Rakhine people
Historians found that, in the thirteenth century, there was no trace of plantation in the region. The entire region was then full of jungle and along the river-side in Sundarbans. However, at the early fourteenth century, people started settling here for cultivation. It was then a part of Bakla-Chandradwipkingdom. The inhabitants of the region faced repeatedly attacked from the Maghs and Portuguese pirates. Umed Khan son of Shaista Khan saved the inhabitants from the Maghs repression and established the absolute authority of the emperor Aurangzeb. The emperor was pleased with him and awarded him to rule the state of Bakla-Chandradwip which Barguna was part of it. It is said that during the reign of Nawab Ali Vardi Khan, a group of Rakhine people settled permanently in Baliatoli near the present town, clearing the bushes and jungles and starting cultivation there.