A brief history of Dubai’s economy up to 1979
Dubai’s close proximity to India made it an important trading location and it was already known in Europe from the sixteenth century for its pearling industry, but it was in the nineteenth century when the emir lowered trade taxes to lure foreign traders from neighbouring states that Dubai really began to grow in prominence.
The early part of the twentieth century was hard on Dubai, the First World War and the Great Depression of the 1920s caused irreparable damage to Dubai’s pearling industry, and many people left the city for other parts of the Persian Gulf.
In 1966, however, Dubai was to experience a change in fortunes. After joining up with Qatar to set up a new monetary unit, the Qatar/Dubai Riyal, oil was discovered leading to a massive influx of workers, mainly from the Indian subcontinent.
1971 saw the formation of the United Arab Emirates and another new currency, the UAE dirham, and Dubai continued to grow from revenues generated by oil and trade.
The Jebel Ali Free Zone was established in 1979, allowing foreign companies unrestricted import of labour and export capital.
Related posts:
- A brief history of Dubai’s economy from the Gulf War to The Islands
- Dubai and the UAE
- Dubai in the twentieth century
- The history of Dubai
- The changing economy of Dubai
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