H I S T O R Y

The earliest known human occupation for which there is signifi cant evidence dates from the Neolithic period, 6000 BC or 8000 years ago, when the climate was wetter and food resources abundant. Even at this early stage, there is proof of interaction with the outside world, especially with civilisations to the north. These contacts persisted and became wide-ranging, probably motivated by trade in copper from the Hajar Mountains, commencing around 3000 BC as the climate became more arid and fortified oasis communities focused on agriculture.

Foreign trade, the recurring motif in the history of this strategic region, seems to have fl ourished also in later periods, facilitated by domestication of the camel at the end of the second millennium BC. At the same time, the discovery of new irrigation techniques (falaj irrigation) made possible the extensive watering of agricultural areas that resulted in an explosion of settlement in the region.

By the first century AD overland caravan traffic between Syria and cities in southern Iraq, followed by seaborne travel to the important port of Omana (perhaps present-day Umm al-Qaiwain) and thence to India was an alternative to the Red Sea route used by the Romans. Pearls had been exploited in the area for millennia but at this time the trade reached new heights. Seafaring was also a mainstay and major fairs were held at Dibba, bringing merchants from as far afield as China.

The arrival of envoys from the Prophet Muhammad in 630 AD heralded the conversion of the region to Islam. By 637 AD Islamic armies were using Julfar (Ra’s al-Khaimah) as a staging post for the conquest of Iran. Over many centuries, Julfar became a wealthy port and pearling centre from which great wooden dhows ranged far and wide across the Indian Ocean.

The Portuguese arrival in the Gulf in the sixteenth century had bloody consequences for the Arab residents of Julfar and east coast ports like Dibba, Bidiya, Khor Fakkan and Kalba. However, while European powers competed for regional supremacy, a local power, the Qawasim, was gathering strength. At the beginning of the nineteenth century the Qawasim had built up a fleet of over 60 large vessels and could put nearly 20,000 sailors to sea, eventually provoking a British offensive to control the maritime trade routes between the Gulf and India.

Inland, the arc of villages at Liwa were the focus of economic and social activity for the Bani Yas from before the sixteenth century. But by the early 1790s the town of Abu Dhabi had become such an important pearling centre that the political leader of all the Bani Yas groups, the sheikh of the Al Bu Falah (Al Nahyan family) moved there from the Liwa. Early in the nineteenth century, members of the Al Bu Falasah, a branch of the Bani Yas, settled by the creek in Dubai and established Maktoum rule in that emirate.

Following the defeat of the Qawasim in 1820, the British signed a series of agreements with the sheikhs of the individual emirates that, later augmented with treaties on preserving a maritime truce, resulted in the area becoming known as ‘The Trucial States’. The pearling industry thrived in the relative calm at sea during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, providing both income and employment to the people of the Arabian Gulf coast.

The First World War impacted severely on the pearl fishery, but it was the economic depression of the late 1920s and early 930s, coupled with the Japanese invention of the cultured pearl, that damaged it irreparably. The industry eventually faded away Just after the Second World War, when the newly independent Government of India imposed heavy taxation on pearls imported from the Gulf. This was catastrophic for the area. Despite their adaptability and resourcefulness, the population faced considerable hardship with little opportunity for education and no roads or hospitals.

When Dubai’s oil exports commenced in 1969, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, de facto Ruler of Dubai since 1939, was also able to use oil revenues
to improve the quality of life of his people.

Along with Sheikh Rashid, who was to become Vice President and, later, Prime Minister of the newly formed state, Sheikh Zayed took the lead in calling for a federation that would include not only the seven emirates that together made up the Trucial States, but also Qatar and Bahrain. Following a period of negotiation, however, agreement was reached between the rulers of six of the emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Umm al-Qaiwain and Ajman) and the federation to be known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was formally established on 2 December 1971 with Sheikh Zayed as its President. The seventh emirate, Ra’s al-Khaimah, formally acceded to the new federation on 10 February 1972.