fluss taxi crossing Dubai Creek

A traditional Fluss taxi crossing Dubai Creek; (c) Soul Of America

Dubai History

Dubai History began in the 18th century as a small fishing village. It had no unique qualities.

There are many theories about the origin of the word “Dubai.” Two theories stand out. An Arabic proverb says “Daba Dubai” meaning “They came with a lot of money.” According to a scholar on UAE heritage, the word Dubai may have come from the word “daba”, referring to the slow flow of Dubai Creek. The scholar Ahmad Mohammad Obaid traces it to the same word, but to its alternative meaning of “baby locust” due to the abundance of locusts before settlement.

Pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries. Prior to the introduction of Islam to the area, the people in this region worshipped Bajir. After the spread of Islam in the region, the Umayyad Caliph of the eastern Islamic world invaded southeast Arabia and drove out the Sassanians. Excavations by the Dubai Museum in the region of Al-Jumayra (Jumeirah) found several artifacts from the Umayyad period.

In 1833, following tribal feuding, members of the Al Bu Falasah tribe seceded from Abu Dhabi and established Dubai. The exodus from Abu Dhabi was led by Obeid bin Saeed and Maktoum bin Butti, who became joint leaders of Dubai until Ubaid died in 1836, leaving Maktum to establish the Maktoum dynasty.

Dubai signed the General Maritime Treaty of 1820 with the British government along with the other Trucial States. This led to the 1853 Perpetual Maritime Truce that allowed trade to grow.

In 1892, Dubai entered into an exclusivity agreement in which the United Kingdom took responsibility for the emirate’s security.

In 1841, a smallpox epidemic broke out in the Bur Dubai locality, forcing residents to relocate east to Deira.

In 1901, Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum established Dubai as a free port with no taxation on imports or exports. He also gave merchants parcels of land and guarantees of protection and tolerance of their customs. These policies accelerated Dubai as a busy port and major trading hub in the Persian Gulf. The town supplanted Lingeh as the chief entrepôt of the Trucial States.

Dubai’s proximity to Iran increased its trade importance. At that time, Dubai consisted of the town of Dubai and the nearby village of Jumeirah, a collection of 45 palm leaf huts. Dubai was known for pearl exports until the 1929 Great Depression and the innovation of cultured pearls triggered economic depression.

Dubai was constantly at odds with Abu Dhabi. In 1947, a border dispute between Dubai and Abu Dhabi on the northern sector of their mutual border escalated into war. The British government arbitrated peace between them.

Old Arabic home at Dubai Museum

Old Arabic home at Dubai Museum; (c) Soul Of America

Oil was discovered in territorial waters off the coast of Dubai in 1966. This led to an acceleration of Sheikh Rashid’s infrastructure development plans and a construction boom that caused the city’s population to grow by over 300% between 1968 and 1975.

On 16 January 1968, all British troops were withdrawn from East of Aden. The decision was to pitch the coastal emirates, together with Qatar and Bahrain, into fevered negotiations to fill the political vacuum that the British withdrawal would leave behind.

In 1970, a new airport terminal was constructed which included duty-free shops. Dubai hosted major gold trade. Though oil revenue supported growth, Sheikh Rashid’s infrastructure building helped diversify the trading economy before UAE’s limited oil reserves depleted.

On 2 December 1971, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, and Fujairah joined to form the United Arab Emirates. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the UAE on 10 February 1972.

In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency: the UAE Dirham.

During the 1970s, Dubai continued to grow from revenues generated from oil and trade, even as the city saw an influx of immigrants fleeing the Lebanese civil war. Though border disputes between the emirates continued after the formation of the UAE, in 1979 that a formal compromise was reached that ended disagreements.

The 1991 Gulf War had a negative financial impact on Dubai, as depositors withdrew their money and traders cut trade. Dubai provided refueling bases to allied forces during the Gulf War, and again during the 2003 Invasion of Iraq. That exposed the city to more westerners and ignited the scale of tourism we see today.

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