Dubai History
The Dubai history was first recorded in 1580, in the written documents of Venetian pearl merchant Gaspero Balbi as a famous pearl destination. However, there is not much information about this place for the period before 1580. Only thing can be guessed that it was one of the most important trading centers of this region, during the rulings of Byzantine and Sassanian rulers. During that time, the Dubai people used to worship a God known as Bajir.
The famous Al Fahidi Fort was built by the year 1799, which is now the home for Dubai Museum. Till 1833 this town was dependent on Abu Dhabi. In the mean time, a group of people of Al Maktoum dynasty from Bani Yas clan settled at the mouth of the creek and formally established the town as Dubai. During this time, Dubai became much famous as an important trading port and most of the settlers used to earn their living by fishing, herding sheep and goats and pearling. Pearling was a major source of earning for many of the inhabitants. However, the Dubai history took a sharp turn after it came under British protection by the year 1892.
Two severe mishaps shook the inhabitants of the town, during this time. First of all, a major smallpox epidemic at 1841 compelled many citizens to move from Bur Dubai to Deira area. Secondly, a major fire caused damage to many homes of the common people. Though many people relocated this time to other locations, many foreigners started to settle in Dubai. As it was a famous trading center, people from various part of the world used to come and make it their second home. Most of the Deira souks were settled at this time. Many Indians and people from neighborhood countries shifted their home to Dubai. By the early 1900, one fourth of Dubai’s population was foreign nationals.
Dubai continued its growth as a major trading center and a pearling town, till early 20th century. However, the effects of the 1st Worlds War and great depression were so bad on the Dubai history, that it washed away the pearling industry by late 1920s. Many people again relocated to other parts of the Gulf countries. A war on border dispute between Dubai and Abu Dhabi took place in 1947. In 1954 British Government settled a political agency here. By this time the then ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum took a big project to dredge the creek. This project helped the local economy to grow up more as a major trading and export center.
The discovery of oil in 1966 was a key turning point in Dubai history. The city started to earn big amount of revenue from merchandising oil. This revenue was well utilized by Sheikh Rashid to develop the town into a big city by constructing schools, hospitals, roads, modern telecommunication network and many more. Dubai International Airport was built during this time. Also, the largest man made harbor got constructed at Jebel Ali, along with a free trade zone. Many people got settled there home from abroad in this time. By 1971 when British left this place, Dubai joined with 6 other emirates to form United Arab Emirates.
During the 80’s and 90’s, Dubai emerged as a major tourist destination of Middle East. Many people invested in big infrastructures related to tourism. The Dubai history has been evident to the world to prove the capability of visionary leadership, finest infrastructure and tax-less earning to make their people happy and satisfied.
