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History
Dubai's growth over the last fifty years has been astonishing - it's difficult to imagine the transformation from undeveloped, although flourishing town, to today's modern metropolis. Until 1830 it was an unremarkable backwater whose people existed from fishing, pearling and small scale agriculture. At that time it was taken over by a branch of the Bani Yas tribe from the Liwa oasis to the south, in what is the modern day Abu Dhabi emirate. The take over was led by the Maktoum family whose descendants still rule the emirate today.
However, nothing much changed for Dubai until the late 1800's, when the then ruler, Sheikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum, granted tax concessions to foreign traders, encouraging many of them to switch their base of operations to Dubai from Iran and Sharjah. By 1903 a British shipping line had been persuaded to use Dubai as its main port of call in the area, giving traders direct links with British India and other important trading ports in the region. Encouraged by the farsighted and liberal attitudes of the rulers, Indian and Persian traders settled in the growing town, which soon developed a reputation as the leading commercial market in the region. Dubai's importance was further helped by Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, father of the current ruler of Dubai, who recognized the importance of Dubai's creek and improved facilities to attract more traders. The city came to specialize in the import and re-export of goods, mainly gold to India, and trade is the foundation of the wealth of the modern day emirate.
In the broader perspective, Dubai and the other emirates had accepted the protection of the British in 1892 in the culmination of a series of maritime truces. The British regarded the Gulf region as an important communication link with its empire in India, and wanted to ensure that other world powers, in particular France and Russia, didn't extend their influence in the region. In Europe, the area became known as the Trucial Coast (or Trucial Statesas it was also known), a name it retained until the departure of the British in 1971.
In 1968 Britain announced its withdrawal from the region and began work to try to create a single state consisting of Bahrain, Qatar and the Trucial Coast. The ruling Sheikhs, particularly of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, realized that by uniting forces they would have a stronger voice in the wider Middle East region. Negotiations collapsed when Bahrain and Qatar chose to become independent states. However, the Trucial Coast remained committed to forming an alliance and in 1971 the federation of the United Arab Emirates was created.
The new state was composed of Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and, in 1972, Ras Al Khaimah, (each emirate is named after its main town). Under the agreement, the individual emirates each retained a certain degree of autonomy, with Abu Dhabi and Dubai providing the most input into the federation. The leaders of the new federation elected the ruler of Abu Dhabi, HH Sheikh Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, to be their president, a position he has held ever since.
However, the creation of what is basically an artificial state hasn't been without its problems, mainly caused by disputes over boundaries between the different emirates. At the end of Sheikh Zayed's first term as president in 1976 he threatened to resign if the other rulers didn't settle the demarcation of their borders. The threat proved an effective way of ensuring cooperation, however, the question of the degree of independence of the various emirates has never been fully determined. The position in the 1990's still isn't settled, but the movement seems to be towards the increasing importance of the federation, led by Abu Dhabi, whose wealth and sheer size makes it the most powerful of the emirates.
The formation of the UAE came after the discovery of huge oil reserves in Abu Dhabi in 1958 (Abu Dhabi has an incredible 10% of the world's known oil reserves). The discovery dramatically transformed the emirate from one of the poorest states into the richest. In 1966 Dubai, which was already a relatively wealthy trading center, also discovered oil. The oil revenue allowed development of an economic and social infrastructure, which is the basis of today's modern society.
Education, healthcare, roads, housing, women's welfare were all priorities.Much of the credit for this development can be traced to the vision and dedication of the late ruler, HH Sheikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, who ensured that Dubai's oil revenues were deployed to maximum effect.His work has been continued by by the present ruler, HH Sheikh Maktoum Bin Rasid Al Maktoum.