| Although little is known about the ancient history
of this area, archaeological finds suggest that humans have
been living here since at least 3000 BC. Other evidence links
the peoples of what are now the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and
Oman to the mysterious Bronze Age Magan civilization. Magan
ships sailed to Babylonia, Mesopotamia and beyond, trading copper
from Oman and pearls from the mouth of Dubai Creek with the
heavyweights of the Bronze Age economy. The Magan civilization
waned around 2000 BC, but Dubai's instinct for trade remained.
Excavations at Jumeirah, about 10km south of Dubai, recently
unearthed a 6th-century caravan station, proving that the
area's population was still keeping the trade routes well
oiled. Around this same time, the Sassanids, a Persian dynasty
who had inhabited the mouth of Dubai Creek since 224, were
driven out by the Umayyads, who came to stay and brought Islam
with them.
Exploiting their prime location between the Mediterranean
Sea and Indian Ocean, the new inhabitants, working with the
old, began re-establishing old trade routes and spreading
the word of Allah, all the while making folks fantastic deals
for the lowest everyday prices in the Gulf. As trade began
to match pearl diving's importance to the local economy, merchant
dhows sailed as far as China, returning with silk and porcelain
for Middle Eastern and European markets. This maritime madness
reached its peak between 750 and 1258.
Soon everyone wanted a piece of the Gulf's action. By the
late 16th century the Portuguese were attempting to control
local trade. Their success was such that many coastal settlements
were practically abandoned, and the tribes took refuge in
oases far from the coast. The British finally gained control
of the region's waterways in 1766. Dubai was caught between
local power struggles and Europe's imperial dreams, but somehow
turned this bad situation to its advantage, expanding its
pearl trade through every channel.
In 1833 a neighboring tribal power, the Bani Yas, decided
that Dubai would be its new turf. Eight hundred Bani Yas moved
into the Bur Dubai area under the leadership of Maktoum bin
Butti, founder of the Al-Maktoum dynasty that still rules
the emirate today.
The region's two economic epicentres, neighboring Sharjah
and Lingah in modern-day Iran, were already losing business
to bustling Dubai. Sheikh Maktoum decided to capitalize on
the opportunity. In 1892 he signed an exclusive business deal
with the British and in 1894 permitted a full tax exemption
for foreign traders. Persian merchants were the first group
of expats to take advantage of the deal, but traders the world
over were on the way.
In 1903, when the sheikh convinced a major British steamship
line to make Dubai a port of call, a 25-year boom began. The
Great Depression, compounded by the emergence of artificial
pearls in 1929, cast a dark cloud over Dubai's newfound prosperity.
Young Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum, convinced that the
pearl trade was dead, decided that this cloud had a 24-karat
lining. Dubai wasn't duty-free for nothing. Soon, the re-export
business, whereby goods were cheaply imported into a duty-free
port and immediately exported to another market, exploded.
After Dubai Creek was dredged in 1963, allowing almost any
boat safe harbor, gold smuggling took off like a rocket.
Dubai's lucky streak had only just begun. In 1966, oil was
discovered and the economy kicked into overdrive. The British
had already decided to pack up the empire and head home, and
in 1971, Dubai became the seventh emirate of the newly formed
UAE. Sheikh Rashid agreed to a formula that gave the emirates
of Abu Dhabi and Dubai the most weight in the federation,
and made sure that Dubai would continue living life in the
fast lane. Border disputes and friction about the integration
of the Emirates led to some tension, but in 1979, Sheikh Rashid
and Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi sealed a compromise; in effect,
Dubai would remain a bastion of free trade while Abu Dhabi
imposed a tighter federal structure on the rest of the Emirates.
When Sheikh Rashid, the architect of Dubai's success and
unrivaled financial freedom, died in 1990, his son Sheikh
Maktoum took the reins of power. The core of Maktoum's policies
is economic freedom and the no-holds-barred promotion of Dubai,
which makes the city a very fun place.
By the mid-1990s, the Dubai Desert Classic had become a well-established
stop on the Professional Golfers Association (PGA) tour. World-class
tennis tournaments, boat and horse races, desert rallies and
one of the largest air shows in the world attract millions
of visitors to the city. Other high-profile events, such as
the Dubai Shopping Festival and Dubai Summer Surprises, bring
hordes of tourists into town. Tourism matches trade and oil
in importance to the emirate's economy.
The story of Dubai reads like a rags-to-riches tale, and
indeed, it is hard to imagine anywhere else in the world that
has developed at such a pace, in such a short time, for so
many different people.
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