled, Phuket was removed from under the control of the Ministry of Defence and placed under Nakhon Sri Thammarat once more.

Meanwhile Burma's capitulation to the British ensured there would be no more Burmese invasions of Thailand. Refugees from Phangnga returned to rebuild Thalang, but its ascent was eclipsed by Phuket town, which was swelling with thousands of Chinese immigrants arriving from Penang to work the tin mines.

In 1876 two sects of Chinese mine workers fought bloody battles with each other, then went on a rampage of murder and theft around the island. Local people rallied at Wat Chalong where the head monk inspired them to resist. When the miners arrived, they were beaten. More islanders took heart and joined the resistance. The uprising faded.

It took another great individual to lead Phuket towards lasting prosperity. Praya Rasda ("Kawsimbi") a Chinese grandee governed Phuket from 1890 to 1909. In his reign, European-style houses prospered, new roads were built, and poor people were encouraged to become livestock farmers for cash income. At Praya Rasda's behest, the Standard Chartered Bank set up its first Thailand branch in Phuket. In 1901 he was accredited with introducing the first rubber tree into Thailand (which is now the largest exporter of rubber in the world).

King Rama V later made Phuket a monthon giving it control over Phangnga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, Satun and Takua Pha. Since 1933, however, Phuket, like all other provinces, has been ruled by an appointed governor of the Interior Ministry.

With the opening of an international airport in 1976, Phuket effectively became a tourist economy. As history shows, opening doors to foreigners isn't new to Phuket. If only the Burmese had brought coins, not swords, they would've been welcome too.

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