A History of Phuket and the Surrounding Region. This is the first book to comprehensively examine the little-known history of Phuket and its surrounding region. The well-researched epic 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 Phuket's post-war transformation into a booming jet-set destination. With over 100 maps, pictures and photographs.