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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.
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 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 1940–1941, the Vichy French navy sailed
from Saigon to seize Trat. The unprepared Thai warships were caught by
surprise. By the end of the 17 January 1941 Battle of 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.
When the Vietnamese pushed the Khmer Rouge out of Cambodia in 1985, Pol
Pot fled to Thailand and made his headquarters in a plantation villa
near Trat. It was built for him by the Thai Army and nicknamed "Office
87".
History of Trat town
The history of Trat can be
traced back to the reign of King Prasat Thong of the Kingdom of
Ayutthaya. Formerly known as Muang Thung Yai, Trat has played an
important role in the development of country’s stability and economy due
to its strategic location. The town of Trat has later become a community
of Chinese Merchants.
Trat served as a checkpoint and buffer city in 1767 and was responsible
for providing provisions to King Taksin the Great before he moved his
navy from Chanthaburi to Ayutthaya, where he expelled the Burmese and
liberated the Kingdom from Burmese rule.
Trat Museum
In the centre of Trat you’ll
find Trat History Museum, a small museum that covers the history of Trat
from it’s early days as an important stopover for Chinese traders to the
occupation by the French in the early 1900’s and the World War Two
Battle of Koh Chang.
It’s a very nice little museum with all information in both Thai &
English. There are several multimedia exhibits, again in both languages
or with English subtitles. Whilst there is a lot of information that
will enhance your knowledge of the area, there’s not much in the way of
actual exhibits from times past. But, if you are in Trat for a day or
two and want to learn more about the area then it’s well worth visiting.
Admission is 30 Baht for foreigners. ( 10 Baht for locals ) You’ll
probably have the place to yourself.
Location:
The museum is housed in the old City Hall. A beautiful colonial era
wooden building that has been totally lovingly restored. It’s located
away from the main shopping areas of Trat near the local government
offices, court and police station. So you may need to ask for
directions. |
