Phuket History
The Taksin Era
Burmese control of Thailand was shortly terminated in
an uprising led by General Pya Taksin who forced the Burmese into retreat,
and proclaimed himself king in 1769. King Taksin (1769-1782) established
his royal capital in Thonburi a city across the Chao Phraya river from
the present day capital of Bangkok. King Taksin then set about reining
in a number of rebellious Thai princes and reasserting central control
over the entire kingdom including the tributary kingdoms.
The short reign of King Taksin has all the elements of
a Shakespearean tragedy -- complete with palace intrigue, betrayal, and
treachery. A charismatic leader steps forward in the darkest hour of his
country’s history and rallies his nation to drive out the hated Burmese
invaders. He then reunites the kingdom and holds it together during one
its most difficult periods. His reward in life and place in Thai history
seem a little out of balance with his contributions. King Taksin allegedly
became insane and started to regard himself as the second coming of Buddha.
Whether true or not, he was deposed by his ministers, who then executed
him in the custom reserved for royalty -- by shackling his hands and feet
with gold restraints, sewing him into a velvet sack so that no royal blood
touched the ground, then beating him to death with a Sandalwood club.
During the Ayutthaya period a surprising number of Thai kings are reported
to have become insane and were eliminated. As in previous cases, many
heirs to the king were also executed. General Chakri a close and trusted
aide of the former King Taksin succeeded him to the throne. King Taksin’s
status as a warrior hero is very reserved, in many accounts of Thai history
if he is mentioned at all it is usually minimal. He certainly has never
achieved the near god status of some of the later kings.
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In the late seventeenth century ships of the ‘British
East India Company’ transiting the Straits of Malacca were under
constant attack from pirates and slave traders. To stem this assault on
the prestige of the British flag they sought one or more defensible islands
with a good harbor to expand their empire and guard the northern entrance
of the Straits of Malacca. Captain Francis Light a merchant with the ‘East
India Company’ had lived on Phuket for many years and had traveled
and traded throughout the area. He was well aware of the strategic advantages
of Phuket Island and Penang, farther down the coast, and he recommended
acquisition of both islands. A very energetic man who was fluent in both
Thai and Malay, he held secret negotiations with both the Governor of
Phuket and the Sultan of the Malay state of Kedah. The then governor of
Phuket was under intense pressure to increase the production of tin. The
governor sought to cede Phuket to the British in return for commercial
concessions. The British had seized control of foreign territories on
less pretense than this offered and they apparently seriously considered
the proposal.
Captain Light also obtained an offer from the Sultan
of the Malay State of Kedah to sell the British the island of Penang.
Ultimately the company officials opted to establish only one colony and
they felt that Penang Island offered the better harbor of the two. In
1785, Captain Light was off to found the British colony of Penang. At
the time, the Sultan was also under pressure from the Thai Royal Court
regarding payment of tribute to the Thai king and was seeking both money
and protection from the British. In spite of the agreement reached with
Captain Light the British never had any intention of going to war to protect
the Sultan. After the island had become a colony a short period of hostilities
erupted between the Sultan and the British during which it was determined
that payment for the island would not be necessary after all.
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