History of Dubai

Although little is known about the ancient history of the region, archaeological finds suggest humans first settled here as early as 3000 BC. Further evidence links these historic communities to the Bronze Age, with locals trading copper from Oman and pearls from the mouth of the Dubai Creek. These historic artefacts are now permanently housed in Dubai Museum.

However, what we understand as modern Dubai can be traced back to the 1830’s when the Bani Yas tribe settled at a small fishing village at the mouth of the Dubai Creek. This tribe was led by the ancestors of the Al Maktoum family, who still govern the emirate today.

Dubai has a strong economic history, which has been detrimental to neighbouring regions trade. The introduction of full tax exemption in 1894 only served to cement Dubai’s superior economic standing. Persian merchants were the first group of ex-pats to take advantage of the deal, but traders from across the world soon capitalised on Dubai’s tax free status.

Dubai continued to capitalise on business opportunities, with pearling forming the foundation of the city’s prosperity for many years, until it was replaced by a thriving trade in gold and other commodities in the 1940’s. Indeed, gold remains synonymous with Dubai today, due to the cities world renowned souks.

However, it soon became apparent that Dubai’s lucky streak had only just begun. With the discovery of oil in 1966, the economy kicked into overdrive.

It was the revenue generated from this oil discovery that was later used to fund Sheik Rashid’s visions for the Emirate.

In 1971, the foundation of the United Arab Emirates was formed with Dubai recognised as the seventh emirate. Soon after, followed the creation of Jebel Ali, the worlds largest man made port and the establishment of the Jebel Ali free zone, both propelling Dubai’s trade further.

The Al Maktoum brothers have continued with their family’s tradition of encouraging investment through the use of the trade free zones and other business incentives to ensure Dubai realises their father’s master vision of becoming both the commercial and tourism hub of the Middle East.

This has been achieved commercially with the creation of specific business districts such as Internet and Media City, both housing industry market leaders.
The tourism industry has prospered thanks to forward thinking ventures such as the worlds only 7 star hotel, Burj Al Arab, the Palm Island and the Ski Dubai complex.

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. Dubai is a magnificent expression of the Emirate’s incredible vision and a tribute to its sea-faring heritage, an uncompromising statement of success in a land that century after century has provided immense opportunity..