the burmese attack

The Burmese attack

The Burmese-Siamese attack was between 1785–1786, it was known as the Nine Armies’ Wars in Siamese history because the Burmese came to Thailand in nine armies. This war was fought between the Konbaung dynasty of Burma and the Chakri dynasty of Siam. It was fought around the Southern and Western Siam.

One of the most important events in the history of Phuket took place in 1785, when the Burmese invaded Siam. King Bodawpaya of Burma was determined on expanding his territory by invading his neighbour to the east. But the outcome was a defensive victory for Siam, and one of the turning points of the war took place on our island. They encountered a strong defense from the two sisters which forced them to retreat.

In the north of Siam, the Burmese attacked overland, but here in the south they arrived by sea. The main Burmese military fleet landed at Nai Yang Beach, close to the present-day International Airport. Other troops paddled their way through the “klongs” to inland Thalang.

Francis Light, a British East India Company captain passing by the island, notified the Phuket local government that he had seen Burmese forces at sea assembling for an attack. This allowed the locals to prepare for the attack beforehand.

Than Phu Ying Chan, the wife of the recently released governor, and her sister Mook, assembled what local forces they could find. And after a ferocious defensive led by the sisters, the Burmese were forced to retreat on March 13, 1785. Naturally the two surprise saviours of Phuket became local heroines, receiving the royal titles Thao Thep Kasattri and Thao Si Sunthon from King Rama I.

Had the Burmese invaders avoided the strategically risky move of trying to take Phuket in 1785, the inspirational story of Phuket’s most native-daughters would never have come about. But in their valiant fight against the Burmese, the sisters proved something that we know to be very true – or dispute at our peril – Thai women are not to be messed with. And when their blood is up, they are impossible to defeat.