Phú Quốc Special Administrative Region

History

The earliest Cambodian references to Phú Quốc are found in royal documents dated 1615, however historians have found limited evidence of sustained Khmer presence or of formal Cambodian state authority over the island. Around 1680, Phú Quốc was part of the Principality of Hà Tiên, a maritime polity founded by Chinese merchant and explorer Mạc Cửu under the patronage of the Cambodian king. Mạc Cửu later switched allegiance to the Nguyễn lords and recognized the authority of the Vietnamese sovereign. He sent a tribute mission to the Nguyễn court in 1708, and in return received the title of Tong Binh of Hà Tiên and the noble title Marquess Cửu Ngọc (). Mạc Cửu died in 1736, and his son Mạc Thiên Tứ (Mo Shilin) succeeded him. The Cambodian army attempted to liberate Hà Tiên in 1739 but was defeated. From then on, Cambodia did not try to retake Hà Tiên; it enjoyed full independence from Cambodia thereafter. Mạc Thiên Tứ's reign saw the golden age of Hà Tiên. In 1758, Hà Tiên established Outey II as puppet king of Cambodia. After the war of the second fall of Ayutthaya, Mạc Thiên Tứ tried to install Prince Chao Chui (, Chiêu Thúy in Vietnamese) as the new Siamese king, but was defeated by Taksin. The French missionary Pigneau de Behaine used the island as a base during the 1760s and 1780s to shelter Nguyễn Ánh, who was hunted by the Tây Sơn army. Descriptions of this mission make reference to the local Vietnamese population of the island but not the Khmer.}} Western records in 1856 again mentioned the island: "... King Ang Duong (of Cambodia) apprize Mr. de Montigny, French envoy in visit to Bangkok, through the intermediary of Bishop Miche, his intention to yield Phú Quốc to France." Such a proposition aimed to create a military alliance with France to avoid the threat…

Geography

Phú Quốc lies south of the Cambodian coast, south of Kampot, and west of Hà Tiên, the nearest coastal town in Vietnam. Roughly triangular in shape the island is long from north to south and from east to west at its widest. It is also located from Kampot, from Rạch Giá and nearly from Laem Chabang, Thailand. A mountainous ridge known as "99 Peaks" runs the length of Phú Quốc, with Chúa Mountain being the tallest at . Phú Quốc Island is mainly composed of sedimentary rocks from the Mesozoic and Cenozoic age, including heterogeneous conglomerate composition, layering thick, quartz pebbles, silica, limestone, rhyolite and felsite. The Mesozoic rocks are classified in Phú Quốc Formation (K pq). The Cenozoic sediments are classified in formations of Long Toàn (middle - upper Pleistocene), Long Mỹ (upper Pleistocene), Hậu Giang (lower - middle Holocene), upper Holocene sediments, and undivided Quaternary (Q). The special administrative region of Phú Quốc is officially divided into eight commune-level sub-divisions, including two urban wards (Dương Đông, An Thới) and seven rural communes (Bãi Thơm, Cửa Cạn, Cửa Dương, Dương Tơ, Gành Dầu, Hàm Ninh).

Most-observed species

• Common Myna

  Acridotheres tristis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  108
• Yellow-vented Bulbul

  Pycnonotus goiavier (Scopoli, 1786) · Aves
  84
• Zebra Dove

  Geopelia striata (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  82
• Stripe-throated Bulbul

  Pycnonotus finlaysoni Strickland, 1844 · Aves
  75
• White-nest Swiftlet

  Aerodramus fuciphagus (Thunberg, 1812) · Aves
  74
• Brahminy Kite

  Haliastur indus (Boddaert, 1783) · Aves
  67
• Brown Shrike

  Lanius cristatus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  59
• Greater Coucal

  Centropus sinensis (Stephens, 1815) · Aves
  59