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Did
you know!
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That: Southern
Thailand has been inhabited since the early days of mankind by ancient tribes
who settled and or adapted their lifestyles to the local environment. Who
arrived first and who pushed out or assimilated who has kept archaeologists
occupied for a long time, and promises to keep them working for a good while
to come.
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Read
more
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From our
guest book |
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Travelers Guide to Phuket
History
- Early Thais
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Early Thais
Thai-speaking
peoples are generally thought to have originated in western China
and moved into the southern province of Yunnan in the 1st or 2nd
century BC. Following the collapse of the Han dynasty around 220
AD, Thai leaders founded the kingdom of Nan Chao, which endured
until the Mongol conquest in 1253. Long before that time; however,
groups of Thai people had begun a southward migration that
throughout the following centuries led them far down the Malay
peninsula and as far east as Cambodia. The Thais, who cultivated
wet rice, were attracted to the agricultural potential of the
watery Chao Phraya basin. Here they were subject to Indian
influences and adopted the Buddhist religion. By the end of the
12th century several Thai principalities united and began to
challenge the Khmers whose Angkor (Cambodia) government was in
rapid decline for control of central Thailand. Taking land from
the Mons (Burmese) to the west and north, the Thais controlled an
area they called 'Lan Ni Thai' (literally, 'million Thai rice
fields').
One
of the earliest recorded references to Phuket is the 12th century
Kedah Annals of Malaysia that refers to Ujang Salang Malay
for northern most island or peninsula. When control of
the island was wrested from the Sirivijaya Empire by King
Ramkhamhaeng, the island was called Thalang (then the capital city
on the island). On early European maps Phuket was known as Junk
Ceylon or Jonkcelaon thought to be a corruption of the
Malay language. Other early accounts refer to an island called
bukit the Malay word for mountain. During the reign of Rama
V (1868-1910) the island was officially named as Bhuket, which
remained until 1967 when the spelling was changed to the present
day Phuket.
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