Cox's Bazar is a city, district headquarters, and fishing port in Bangladesh and is well known for its sandy beaches. Cox's Bazar history dates back centuries. The city derived its name from Captain Hiram Cox, an officer of British East India Company who rehabilitated refugees in the area before his death in 1799. Cox's Bazar is one of the most popular destinations in Bangladesh but has not yet become a major international tourist destination.

Early History of Cox's Bazar

In the early ninth century, Cox's Bazar was under the rule of Arakan Kings but was overtaken by the Mughals in A.D. 1666. Shah Shuja, the Mughal Prince, was drawn to the beauty and attractive scenery of the land and commanded his forces to camp on the grounds. After the Mughal's conquest, the land was under the rule of the Tipras and was then taken by the Portuguese, followed by the British.

In 1773, Captain Hiram Cox, a member of the British East India Company, was appointed as the Superintendent of Palonki (now known as Cox's Bazar). Cox was deployed to handle the conflict between the Arakan refugees and local Rakhains at Palonki. Captain Cox made tremendous progress in rehabilitation of the refugees but died before he completed his task. In honor of Captain Cox, Palonki was renamed Cox's Bazar, meaning "Cox's Market."

Modern History of Cox's Bazar

Following the end of the British rule in 1947, Cox's Bazar remained a part of East Pakistan. Fazlul Karim, the first chairman of Cox's Bazar after independence from the British, created the Tamarisk Forest near the beach to attract tourism and prevent tidal wave destruction. Karim was motivated to make Cox's Bazar a tourism area after seeing beaches in Karachi and Bombay, and is credited with much of the city's success as a tourist attraction.

After Bangladesh gained independence, Cox's Bazar began to receive administrative attention. A pilot plant was established at Kalatali in 1975, in order to assess the visibility of heavy mineral content in the area. Soon after, in 1984, Cox's Bazar subdivision was upgraded to a district, and in 1989, the city's municipality was promoted to B-grade. The Marine Fisheries and Technology Station was built in 1994, and covers a land area of 4 hactor which is home to 5 specialized laboratories. In early 2007, Bangladesh became linked to the submarine cable network, due to Cox's Bazar being selected as the landing station for the submarine cable.