Dubai

==History==
{{Main|History of Dubai}}
{{For timeline}}
[[File:Bronze & Iron Dagger, Saruq Al Hadid.jpg|thumb|upright=0.47|left|Bronze and iron alloy dagger, [[Saruq Al Hadid]] archaeological site (1100 BC)]]

The history of human settlement in the area now defined by the United Arab Emirates is rich and complex. It points to extensive trading links between the civilisations of the [[Indus Valley civilisation|Indus Valley]] and [[Mesopotamia]], and even as far afield as the [[Levant]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Weeks|first1=Lloyd|last2=Cable|first2=Charlotte|last3=Franke|first3=Kristina|last4=Newton|first4=Claire|last5=Karacic|first5=Steven|last6=Roberts|first6=James|last7=Stepanov|first7=Ivan|last8=David-Cuny|first8=Hélène|last9=Price|first9=David|date=26 April 2017|title=Recent archaeological research at Saruq al-Hadid, Dubai, UAE|journal=Arabian Archaeology and Epigraphy|volume=28|issue=1|page=39|doi=10.1111/aae.12082|issn=0905-7196|doi-access=free}}</ref> Archaeological finds in the emirate of Dubai, particularly at [[Al-Ashoosh]], [[Al Sufouh]] and the notably rich trove from [[Saruq Al Hadid]]<ref name=":02">{{Cite news|url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/brushing-off-sands-of-time-at-the-archaeological-site-of-saruq-al-hadid-1.150378|title=Brushing off sands of time at the archaeological site of Saruq al-Hadid|work=The National|access-date=6 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729081526/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/brushing-off-sands-of-time-at-the-archaeological-site-of-saruq-al-hadid-1.150378|archive-date=29 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> show settlement through the [[Ubaid period|Ubaid]] and [[Hafit period|Hafit]] periods, the [[Umm al-Nar culture|Umm Al Nar]] and [[Wadi Suq culture|Wadi Suq]] periods and the three [[Iron Age]]s in the UAE. The area was known to the [[Sumer]]ians as ''Magan'' and was a source for metallic goods, notably copper and bronze.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://blog.une.edu.au/uneresearch/sharp-the-saruq-al-hadid-archaeological-research-project/|title=SHARP – the Saruq al-Hadid Archaeological Research Project|date=3 September 2017|work=Research Plus|access-date=29 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180729081611/https://blog.une.edu.au/uneresearch/sharp-the-saruq-al-hadid-archaeological-research-project/|archive-date=29 July 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>

The area was covered with sand about 5,000 years ago as the coast retreated inland, becoming part of the city's present coastline.<ref name="hist_trad">{{cite web |url=http://uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf_2006/English_2006/eyb4.pdf |title=History and Traditions of the UAE |access-date=31 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326030609/http://uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf_2006/English_2006/eyb4.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref> Pre-Islamic ceramics have been found from the 3rd and 4th centuries.<ref name="preislam" /> Prior to the introduction of Islam to the area, the people in this region worshiped ''[[Bajir]]'' (or ''Bajar'').<ref name="preislam">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcMz3zV0qAMC&pg=PA79|title=United Arab Emirates: A perspective|last=Ibrahim Al Abed, Peter Hellyer|year=2001|publisher=Trident Press|access-date=31 July 2009|isbn=978-1-900724-47-0|archive-date=10 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200710101126/https://books.google.com/books?id=QcMz3zV0qAMC&pg=PA79|url-status=live}}</ref> After the spread of Islam in the region, the [[Umayyad]] [[Caliph]] of the eastern Islamic world conquered south-east [[Arabia]] and drove out the [[Sassanians]]. Excavations by the [[Dubai Museum]] in the region of ''Al-Jumayra'' ([[Jumeirah]]) found several artefacts from the Umayyad period.<ref name="balbi">{{cite web |url=http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf/perspectives/03.pdf |title=The Coming of Islam and the Islamic Period in the UAE. King, Geoffrey R. |access-date=20 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130116151947/http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf/perspectives/03.pdf |archive-date=16 January 2013}}</ref>

An early mention of Dubai in 1095 is in the ''Book of Geography'' by the [[Al-Andalus|Andalusian]]-[[Arab]] [[geographer]] [[Abu Abdullah al-Bakri]].{{citation needed|date=June 2015}} The [[Venice|Venetian]] pearl merchant [[Gasparo Balbi]] visited the area in 1580 and mentioned Dubai (''Dibei'') for its [[pearl hunting|pearling]] industry.<ref name=balbi />

===Establishment of modern Dubai===
[[File:Al Fahidi-Fort.jpg|thumb|left|Al Fahidi fort in the 1950s]]
Dubai is thought to have been established as a fishing village in the early 18th century<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates|last=Heard-Bey|first=Frauke|publisher=Longman|year=1990|isbn=978-0-582-27728-1|location=UK|page=238}}</ref> and was, by 1822, a town of some 700–800 members of the [[Bani Yas]] tribe and subject to the rule of [[Tahnun bin Shakhbut Al Nahyan|Sheikh Tahnun bin Shakhbut]] of [[Emirate of Abu Dhabi|Abu Dhabi]].<ref>{{Cite book|title = Islands and Maritime Boundaries of the Gulf 1798–1960|last = Schofield|first = R|publisher = Archive Editions|year = 1990|isbn = 978-1-85207-275-9|location = UK|page = 545}}</ref> In 1822, a British naval surveyor noted that Dubai was at that time populated with a thousand people living in an oval-shaped town surrounded by a mud wall, scattered with goats and camels. The main footpath out of the village led to a reedy creek while another trailed off into the desert which merged into caravan routes.<ref name=":03">{{Cite book |last=Krane |first=Jim |url=http://archive.org/details/dubaistoryofworl0000kran |title=Dubai: The Story of the World's Fastest City |publisher=Atlantic |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-84887-009-3 |location=London, England |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=17}}

In 1833, following tribal feuding, members of the [[House of Al Falasi|Al Bu Falasah]] tribe seceded from Abu Dhabi and established themselves in Dubai. The exodus from Abu Dhabi was led by [[Obeid bin Said bin Rashid|Obeid bin Saeed]] and [[Maktoum bin Butti bin Suhail|Maktoum bin Butti]], who became joint leaders of Dubai until Ubaid died in 1836, leaving Maktoum to establish the [[Al Maktoum|Maktoum dynasty]].<ref name=":0" />

Dubai signed the [[General Maritime Treaty of 1820]] with the [[Government of the United Kingdom|British government]] along with other [[Trucial States]], following the [[Persian Gulf campaign of 1819|British campaign in 1819]] against the [[Ras Al Khaimah]]. This led to the 1853 [[Perpetual Maritime Truce]]. Dubai also – like its neighbours on the [[Trucial States|Trucial Coast]] – entered into an exclusivity agreement in which the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] took responsibility for the emirate's security [[Trucial States–United Kingdom Treaty of 1892|in 1892]].

[[File:Dubai Museum and Al Fahidi Fort.jpg|thumb|left|[[Al Fahidi Fort]], built in 1787, houses the Dubai Museum.]]

In 1841, a [[smallpox]] epidemic broke out in the [[Bur Dubai]] locality, forcing residents to relocate east to [[Deira, Dubai|Deira]].<ref name="hist_karim">{{cite web |url=http://www.alshindagah.com/september99/architecture.htm |title=Modernity and tradition in Dubai architecture |last1=Karim |first1=Luiza |publisher=Al Shindagah Magazine |access-date=31 July 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090930191053/http://www.alshindagah.com/september99/architecture.htm |archive-date=30 September 2009}}</ref> In 1896, fire broke out in Dubai, a disastrous occurrence in a town where many family homes were still constructed from ''barasti'' – palm fronds. The conflagration consumed half the houses of Bur Dubai, while the district of Deira was said to have been totally destroyed. The following year more fires broke out. A female slave was caught in the act of starting one such blaze and was subsequently put to death.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf|last=Lorimer|first=John|publisher=British Government, Bombay|year=1915|page=750}}</ref>

[[File:A Round Watchtower (Name Unknown).jpg|thumb|upright|A watchtower in [[Bur Dubai]], c. 19th century]]
In 1901, [[Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum]] established Dubai as a free port with no taxation on imports or exports and also gave merchants parcels of land and guarantees of protection and tolerance. These policies saw a movement of merchants not only directly from Lingeh,<ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf|last=Lorimer|first=John|publisher=British Government, Bombay|year=1915|page=2236}}</ref> but also those who had settled in [[Ras Al Khaimah]] and [[Sharjah]] (which had historical links with Lingeh through the [[Al-Qasimi|Al Qawasim]] tribe) to Dubai. An indicator of the growing importance of the port of Dubai can be gained from the movements of the steamer of the Bombay and Persia Steam Navigation Company, which from 1899 to 1901 paid five visits annually to Dubai. In 1902 the company's vessels made 21 visits to Dubai and from 1904 on,<ref>{{Cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf|last=Lorimer|first=John|publisher=British Government, Bombay|year=1915|page=743}}</ref> the steamers called fortnightly – in 1906, trading 70,000 tonnes of cargo.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Father of Dubai|last=Wilson|first=Graeme|publisher=Media Prima|year=1999|page=34}}</ref> The frequency of these vessels only helped to accelerate Dubai's role as an emerging port and trading hub of preference. Lorimer notes the transfer from Lingeh "bids fair to become complete and permanent",<ref name=":12" /> and also that the town had by 1906 supplanted Lingeh as the chief entrepôt of the Trucial States.<ref name="Lorimer 1915 454">{{Cite book|title=Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf Vol II|last=Lorimer|first=John|publisher=British Government, Bombay|year=1915|page=454}}</ref>

The "great storm" of 1908 struck the pearling boats of Dubai and the coastal emirates towards the end of the pearling season that year, resulting in the loss of a dozen boats and over 100 men. The disaster was a major setback for Dubai, with many families losing their breadwinner and merchants facing financial ruin. These losses came at a time when the tribes of the interior were also experiencing poverty. In a letter to the Sultan of [[Muscat]] in 1911, Butti laments, "Misery and poverty are raging among them, with the result that they are struggling, looting and killing among themselves."<ref>{{Cite book|title=Father of Dubai|last=Wilson|first=Graeme|publisher=Media Prima|year=1999|page=39}}</ref>

In 1910, in the [[The Hyacinth incident|Hyacinth incident]] the town was bombarded by [[HMS Hyacinth (1898)|HMS ''Hyacinth'']], with 37 people killed.

===Pre-oil Dubai===
Dubai's geographical proximity to [[Iran]] made it an important trade location. The town of Dubai was an important port of call for foreign tradesmen, chiefly those from Iran, many of whom eventually settled in the town. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was an important port.<ref name="britannica" /> At that time, Dubai consisted of the town of Dubai and the nearby village of [[Jumeirah]], a collection of some 45 ''areesh'' (palm leaf) huts.<ref name="Lorimer 1915 454" /> By the 1920s, many Iranians settled in Dubai permanently, moving across the Persian Gulf. By then, amenities in the town grew and a modern quarter was established, [[Al Bastakiya]].<ref name=":03"/>{{Rp|page=|pages=21–23}}

Dubai was known for its [[pearl]] exports until the 1930s; the pearl trade was damaged irreparably by the 1929 [[Great Depression]] and the innovation of [[cultured pearls]]. With the collapse of the pearling industry, Dubai fell into a deep depression and many residents lived in poverty or migrated to other parts of the Persian Gulf.<ref name="hist_trad" />

In 1937 an oil exploration contract was signed which guaranteed [[Royalty payment|royalty]] rights for Dubai and concessionary payments to Sheikh [[Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum|Saeed bin Maktoum]]. However, due to [[World War II]], oil would not be struck until 1966.<ref name=":03"/>{{Rp|page=|pages=36–37}}

In the early days since its inception, 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.<ref name=dxbadconflict>{{cite web |url=http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=120 |title=The UAE: Internal Boundaries And The Boundary With Oman. Archived Editions. Walker, J |publisher=Archiveeditions.co.uk |date=18 February 1969 |access-date=20 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130505121549/http://www.archiveeditions.co.uk/titledetails.asp?tid=120 |archive-date=5 May 2013}}</ref> Arbitration by the British government resulted in a cessation of hostilities.<ref name=rashasian>The Middle East and North Africa. Schofield, C. p 175</ref>

{{multiple image
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Despite a lack of oil, Dubai's ruler from 1958, [[Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum|Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum]], used revenue from trading activities to build infrastructure. Private companies were established to build and operate infrastructure, including electricity, telephone services and both the ports and airport operators.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book|title=From Trucial States to United Arab Emirates|last=Heard-Bey|first=Frauke|publisher=Longman|year=1996|isbn=978-0-582-27728-1|location=London|page=260}}</ref> An airport of sorts (a runway built on salt flats) was established in Dubai in the 1950s and, in 1959, the emirate's first hotel, the Airlines Hotel, was constructed. This was followed by the Ambassador and Carlton Hotels in 1968.<ref name=":2">{{Cite book|title = Father of Dubai|last = Wilson|first = Graeme|publisher = Media Prima|year = 1999|isbn = 9789948856450|location = UAE|page = 126}}</ref>

Sheikh Rashid commissioned John Harris from Halcrow, a British architecture firm, to create the city's first master plan in 1959. Harris imagined a Dubai that would rise from the historic centre on Dubai Creek, with an extensive road system, organised zones, and a town centre, all of which could feasibly be built with the limited financial resources at the time.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Elshestawy |first1=Yasser |title=Planning Middle Eastern Cities: An Urban Kaleidoscope |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=1-134-41010-7}}</ref>

1959 saw the establishment of Dubai's first telephone company, 51% owned by IAL (International Aeradio Ltd) and 49% by Sheikh Rashid and local businessmen and in 1961 both the electricity company and telephone company had rolled out operational networks.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|title=The Trucial States|last=Donald.|first=Hawley|date=1970|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=978-0-04-953005-8|location=London|page=245|oclc=152680}}</ref> The water company (Sheikh Rashid was chairman and majority shareholder) constructed a pipeline from wells at Awir and a series of storage tanks and, by 1968, Dubai had a reliable supply of piped water.<ref name=":5" />

On 7 April 1961, the Dubai-based MV ''[[MV Dara|Dara]]'', a five thousand ton British flagged vessel that plied the route between [[Basra]] (Iraq), [[Kuwait]] and [[Bombay]] (India), was caught in unusually high winds off Dubai. Early the next morning in heavy seas off Umm al-Quwain, an explosion tore out the second class cabins and started fires. The captain gave the order to abandon ship but two lifeboats capsized and a second explosion occurred. A flotilla of small boats from Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman and Umm al-Quwain picked up survivors, but 238 of the 819 persons on board were lost in the disaster.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/general/fifty-years-on-the-tragedy-of-vessel-mv-dara-lingers-1.789262|title=Fifty years on, the tragedy of vessel MV Dara lingers|last=Reporter|first=Mariam M. Al Serkal, Staff|date=9 April 2011|newspaper=Gulf News|access-date=2 February 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170203075924/http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/general/fifty-years-on-the-tragedy-of-vessel-mv-dara-lingers-1.789262|archive-date=3 February 2017}}</ref>

The construction of Dubai's first airport was started on the Northern edge of the town in 1959 and the terminal building opened for business in September 1960. The airport was initially serviced by Gulf Aviation (flying Dakotas, Herons and Viscounts) but Iran Air commenced services to Shiraz in 1961.<ref name=":5" />

In 1962 the British [[Political officer (British Empire)|Political Agent]] noted that "Many new houses and blocks of offices and flats are being built... the Ruler is determined, against advice [from the British authorities] to press on with the construction of a jet airport... More and more European and Arab firms are opening up and the future looks bright."<ref name=":2" />

In 1962, with expenditure on infrastructure projects already approaching levels some thought imprudent, Sheikh Rashid approached his brother in law, the Ruler of Qatar, for a loan to build the first bridge crossing Dubai's creek. This crossing was finished in May 1963 and was paid for by a toll levied on the crossing from the Dubai side of the creek to the Deira side.<ref name=":4" />

BOAC was originally reluctant to start regular flights between Bombay and Dubai, fearing a lack of demand for seats. However, by the time the asphalt runway of Dubai Airport was constructed in 1965, opening Dubai to both regional and long haul traffic, a number of foreign airlines were competing for landing rights.<ref name=":4" /> In 1970 a new airport terminal building was constructed which included Dubai's first [[duty-free shop]]s.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Fly Buy Dubai|last = Wilson|first = Graeme|publisher = Media Prima|year = 2008|isbn = 9789948859437|location = UAE|page = 58}}</ref>

Throughout the 1960s Dubai was the centre of a lively [[gold]] trade, with 1968 imports of gold at some £56 million. This gold was, in the vast majority, re-exported – mainly to customers who took delivery in international waters off [[India]]. The import of gold to India had been banned and so the trade was characterised as smuggling, although Dubai's merchants were quick to point out that they were making legal deliveries of gold and that it was up to the customer where they took it.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Gold smuggling boosts Dubai economy|last=Thomas|first=Anthony|date=3 March 1969|work=The Times}}</ref>

In 1966, more gold was shipped from London to Dubai than almost anywhere else in the world (only France and Switzerland took more), at 4 million ounces. Dubai also took delivery of over $15 million-worth of watches and over 5 million ounces of silver. The 1967 price of gold was $35 an ounce but its market price in India was $68 an ounce – a healthy markup. Estimates at the time put the volume of gold imports from Dubai to India at around 75% of the total market.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Trucial States|first=Donald|last=Hawley|date=1970|publisher=Allen & Unwin|location=London|page=204|oclc=152680|isbn=<!--978-0049530058-->0049530054}}</ref>

===Oil era===
[[File:Dubai Water Canal Business Bay.jpg|thumb|View of [[Business Bay]]]]
After years of exploration following large finds in neighbouring [[Abu Dhabi]], oil was eventually discovered in territorial waters off Dubai in 1966, albeit in far smaller quantities. The first field was named "Fateh" or "good fortune". This led to an acceleration of Sheikh Rashid's infrastructure development plans and a construction boom that brought a massive influx of foreign workers, mainly Asians and Middle easterners. Between 1968 and 1975 the city's population grew by over 300%.<ref name="pop7">{{cite web |url=http://www.ite.org/traffic/documents/AB00H5001.pdf |title=Historic population statistics |access-date=31 July 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090326030537/http://www.ite.org/traffic/documents/AB00H5001.pdf |archive-date=26 March 2009}}</ref>

As part of the infrastructure for pumping and transporting oil from the Fateh field, located offshore of the Jebel Ali area of Dubai, two 500,000 gallon storage tanks were built, known locally as "Kazzans",<ref>{{cite web|url = http://dubaiasitusedtobe.com/pagesnew/ChicagoBeachDubai.shtm|title = How Chicago Beach got its name...then lost it!|access-date = 20 August 2016|website = Dubai As It Used To Be|last = Chapman|first = Len|url-status=live|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160709050015/http://www.dubaiasitusedtobe.com/pagesnew/ChicagoBeachDubai.shtm|archive-date = 9 July 2016|df = dmy-all}}</ref> by welding them together on the beach and then digging them out and floating them to drop onto the seabed at the Fateh field. These were constructed by the [[Chicago Bridge & Iron Company|Chicago Bridge and Iron Company]], which gave the beach its local name (Chicago Beach), which was transferred to the Chicago Beach Hotel, which was demolished and replaced by the [[Jumeirah Beach Hotel]] in the late 1990s. The Kazzans were an innovative oil storage solution which meant supertankers could moor offshore even in bad weather and avoided the need to pipe oil onshore from Fateh, which is some 60 miles out to sea.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The Trucial States|last=Donald.|first=Hawley|date=1970|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=978-0-04-953005-8|location=London|page=222|oclc=152680}}</ref>

Dubai had already embarked on a period of infrastructural development and expansion. Oil revenue, flowing from 1969 onwards supported a period of growth with Sheikh Rashid embarking on a policy of building infrastructure and a diversified trading economy before the emirate's limited reserves were depleted. Oil accounted for 24% of GDP in 1990, but had reduced to 7% of GDP by 2004.<ref name=":1" />

Critically, one of the first major projects Sheikh Rashid embarked upon when oil revenue started to flow was the construction of [[Port Rashid]], a deep water free port constructed by British company [[Halcrow Group|Halcrow]]. Originally intended to be a four-berth port, it was extended to sixteen berths as construction was ongoing. The project was an outstanding success, with shipping queuing to access the new facilities. The port was inaugurated on 5 October 1972, although its berths were each pressed into use as soon as they had been built. Port Rashid was to be further expanded in 1975 to add a further 35 berths before the larger port of Jebel Ali was constructed.<ref name=":1" />

Port Rashid was the first of a swath of projects designed to create a modern trading infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools and hospitals.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Father of Dubai|last = Wilson|first = Graeme|publisher = Media Prima|year = 1999|isbn = 9789948856450|location = UAE|page = 151}}</ref>

===Reaching the UAE's Act of Union===
[[File:Adi with the three rulers of Dubai.jpg|thumb|left|[[Adi Bitar]] in a meeting with Sheiks [[Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum|Rashid Al Maktoum]], [[Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum|Mohammad Al Maktoum]] and [[Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum|Maktoum Al Maktoum]] in Dubai, 1968]]
Dubai and the other "[[Trucial States]]" had long been a [[British protectorate]] where the British government took care of foreign policy and defence, as well as arbitrating between the rulers of the Eastern Gulf, the result of a treaty signed in 1892 named the "Exclusive Agreement". This was to change with PM [[Harold Wilson]]'s announcement, on 16 January 1968, that all British troops were to be 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.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Spirit of the Union|last = Al Maktoum|first = Mohammed bin Rashid|publisher = Motivate|year = 2012|isbn = 978-1-86063-330-0|location = UAE|pages = 27–39}}</ref>

The principle of union was first agreed upon between the ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh [[Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan]], and Sheikh Rashid of Dubai on 18 February 1968 meeting in an encampment at Argoub Al Sedirah, near Al Semeih, a desert stop between the two emirates.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Spirit of the Union|last = Maktoum|first = Mohammed bin Rashid|publisher = Motivate|year = 2012|isbn = 978-1-86063-330-0|location = UAE|page = 30}}</ref> The two agreed to work towards bringing the other emirates, including Qatar and Bahrain, into the union. Over the next two years, negotiations and meetings of the rulers followed -often stormy- as a form of union was thrashed out. The nine-state union was never to recover from the October 1969 meeting where British intervention against aggressive activities by two of the Emirates resulted in a walk-out by them, Bahrain and Qatar. They dropped out of talks, leaving six of the seven "trucial" emirates to agree on union on 18 July 1971.<ref>{{Cite book|last1=Abed|first1=Ibrahim|url=https://archive.org/details/unitedarabemirat00vine|title=United Arab Emirates : a new perspective|last2=Hellyer|first2=Peter|publisher=Trident Press|year=2001|isbn=978-1-900724-47-0|location=London|pages=129–133|url-access=limited}}</ref>

On 2 December 1971, Dubai, together with Abu Dhabi, [[Sharjah]], [[Ajman]], [[Umm al-Quwain]] and [[Fujairah]] joined in the Act of Union to form the [[United Arab Emirates]]. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, joined the UAE on 10 February 1972, following [[Iran]]'s annexation of the RAK-claimed [[Tunbs]] islands.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Islands and International Politics in the Persian Gulf: The Abu Musa and Tunbs in Strategic Context|url=https://archive.org/details/islandsinternati00ahma|url-access=limited|last=Ahmadi|first=Kourosh|publisher=Routledge|year=2008|location=London|pages=[https://archive.org/details/islandsinternati00ahma/page/n106 96]}}</ref>

In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt a uniform currency: the [[United Arab Emirates dirham|UAE dirham]].<ref name="britannica" /> In that same year, the prior [[monetary union]] with Qatar was dissolved and the UAE Dirham was introduced throughout the Emirates.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.centralbank.ae/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148&Itemid=106|title=Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates|access-date=11 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161203063733/http://www.centralbank.ae/en/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=148&Itemid=106|archive-date=3 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Modern Dubai===
[[File:Vereinigte Arabische Emirate - Dubai - Palm Jumeirah und Dubai Marina - im Vordergrund das Hotel Atlantis - panoramio.jpg|thumb|Dubai Palm Jumeirah and Marina in 2011]]
Throughout the 1970s, Dubai experienced continued growth fueled by revenues generated from oil and trade, even as the city witnessed an influx of immigrants fleeing the [[Lebanese civil war]].<ref name="nyt2">"Beirut Showing Signs of Recovery From Wounds of War". ''The New York Times''. 26 May 1977. pg.2</ref> Border disputes between the emirates persisted even after the formation of the UAE; it was only in 1979 that a formal compromise was reached, putting an end to disagreements.<ref name="lonelyplanet">Dubai. Carter, T and Dunston, L. ''Lonely Planet Publications''</ref> In 1979, the establishment of the [[Jebel Ali]] port, a deep-water port accommodating larger ships, marked a significant development. Initially facing challenges, Sheikh Mohammed initiated the JAFZA ([[Jebel Ali Free Zone]]) around the port in 1985, facilitating unrestricted import of labour and export of capital for foreign companies.<ref name="UAEFreeZones">{{cite web|url=http://www.uaefreezones.com/fz_jebel_ali.html|title=Free Zones in the UAE|publisher=uaefreezones.com|access-date=23 April 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100225153052/http://www.uaefreezones.com/fz_jebel_ali.html|archive-date=25 February 2010}}</ref> Simultaneously, Dubai airport and the aviation industry continued their expansion.

The [[Gulf War]] in early 1991 had a negative financial impact on the city, with depositors and traders withdrawing money and trade. However, Dubai rebounded in a changing political climate and prospered. In the late 1990s, various foreign trading communities—initially from [[Kuwait]], during the Gulf War, and later from [[Bahrain]], amidst the [[Shia]] unrest—relocated their businesses to Dubai.<ref name="asianaffairs">Davidson, Christopher, ''The Emirates of Abu Dhabi and Dubai: Contrasting Roles in the International System''. March 2007.</ref> Dubai served as refuelling base for allied forces at the Jebel Ali Free Zone during the Gulf War and again during the [[2003 Invasion of Iraq]]. Subsequent significant increases in [[price of oil|oil prices]] prompted Dubai to maintain its focus on free trade and tourism.<ref>{{Cite book|title = Sand to Silicon: Going Global|last = Sampler & Eigner|publisher = Motivate|year = 2008|isbn = 978-1-86063-254-9|location = UAE|page = 15}}</ref>
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