Ko Sichang (or Koh Sichang, , ) is a

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

(''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the Provinces of Thailand, provinces, and are analogous to count ...

'') of Chonburi province,

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

. It consists of the island of Ko Sichang and its adjoining islands. Ko Sichang is in the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand (), historically known as the Gulf of Siam (), is a shallow inlet adjacent to the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. ...

, 12 km off the shore of Si Racha district.

History

Three kings of the

Chakri Dynasty The Chakri dynasty is the current reigning dynasty of the Thailand, Kingdom of Thailand. The head of the house is the Monarchy of Thailand, king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Rattanakosin era and ...

King Rama IV Mongkut (18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama IV. He reigned from 1851 until his death in 1868. The reign of Mongkut was marked by significant modernization initiatives and diplomati ...

Rama V Chulalongkorn (20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910), posthumously honoured as King Chulalongkorn the Great, was the fifth Monarchy of Thailand, king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama V. Chulalongkorn's reign from 1868 until his ...

, and

Rama VI Vajiravudh (1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth king of Siam from the Chakri dynasty, titled Rama VI. He reigned from 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts to create and promote Siamese nationa ...

, occasionally visited the island for rest. King Rama V built a summer

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

, Phra Chuthathut Palace (), named after his son who was born on this island, Prince Chuthathut. The royal residence was largely abandoned in 1893 after the French occupied the island during a conflict with Thailand over control of neighboring

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

. In 1900, parts of the palace was torn down and reassembled as part of

Vimanmek Mansion The Vimanmek Mansion (, ) is a former royal villa in Bangkok, Thailand. It is in the Dusit Palace complex in Dusit District. it has been dismantled to allow for foundation repairs and will be rebuilt upon its completion. History In 1897 King Ra ...

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

. The British diplomat

John Crawfurd John Crawfurd (13 August 1783 – 11 May 1868) was a British physician, colonial administrator, diplomat and writer who served as the second and last resident of Singapore. Early life He was born on Islay, in Argyll, Scotland, the son of Sam ...

, visiting the islands in 1822 during his mission, described the island in his book ''Journal of an embassy from the Governor-General of India to the courts of Siam and Cochin-China: exhibiting a view of the actual state of those kingdoms''. He reported that

Francis Buchanan-Hamilton Francis Buchanan (15 February 1762 – 15 June 1829), later known as Francis Hamilton but often referred to as Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, was a Scottish surgeon, surveyor and botanist who made significant contributions as a geographer and zoolo ...

called the islands of Ko Sichang District the "Dutch Islands", and Ko Sichang itself "

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

", due to frequent visits by ships of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( ; VOC ), commonly known as the Dutch East India Company, was a chartered company, chartered trading company and one of the first joint-stock companies in the world. Established on 20 March 1602 by the States Ge ...

during the 17th century. American diplomat Edmund Roberts visited the island in the 1830s, describing the area as being occupied by "a few fisherman" who also grew yams, bananas,

capsicum ''Capsicum'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the Solanum, nightshade family Solanaceae, native to the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their edible fruit, which are generally known as "peppers" or "capsicum". Chili peppers grow on five s ...

s, gourds, and cucumbers. The island was originally a minor district (''

king amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', , )—usually translated as "district"—is the second level administrative subdivision of Thailand. Groups of ''amphoe'' or districts make up the provinces, and are analogous to counties. The chief district ...

'') under the Mueang Samut Prakan district of

Samut Prakan province Samut Prakan province (, , , sometimes rendered Samutprakan or Samutprakarn) is one of the central Provinces of Thailand, provinces of Thailand, established on 9 May 1946 by the ''Act Establishing Changwat Samut Prakan, Changwat Nonthaburi, Cha ...

. On 1 January 1943, it was reassigned to the Si Racha district of Chonburi province. On 4 July 1994 the minor district was upgraded to a full district.

Climate

Ko Sichang has a

tropical savanna climate Tropical savanna climate or tropical wet and dry climate is a tropical climate sub-type that corresponds to the Köppen climate classification categories ''Aw'' (for a dry "winter") and ''As'' (for a dry "summer"). The driest month has less than ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Aw''). Maximum temperatures remain fairly hot throughout the year, ranging from in December to in April. The

monsoon A monsoon () is traditionally a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation but is now used to describe seasonal changes in Atmosphere of Earth, atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annu ...

season runs from May through October, with heavy rainfall.

Administration

The district consists of a single sub-district (''

tambon ''Tambon'' (, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and province ('' changwat''), they form the third administrative subdivision level. there were 7,255 tambons, not including the 180 ''khwaeng'' of Bangkok, whi ...

'') Tha Thewawong (ท่าเทววงษ์), which is further subdivided into seven villages (''

muban Muban (; , ) is the lowest Administrative divisions of Thailand, administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet (place), hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74 ...

s''). The district is completely covered by the township (''

thesaban tambon Thesaban (, , , Pali, Pali: desapāla (protector of region) are the municipalities of Thailand. There are three levels of municipalities: city, town, and sub-district. Bangkok and Pattaya are special municipal entities not included in the ''thesa ...

'') Ko Sichang.

Nearby islands

* Ko Sampan Yue * Ko Kham Noi * Ko Kham Yai * Ko Prong * Ko Ran Dok Mai * Ko Yai Thao * Ko Khangkhao * Ko Thai Ta Muen

References

External links

*
Website of the district
(Thai only)
Amphoe Ko Sichang from amphoe.com
(Thai only) {{Authority control Islands of Thailand

Ko Sichang Ko Sichang (or Koh Sichang, , ) is a district (''amphoe'') of Chonburi province, Thailand. It consists of the island of Ko Sichang and its adjoining islands. Ko Sichang is in the Gulf of Thailand, 12 km off the shore of Si Racha district. Hi ...