Ko Sichang (or Koh Sichang, th, เกาะสีชัง, ) 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 counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(''

amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—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 countie ...

'') of

Chonburi province Chonburi (, , ) is a province of Thailand (''changwat'') located in eastern Thailand. Its capital is also named Chonburi. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise from north) Chachoengsao, Chanthaburi, and Rayong, while the Bay of Bangkok is to ...

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...

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

, 12 km off the shore of Si Racha district.

History

Three kings of the

Chakri Dynasty The Chakri dynasty ( th, ราชวงศ์ จักรี, , , ) is the current reigning dynasty of the Kingdom of Thailand, the head of the house is the king, who is head of state. The family has ruled Thailand since the founding of the ...

King Rama IV Mongkut ( th, มงกุฏ; 18 October 18041 October 1868) was the fourth monarch of Siam (Thailand) under the House of Chakri, titled Rama IV. He ruled from 1851 to 1868. His full title in Thai was ''Phra Bat Somdet Phra Menthora Ramathibod ...

Rama V Chulalongkorn ( th, จุฬาลงกรณ์, 20 September 1853 – 23 October 1910) was the fifth monarch of Siam under the House of Chakri, titled Rama V. He was known to the Siamese of his time as ''Phra Phuttha Chao Luang'' (พร� ...

, and

Rama VI Vajiravudh ( th, วชิราวุธ, , 1 January 188126 November 1925) was the sixth monarch of Siam under the Chakri dynasty as Rama VI. He ruled from 23 October 1910 until his death in 1925. King Vajiravudh is best known for his efforts ...

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

palace A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

, Phra Chuthathut Palace ( th, พระจุฑาธุชราชฐาน), 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 (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...

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

Vimanmek Mansion , former_names = , alternate_names = , image = VimanmekMansion.jpg , image_alt = , caption = Vimanmek Mansion, built in 1900 by King Chulalongkorn. , map_type = Thailand , map_alt ...

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 estima ...

. The British diplomat

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

, 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 physician who made significant contributions as a geographer, zoologist, and botanist whil ...

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

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

", due to frequent visits by ships of the

Dutch East India Company The United East India Company ( nl, Verenigde Oostindische Compagnie, the VOC) was a chartered company established on the 20th March 1602 by the States General of the Netherlands amalgamating existing companies into the first joint-stock ...

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 Americas, the Americas, cultivated worldwide for their chili pepper or bell pepper fruit. Etymology and names The generic name may come f ...

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

king amphoe An amphoe (sometimes also ''amphur'', th, อำเภอ, )—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 countie ...

'') under the

Mueang Samut Prakan district Mueang Samut Prakan district ( th, อำเภอเมืองสมุทรปราการ, ) or colloquially as ''Paknam Samut Prakan'' ( th, ปากน้ำสมุทรปราการ) is the capital district ('' amphoe mueang' ...

of Samut Prakan province. On 1 January 1943, it was reassigned to the Si Racha district of

. 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 of p ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''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 atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with annual latitudinal oscil ...

season runs from May through October, with heavy rainfall.

Administration

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

tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) 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'' ...

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

muban Muban ( th, หมู่บ้าน; , ) is the lowest administrative sub-division of Thailand. Usually translated as 'village' and sometimes as 'hamlet', they are a subdivision of a tambon (subdistrict). , there were 74,944 administrative mu ...

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

thesaban tambon Thesaban ( th, เทศบาล, , ) 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 ''thesaban'' system. The mu ...

'') 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) {{Chonburi Islands of Thailand

Ko Sichang Ko Sichang (or Koh Sichang, th, เกาะสีชัง, ) 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 t ...