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A victory against the odds was achieved achieved by the women of Phuket against invading Burmese forces. The town of Phuket must have seemed an obvious target for the invaders, who planned to take its inhabitants by surprise knowing that not enough men able to fight could be mustered to ward off such an attack. The Burmese attacked Phuket in 1785. Captain Francis Light, a British East India Company captain passing by the island, sent word to the local administration that he had observed Burmese forces preparing to attack.
Kunying Jan, the wife of the recently deceased governor, and her sister Kunying Mook assembled together what few fighting men they could and also gathered several hundred women, dressed them as men and gave them makeshift weapons. This mixed band of warriors faced the invaders on the Phuket shore, knowing that if they failed, they were destined for slavery. After a month-long siege, the Burmese were forced to retreat on March 13, 1785. The two women became local heroines, receiving the honorary titles Thao Thep Krasatri and Thao Si Sunthon from King Rama I.
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