Samui was probably first settled about 1500 years ago by fisherman using the island as a base to fish its rich waters. The first officially recorded mention of Samui was approximately 1500 AD, when maps drawn by scribes of China’s Ming Dynasty show and label the islands. The Unearthing of various ceramics and porcelains is further evidence that the Chinese settled here. Many migrants from the island of Hainan – now part of the Peoples Republic of China have settled in the northern villages and their influence can still be seen in Nathon and Maenam. Muslim fishermen settled in the South and East and the small village of Hua Thanon is still a strong Muslim enclave.

       During the 17th and 18th centuries most of what is now Thailand was feudal and the islands would have come under the protection of the rulers of Nakhon Si Thammarat, which at that time was the main power in southern Thailand. The governing families of Nakhon Si Thammarat eventually came under direct rule of the Siamese from Bangkok in the late 18th century during the reign of Rama I. By the end of the 19th century lasting communities had been established and word of the beautiful islands in the Gulf of Siam was already seeping through to the greater Thai world, and King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) was a regular visitor to Koh Phangan, which was said to be his favorite retreat. Even though Samui and the other islands would have been part of greater states and kingdoms they have always been essentially selfgoverning, separated from the nearest town on the mainland by a 35 kilometer stretch of water. With relatively small populations, the islands were mostly overlooked or ignored.

       There was also the fact that the inhabitants had gained a reputation as tough and sometimes violent people best left to their own devices, so authorities on the mainland stayed clear for most of the time. A notable exception was the Japanese Army who occupied the island and used it for a staging post in their invasion of British Malaya.

      After the war Thailand became more economically sophisticated and natural produce such as timber, rubber and fruit became tradable commodities. Coconuts began to assume monetary value and these fertile islands were important plantations. Also rich with other crops as well as important bases, the islanders quietly prospered and multiplied, living simply. Then the backpackers arrived, slowly at first.

       Gradually tourism began to dominate the island economically, socially and completely. It is said that the first tourists came on coconut boats from Bangkok it is more likely they came on the slow boat from Suratthani, but either way the fact is tourism has had a far bigger impact on Samui than any other outside force in its history. When those first curious farang (foreigners) arrived they found backwater islands with a token administration and police presence, where local disputes were settled by the puu yai ban (village chief) or as often as not by shootouts.

       In just twenty years the population of Samui has almost doubled (it is now estimated at 35,000 people, not including foreing residents and tourists) and the islands are now a tambon-just one step down from having provincial status-which makes them practically self-governing although still part of the province of Suratthani and answerable to its governor.

 

 

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