A Brief History of Dubai

Dubai has not always been surrounded by sandythat time was the pearl trade. The Gulf's waters and
desert, as a study of a history of Dubai would reveal.climate were ideal for pearl oysters and traders came
In fact, if you consider the amount of oil available infrom India and further east, and it did not take long
the earth beneath the Middle East in general, thenfor Dubai to serious they rival Abu Dhabi as the
the whole area must have been highly forested formajor town in Persian Gulf. The pearl trade was to
many millions of years.die out later due to cheap Japanese imports.
There is evidence that the area has been inhabitedOver the next hundred years or so Dubai continued
since 8000 BC, though nothing has been foundto flourish as a major port in the route from Europe
recorded until the first known history of the area into the east, and the First World War did not
the early part of the first millennium. It is know thatmaterially affect it. As oil was discovered in other
in the 7th century believers of the prophet beganMiddle Eastern states, it was not in the Trucial States
spreading Islam in the region, but there is no trueand when the pearl market slumped, Dubai maintained
recorded history until the outside world began toits economy only through the Creek and its port. The
enter the area and make records.presence of Britain was increased during and after
In the 16th century, the Portuguese, English andthe Second World War when the strategic
Dutch were active in the area since the waterssignificance of the port was recognized, and in 1952
around this part of the gulf were used as part of thethe Trucial States Council was created, that would
trading route between Europe and the East. Theeventually lead to the United Arab Emirates.
Persian Gulf was also a good source of pearls, andSheikh Saeed, who had ruled Dubai for 46 years, died
Europeans were known to have traded with thein 1958 and was succeeded by his oldest son, Sheikh
indigenous population around this time. It was theRashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum who was instrumental in
British East India Company that primarily used thismodernizing the emirate. He created a police force,
route, since the subcontinent lay just east of thebuilt roads and the international airport, and generally
Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf became anmade Dubai a modern city. The dredging of the
important part of the Company's trading route. InCreek during the turn of the 60s and 70s decades
fact, the area around today's Dubai was used as partenabled large vessels to enter Dubai and the Jebel Ali
of the slave route until slavery was made illegal in theFree Zone was inaugurated in 1979 that allowed
nineteenth century.international businesses to invest with no taxation
The first known written indication of the existenceand 100% ownership of their companies, that was
of a place known as Dubai was found in the writingsnot possible previously.
of a 16th century jeweller, Gasparo Balbi, who makesThe withdrawal of the British from the area in 1968
reference to a small fishing community known asled to the Trucial States forming the United Arab
'Dibei'. There are no further known references to thisEmirates in July, 1971, and Dubai continued to grow in
part of the Gulf coast until the activities of thespite of its lack of reliance on its oil industry that was
pirates of the day led to it being known as thenever a very large part of its economy. A massive
"Pirate Coast". This is when the known recordedinflux of immigrants from India and Indonesia
history of the area began. The British persuaded theprovided a labor force that would completely
coastal sheiks of what is now Oman to sign a pacttransform the city.
guaranteeing that they would halt piracy in exchangeSheikh Rashid died in 1990 to be replaced by his
for Britain agreeing to cease interfering in theeldest son Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid al-Maktoum
administration of their own regions.who ruled until his death in 2006. He was succeeded
This was in 1820, and the Sheikh of Dubai was oneby his brother Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid
of those that signed the agreement. In 1833, theal-Maktoum, who had been responsible for Dubai's
Maktoum family of Abu Dhabi took control of Dubaiimproving economic strength.
and still rule to this day. The fact that Dubai wasDubai has continued to grow throughout the first
ruled by a member of the family that also ruled Abupart of the 21st century, and is recognized as the
Dhabi led to an uneasy truce between the two thatfastest growing city in the world. It is the epitome of
again lasts to this day in the UAE. The Trucial Statesmodern architectural growth and design and has
came into being through the signing of a truce withbroken many records and made many unique
the British in 1853 and Dubai began to grow.advances in engineering design, such as the
The Dubai Creek that splits Dubai in two provedreclamation of the part of the Gulf into the
extremely useful in the 19th century as a naturalmagnificent Palm Jumeirah, the world's largest
harbor that made the town ideal for entrepôtman-made island with its residential areas and super 5
trade. That is trade whereby ships could unload cargostar plus luxury hotel complexes.
and sell it to others to carry it on to its finalThe history of Dubai is one of poor man made good,
destination without paying any import and exportand the city is now the fastest growing and one of
duties. In fact, Dubai became a center for this typethe richest in the world: all achieved without the need
of trade that helped to bolster its economy.for the massive oil revenues that you associate with
Another important part of the economy of Dubai atthe Middle East.