History of the uae political history history essay

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates; Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah and Ummal-Quwain. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language in the Emirates. UAE as a region is mid way through the eastern and western world and thus very important for the trade. In the late 15th century, following the exploration trail of Vasco De Gama, the Portugese noticed the region and became the first among European nations to attempt exerting supremacy over the Gulf of Oman and waterways leading to the Indian Ocean. Portuguese controlled the trade in the region from early till the end of 16th century. Their control ended when Ottoman naval forces defeated the Portuguese naval forces at several places along the coast. Eventually, the British got the upper hand in the region and controlled the trade. Due to the sporadic piracy in the region, the local rulers made an agreement with the British empire to tackle the problem of piracy along the Coast in 1820. In the previous year the British had conducted extensive operations to eradicate raiders along the Coast and in Ras al-Khaimah, which were heavily opposed. But the next year they came together to fight the pirates as one and this established the British empire in the region. This led to several European countries losing out in the race to control trade in the region. These raids on the pirates continued until about 1835, when the sheikhs made a truce which was formalized in a treaty with the British that was enacted in 1853. The British enforced the treaty and any disputes between sheikhs were referred to them. British aimed at solidifying their bonds with the sheikhs and sidelined the other European countries by signing a treaty in 1892. With this, the Sheikhs were not able to dispose their territories to a non-British Government or enter into a relationship with any other foreign Government without the consent of British. In return the British empire promised to protect their coast from any external agents causing disruptions in the region and also protect them from any attack. Under the British control, the region indulged in trade of pearl to several countries and developed the industry. British forces, however, prohibited the trade of slaves through the region, which was a lost income to the local merchants. The discovery of oil in the region in early 1960 changed the political dynamics in the region. Oil discovery led to the US companies setting up base in the region and British started losing on their investments in the region. With this loss of income, they could not afford to govern the region as earlier. They decided to move out of the region in 1968 and finished the process by 1971. The treaty with the seven ” trucial sheikhdoms” and Bahrain and Qatar was officially ended. The ruler of Abu Dhabi tried to convince the British forces to stay back and protect them for a consideration, which was turned down by the British. From 1968 to 1971, the seven sheikhdoms tried to form a union and establish themselves and Bahrain and Qatar as one constitution. This did not succeed. This led to Bahrain, Qatar and other sheikhdoms becoming independent entities. Abu Dhabi realised the need to be together and decided to form a union with Dubai. They prepared their common constitution and invited other emirates to join them. Bahrain and Qatar declined the invitation and four other Emirates besides Ras-al-Khaimah joined them immediately. Ras-al-khaimah joined them few months later. Thus, the UAE as we know today was formed from the seven emirates. UAE also joined the Arab League in 1971 and also became the founding member of the Gulf Cooperation Council in May 1981. Abu Dhabi was the first emirate to begin exporting crude oil in 1962 and was followed soon by Dubai, whose exports had begun by 1969. The rulers of both these emirates plied the increasing revenue from the export of oil into the development of public infrastructure like houses, schools and other educational institutions, hospitals roads etc. The creation of a federation between the sheikhdoms was prompted by the expansion of the oil industry, which underwent economic boom, starting from the 1960s. Dubai pumped the money into creating trade infrastructure by investing in the ports and maritime industry. Over the years, they managed to develop world class ports handling a lot of trade volume. This changed the economic demographics of the region, where multinational established their offices in the region to support the trading activities. UAE has maintained support for any anti-terrorism operation. They joined the allied forces after the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq. The UAE has expressed support for the United States War on Terror which led to conflicts with the Taliban in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq. UAE had opposed Iraq under Saddam Husain when the country had invaded Kuwait in 1991. There are several military treaties that the UAE has with European nations. The Al Dhafra Air Base located outside of Abu Dhabi is a result of one such treaty. This air base was used by American forces during 1991 Persian Gulf War. A military defence agreement came into effect between the UAE and the U. S. in 1994. In the subsequent year, UAE signed another agreement of a similar nature with France. An agreement between the two nations which allowed France to set up a permanent military base in Abu Dhabi came into effect in 2008. The army of the UAE took part the international operations undertaken in Libya in 2011.‘ Arab Spring” which stands for the protests happening against the rulers in several Arab countries like Egypt, Lybia, Baharain, has led to the Government to take a strict stand on internet activism. In late 2012, the UAE government passed a law against online mockery or protest in social media for the ruling government.

Art and Culture

UAE has a very cosmopolitan, diverse and multicultural society. There are people from a lot of countries settled as expats working in the region. These expats and their families constitute the rich Diaspora making the population of UAE. UAE as a community was engaged in the pearl trade and were a very homogenous ethnicity. This changed with the invasion of outside forces like Portuguese, British and other European nations. Trade developed their economy and demanded worker from other countries to come and work. This started with the Iranians in early 1900s to Indians and Pakistanis in 1960s with the advent of the oil industry. The region has not faced any social turmoil despite people from various ethnicities dominating the workforce. The culture of the region basically revolves around Islam, Arab and Bedouin. However, being cosmopolitan makes it very diverse and vibrant. Arab imprints are there on the architecture, music, food, and clothing. Friday is observed as a holiday in the region due to this day being the holy day for the native Muslim community. Economic upswing also made the natives more liberal than their neighbours and have religious places for the immigrants like Temples, Gurudwaras etc. Their schools, colleges and other educational institutions are heavily influenced by other countries and several foreign institutions can be found in their cities. A culturally rich and diverse nation, the UAE’s official religion, Islam dominates the socio-cultural landscape. Kandura, which is a white tunic woven from cotton or wool and hangs at ankle length, is the clothing of choice for Emiratis. The women wear black overalls called abayas, which cover majority of their body. The influx of western socio-cultural has made western clothing popular among local populaces and seems to be getting more popular. Sharjah and Abu Dhabi hold annual international book fairs and a third one has been launched recently. The Emirates are a hub for arts and culture. Sharjah’s Heritage district is a particular place in this regard, hosting 17 museums. Abu Dhabi has began developing into an internation arts and culture destination with the beginning of a culture district on Saadiyat Island, wherein five massive museums and a Biennale Park with 16 pavilions have been planned to be built.