On the ancient maps of the region around Thailand's South West coast, the name Junk Ceylon can be seen describing the island we now call Phuket. As early as the third century, Phuket was a popular stop for sea going vessels and probably earned its modern name from Tamils raveling from India in the early eleventh century. The name means 'jewel' and may pertain to its shape like a tear pendulum. At one stage, Phuket belonged to the Malay Shivite kingdom but later came under partial Thai rule. During Thailand's Ayuttaya period when tin was discovered on the island, the Thai kingdom allowed a power sharing relationship with foreign nations who occupied the south and west.

In the late 18th Century, Burma in one of its many quests to occupy the Thai Kingdom, made several forays upon Thalang, the capital at that time. One of the island's most famous battles occurred when Jan, the wife of the recently departed governor and her sister Mock, made a victorious stand against the invaders in 1785. Phuket prospered from tin mining first on land, then later through dredging off the coast. But once the ore was depleted, Phuket's economy was once again revised from the production of rubber.