Trat Province

Trat
ตราด
Province

Seal

Map of Thailand highlighting Trat Province
Coordinates: 12°24′N 102°31′E / 12.400°N 102.517°E / 12.400; 102.517Coordinates: 12°24′N 102°31′E / 12.400°N 102.517°E / 12.400; 102.517center of province
Country  Thailand
Capital Trat town
Government
  Governor Channa Ieamsang (since October 2015)
Area
  Total 2,819.0 km2 (1,088.4 sq mi)
Area rank Ranked 61st
Population (2014)
  Total 224,730[1]
  Rank Ranked 73rd
  Density rank Ranked 54th
Time zone ICT (UTC+7)
ISO 3166 code TH-23

Trat (Thai: ตราด, pronounced [tràːt]) is the easternmost province (changwat) along the Thai coast. It has borders with Chanthaburi Province to the northwest, Cambodia to the east, and the Gulf of Thailand to the south. Trat is 315 km from Bangkok.[2]

Trat is most famous for gemstone mining and trading.

History

The history of Trat can be traced back to the early 17th century during the reign of King Prasat Thong of the Ayutthaya Kingdom. Formerly known as Mueang Thung Yai, Trat has played an important role in the development of the country’s stability and economy due to its strategic location. The town of Trat later become a community of Chinese merchants.

After the fall of Ayutthaya to the Burmese in 1767, Trat served as a checkpoint and buffer city and was responsible for providing provisions to King Taksin the Great before he moved his forces from Chanthaburi to Ayutthaya. King Taksin then succeeded in driving out the Burmese invaders and liberated the kingdom from foreign rule.

French troops in Trat (1904)

In the Rattanakosin era, during the 1893 Paknam crisis, French troops landed and occupied the western part of Chantaburi Province. In 1904, Siam was forced to surrender Trat to French Indochina in order to regain Chantaburi. Three years later, however, finding that Trat with its almost entirely Thai population was hard to rule, the French returned Trat to Thailand on 23 March 1907, in exchange for larger areas along the Mekong river, which included Battambang, Siam Nakhon, and Sisophon, which all have a Khmer majority population.

During the French-Thai War of 1940-41, the navy of the Vichy France government in Indo-China sailed from Saigon and attempted to seize Trat. The unprepared Thai warships were caught by surprise. Despite fighting valiantly, by the end of the 17 January battle at Ko Chang, three Thai ships had been left sinking - the HTMS Chonburi, HTMS Songkhla, and HTMS Thonburi. French casualties were light with no ships lost. The Japanese government negotiated a truce, which ended the conflict without further fighting.

Geography

The Cardamom mountain range forms the boundary to Cambodia in the east of the province, where Trat has borders with three Cambodian provinces: Battambang, Pursat, and Koh Kong.

The third biggest island of Thailand is the province's Ko Chang (after Phuket and Ko Samui). The island and more than 40 surrounding smaller islands form the Mu Ko Chang Marine National Park.

Other islands of the province include: Ko Kham, Ko Mak, and Ko Phi.

Symbols

The provincial seal shows the sea with the Khao Banthat mountain range in the background.

The provincial tree is the tropical almond (Terminalia catappa).

Administration

The province is subdivided into seven districts (amphoe). These are further subdivided into 38 subdistricts (tambon) and 254 villages (muban).

  1. Mueang Trat
  2. Khlong Yai
  3. Khao Saming
  4. Bo Rai
  1. Laem Ngop
  2. Ko Kut
  3. Ko Chang

Tourism

Local products

Culture

Festivals

References

  1. "Population of the Kingdom" (PDF). Department of Provincial Affairs (DOPA) Thailand (in Thai). 31 December 2014. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Trat". Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). Retrieved 21 March 2015.
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