Kampot ( km, កំពត ) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

in southwestern

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailand t ...

. It borders the provinces of Koh Kong and Kampong Speu to the north, Takéo to the east, Kep and the country of

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

( Kiên Giang) to the south, and Sihanoukville to the west. To its south it has a coastline of around 45 km on the

Gulf of Thailand The Gulf of Thailand, also known as the Gulf of Siam, is a shallow inlet in the southwestern South China Sea, bounded between the southwestern shores of the Indochinese Peninsula and the northern half of the Malay Peninsula. It is around in l ...

. It is rich in low arable lands and has abundant natural resources. Its capital is the city of

Kampot Kampot may refer to: *Kampot (city), a city in southern Cambodia *Kampot, an alternative spelling of the Slavic drink Kompot *Kampot Province, province of Cambodia * Kampot Municipality, a municipality in Cambodia * Kampot Airport, an airport in Ca ...

. Kampot Province had a population of 627,884 in 2010 and consist of eight districts divided into 92 communes with a total of 477 villages. Touk Meas City is located in the province.

History

In the 19th century, during the

French Indochina French Indochina (previously spelled as French Indo-China),; vi, Đông Dương thuộc Pháp, , lit. 'East Ocean under French Control; km, ឥណ្ឌូចិនបារាំង, ; th, อินโดจีนฝรั่งเศส, ...

period, Kampot became a regional administrative center with the status of a state border district as a result of the delimitation of the Kingdom of Cambodia. The ''Circonscription Résidentielle de Kampot'' contained the

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...

s of Kampot, Kompong-Som, Trang and Kong-Pisey. In 1889,

French colonial French colonial architecture includes several styles of architecture used by the French during colonization. Many former French colonies, especially those in Southeast Asia, have previously been reluctant to promote their colonial architecture ...

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...

reports a multi-ethnic community: Kampot town consisted of "Cambodian Kampot" on the Prek-Kampot River and "Chinese Kampot" on the right riverbank of the west branch of the Prek-Thom River. Nearby was also a

Vietnamese Vietnamese may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia ** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam. * Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam ** Overse ...

village, called Tien-Thanh and another Vietnamese village on Traeuy Koh Island. A

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

also existed on Traeuy Koh Island. Additional villages of mixed ethnicity are listed.

Khmer Rouge era

Destruction and mass murder happened throughout the whole area of Kampot province, as the

Cambodian genocide The Cambodian genocide ( km, របបប្រល័យពូជសាសន៍នៅកម្ពុជា) was the systematic persecution and killing of Cambodians by the Khmer Rouge under the leadership of Communist Party of Kampuchea genera ...

and bloody massacres engulfed Kampot province under the terror of Khmer Rouge rule. A total 90,450 persons were massacred throughout the province.

Ta Mok Ta Mok ( km, តាម៉ុក; born Chhit Choeun (); 1924 – 21 July 2006) also known as Nguon Kang, was a Cambodian military chief and soldier who was a senior figure in the Khmer Rouge and the leader of the national army of Democratic Kam ...

himself massacred 30,000 people in the

Angkor Chey District Angkor Chey District ( km, ស្រុកអង្គរជ័យ) is a district located in Kampot Province, in southern Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is ...

of Kampot.

Economy

Agriculture

Kampot pepper Kampot pepper ( km, ម្រេចកំពត; french: Poivre de Kampot) is a cultivar of black pepper (''piper nigrum'') grown and produced in Cambodia. It was also known as ''poivre d'Indochine'' ('Indochina pepper') during the early 20th cen ...

is a specialized product, protected by GI law, totaling 13 ha and a harvesting area of 10.50 ha located in Domnak Kantoul, Kang Tboung Commune, Kompong Trach District. *

Durian The durian (, ) is the edible fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus ''Durio''. There are 30 recognised ''Durio'' species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit. ''Durio zibethinus'', native to Borneo and Sumatra, is the onl ...

, another specialized product totaling 537 ha and yielding 10,657 tons located in Makbrang Commune, Tek Chhou district. *

Rubber Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, and ...

, plantation area: 20 ha * Kampot sea salt is extracted from the

seawater Seawater, or salt water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5% (35 g/L, 35 ppt, 600 mM). This means that every kilogram (roughly one liter by volume) of seawater has appro ...

through

salt evaporation pond A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The Salt pans are shallow and large of size because it will be easier for sunlight to travel and reach the sea water. Natural sal ...

s in the coastal areas of Kampot and Kep provinces.

Forestry and mining

* Forestry area: 227,154 ha * 48 Mineral production and mining areas

Tourism

* Historical/cultural areas: 4 places * Wildlife sanctuaries and protected areas:

Preah Monivong National Park Preah Monivong Bokor National Park ( km, ឧទ្យានជាតិព្រះមុនីវង្ស បូកគោ, ) is a national park in southern Cambodia's Kampot Province that was established in 1993 and covers . It is designated as ...

at 140,000 hectares

Districts

The province is subdivided into 7 districts and 1 municipality.

Gallery

Map Kampot Province.png, Map of Kampot province Scenic View from Bokor Hill Station - Near Kampot - Cambodia - 04 (48528869996).jpg, View of the coast near Kampot from Bokor mountain (Phnom Bokor). Station de Bokor. Falaise. Janvier 2014 @ Oobmak.jpg, The

Dâmrei Mountains The Dâmrei Mountains (literally the "Elephant Mountains", km, ភ្នំដំរី, Chuŏr Phnum Dâmrei), refer to a mountain range situated in south-western Cambodia, traversing around north-south as a succession of the Cardamom Mounta ...

receives heavy monsoon rainfalls, but keeps the eastern parts of the province in relative

rain shadow A rain shadow is an area of significantly reduced rainfall behind a mountainous region, on the side facing away from prevailing winds, known as its leeward side. Evaporated moisture from water bodies (such as oceans and large lakes) is carrie ...

. Phong cảnh trên đỉnh núi Bokor.jpg, The highland plateaus in

Phnom Bokor National Park Preah Monivong Bokor National Park ( km, ឧទ្យានជាតិព្រះមុនីវង្ស បូកគោ, ) is a national park in southern Cambodia's Kampot Province that was established in 1993 and covers . It is designated as ...

Farm in Kampot province.jpg, Farmlands Sreyneang2.jpg,

farm Fishing Boats on the Kampot River - 2012.JPG, Fishing boats on Kampot River Phnom Chhnork (8258875098).jpg, Phnom Chhnork, cave temple near Kampot city SwimmingCaveKompongTrach.JPG, Caves in

Kampong Trach Kampong Trach District ( km, ស្រុកកំពង់ត្រាច) is one of 8 districts in Kampot Province and it is located at the eastern part bordering Vietnam to the east, Banteay Meas District to the north, Kep Province to the west ...

Rabbit Island.JPG, Islands and sandy beaches

References

External links

The 2010 Kampot Provincial Investment Profile by USAID and the Provincial Administration
{{Authority control Provinces of Cambodia Gulf of Thailand States and territories established in 1923