Tenasserim Village
This article has been extracted from THE IMPERIAL GAZETTEER OF INDIA , 1908. OXFORD, AT THE CLARENDON PRESS. |
Note: National, provincial and district boundaries have changed considerably since 1908. Typically, old states, ‘divisions’ and districts have been broken into smaller units, and many tahsils upgraded to districts. Some units have since been renamed. Therefore, this article is being posted mainly for its historical value.
Tenasserim Village
Burmese, Taninthayi
Head-quarters of the township of the same name, in Mergui District, Lower Burma, situated in 12° 6' N. and 99° 3' E., at the confluence of the Great and Little Tenasserim rivers, 45 miles up-stream from Mergui. The village is on low ground, on the site of the ancient city. On a height above it is the courthouse, commanding a fine view of both rivers and the forest-clad hills around. For several hundred years Tenasserim was the principal port of Siam, and the gateway of the most direct route to the Far East, commodities being brought to it by sea from India and the Persian Gulf to meet those carried overland from Siam and China. The elephant mart is still pointed out across the river, and there are remains of walls enclosing an area of 4 square miles. In the centre of this enclosure stands a granite pillar, which is variously ascribed to the Siamese, who are said to have founded the city in 1373, and to the Burmese conqueror Alaungpaya, who destroyed it on his victorious march through Siam in 1759. It is much visited by women, who plaster it with gold-leaf. On the same hill as the courthouse are two ancient pagodas, near one of which was recently found a stone inscription commemorating the building of the pagoda by king Byinnya Ran, who reigned at Pegu from 1491 to 1526. The village now contains barely a hundred houses.
