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30-511: From 1912 to 1958, the then ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum , lived in the area. His reconstructed residence in Al Shindagha is now open to the public as a museum. It is bordered by the locality of Bur Dubai in the south, and by Port Rashid on the west. The Dubai Creek runs along the district's western periphery. The Al Shindagha Tunnel serves as the northernmost connector between

60-404: A few generations. "My grandfather rode a camel , my father rode a camel , I drive a Mercedes , my son drives a Land Rover , his son will drive a Land Rover, but his son will ride a camel", He therefore worked to develop the economy of Dubai so that it could survive after the end of oil production, and was a driving force behind a number of major infrastructure projects to promote Dubai as

90-576: A folly, resulted in Dubai's rising prominence as an entrepôt , a position cemented by the visionary construction of a 15-berth deep-water port, Port Rashid, starting in 1969. Despite the rather fraught relationship between the two emirates, Sheikh Rashid brought Dubai to join Abu Dhabi and other northern emirates to create the United Arab Emirates in 1971. In 1973, Dubai joined the other emirates to adopt

120-454: A regional hub for trade, such as: There had been an armed border dispute between the Emirate of Dubai and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1946, and when Sheikh Rashid became ruler of Dubai, there was still a state of stand-off between the two emirates. Sheikh Rashid's accession did not serve to improve the situation because of a delicate family relationship. The ruling emir of Abu Dhabi, Shakhbut ,

150-616: A son, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum , on 1 December of that year. Sheikh Ahmed today serves as Chairman and CEO of Emirates Airline . Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum ( Arabic : رَاشِد بن سَعِيْد آل مَكتُوم , romanized :  Râşid bin Saîd Âl Mektûm ; 11 June 1912 – 7 October 1990) was an Emirati royal, politician and a founder of the United Arab Emirates . Al Maktoum

180-539: A trading relationship between Dubai and Bastak, with the latter being a major source of firewood for the coastal communities of the Persian Gulf . As this new influx of trading families took place, storm clouds were brewing over the pearling market. The Japanese cultured pearl , first a wonder shown at expos and other fairs, started to be produced in commercial quantities in the late 1920s. The influx of inexpensive, high quality pearls to world markets took place alongside

210-629: A uniform currency, the UAE dirham . Jebel Ali port was established in 1979, and the customs free zone Jebel Ali Free Zone (JAFZ) was built around the port in 1985. By the late 1990s, JAFZ developed into a commercial free zone. Sheikh Rashid's father was Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum Al Maktoum, while his mother was Sheikha Hessa bint Al Mur bin Hureiz Al Falasi. Sheikh Rashid Al Maktoum married only once. His wife, Sheikha Latifa bint Hamdan Al Nahyan,

240-549: Is the daughter of Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan , who had ruled Abu Dhabi for 10 years (1912–22). After her father was murdered by family members, Sheikha Latifa (along with other family members) fled Abu Dhabi and was taken in at her mother's home in Dubai. Many years later, Sheikha Latifa was married to Rashid in a match arranged by their families. Rashid and Latifa had nine children, being four sons and five daughters: Both his predecessor and successor as Prime Minister of

270-559: The Bahraini dinar . Sheikh Rashid also established close relations with Kuwait and other royal families in the region. The Emir of Kuwait assisted in the financing of the dredging of Dubai creek. Dubai also raised funds for the dredging by issuing bonds, known as the 'creek bonds,' which proved popular with investors. Revenue derived from land reclamation made possible by the dredging proved crucial for funding Dubai's future growth. The dredging and land reclamation project, regarded at first as

300-583: The British were urging Sheikh Rashid to take over from his father, which he refused to do. Saeed married Sheikha Hessa bint Al Murr, the mother of all his children except his youngest child, Ahmed. Saeed married a second time to Sheikha Fatima bint Ahmed bin Suliman. Sheikh Saeed died early in the morning of 10 September 1958 at the age of 80 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum . Two months after Saeed's death , his second wife bore

330-566: The Ruler's financial standing and call for political reform. Sheikh Saeed quickly became disconcerted with the Majlis process and recused himself from the meetings of the council. On 29 March 1939, the Majlis was dissolved when a number of its members were attacked by Bedouin attending his son's wedding in Deira. Although he was to rule for a further 20 years, Saeed increasingly avoided political life and ceded

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360-596: The UAE was his son, Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid was the prime minister of United Arab Emirates from 1971 to 1979, and acceded as ruler of Dubai on his father's death on 7 October 1990, until his death on 4 January 2006. Following Maktoum's death in 2006, another of Sheikh Rashid's sons, Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, acceded to these positions and is the current vice president and prime minister of

390-515: The administration of Dubai to Sheikh Rashid , his son. It came to Rashid to implement many of the reforms the Majlis had called for and also to add his own impetus to the drive to develop and reform Dubai, transforming the small trading port into a modern city-state within a generation. By 1950, the British Residency was clearly at a loss to explain the source of Dubai's wealth, which had by now grown to be considerable: Dubai, in contrast with

420-477: The early years of the 20th century, another migration took place with increasingly restrictive conditions for trade being experienced in Southern Persia. Many more merchants from the areas of Bastak and Lingeh moved to Dubai, where they were welcomed. A number had established businesses in Dubai but hadn't moved their families and, in the 1920s, many of these made the move to Dubai permanent. There had long been

450-591: The economic blight of the Great Depression . The result on the Persian Gulf's pearl markets was devastating. In 1929, 60 of Dubai's pearling boats (in 1907 there were 335 boats operating out of the port) stayed in port throughout the season. The complex system of financing that underpinned the pearling industry, the relationship between owners, pearl merchants, nakhudas (captains) and divers and pullers fell apart and left an increasingly large number of working men in

480-512: The end of the pearling boom and through the long and difficult recession that followed the collapse of the pearling market, transforming Dubai into an active trading hub which developed new markets and economic opportunities. Despite continuing a long tradition of liberal, trade-minded rulers, he faced pressure from a number of leading figures in Dubai to reform the governance of the town and was eventually forced to quell what became an active rebellion against his rule. In later life he ceded many of

510-673: The localities of Bur Dubai and Deira . This United Arab Emirates location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum By Sheikha Fatima bint Ahmed bin Suliman Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Hasher Al Maktoum (1878 – 9 September 1958) ( Arabic : سعيد بن مكتوم آل مكتوم ) was the longest-serving Ruler of Dubai , from 1912 until his death in 1958. He presided over Dubai during

540-405: The merchants give one the impression they are not dissatisfied with present blessings and that they view the future hopefully. In 1954 Dubai became a municipality. The increasing activities of Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast), which had secured a number of exploratory concessions in the area, meant increased economic activity and Dubai acted to accommodate the infrastructure required to take

570-539: The moribund Sharjah eleven miles away, is a flourishing town... there is already a business-like air around the place, thanks to the Post Office, the bank, a branch of Messrs Gray, Mackenzie and the offices of Petroleum Development (Trucial Coast) Limited... to judge by the prosperous appearance of the bazaar and by the lively atmosphere of the whole town, its income, for a miniature port of perhaps eight to ten thousand inhabitants must even today be considerable. The Sheikh and

600-510: The opportunity. In 1954, Sir William Halcrow and Partners were brought in to survey the Creek and then the Overseas Ast Company carried out the dredging operation. Loans, the issue of 'Creek Bonds' and reselling the land reclaimed by the dredging operations all helped to pay for the operation, which took place through the end of 1958 and into 1959. By now Sheikh Saeed was elderly and infirm and

630-536: The people of Dubai. Alongside these efforts, Dubai's traders found new markets in Persia, trading sugar, tea, cloth, hides and even cement into the Persian mainland. Their increasing prosperity came a time when Dubai's traditional wealthy class, the pearl merchants and boat owners, faced penury. This led to growing tensions and rising discontent among some of the more influential families of the town. The Majlis movement of 1938

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660-583: The responsibilities for driving Dubai's economic growth to his son, Rashid. Saeed bin Maktoum was the son of Maktoum bin Hasher , who ruled Dubai from 1894 to 1906. Following Maktoum's death, his cousin Butti bin Suhail Al Maktoum ruled for six years, before his own death in 1912. Aged 34 at his accession, Sheikh Saeed inherited a small but thriving trading port and a pearling centre which employed some 7,000 men in

690-429: The seasonal trade. A simple man, Saeed travelled to hunt in the desert and was respected for his staunch Islamic values. Relations with neighbouring sheikhs were stable, as was Saeed's relationship with the British. The pearling industry was lucrative and trade was based on a lively re-export market, particularly to surrounding Arab sheikhdoms and Persia. Following the movement of merchants from Lingeh to Dubai in

720-638: The town facing destitution. A record number of slaves approached the British Agent seeking manumission , a reflection of the parlous state of the pearling fleet and its owners. In 1934, Sheikh Rashid concluded an agreement with Imperial Airways for flights to take place through Dubai, with flights commencing in 1937. The agreement brought welcome revenue. He also signed a preliminary agreement for an oil concession (with British company Petroleum Concessions Ltd) on 22 May 1937, stipulating that local labour would have to be used in an effort to create employment for

750-554: The two emirates did not improve until much later. Instead, Sheikh Rashid established a close relationship with Qatar , who was a rival of Abu Dhabi on the other (western) border. Sheikh Rashid's daughter married the new emir of Qatar in 1961 and a warm relationship was established. Thus, when India devalued the Gulf Rupee in 1966, both Qatar and Dubai adopted the Qatar-Dubai Riyal as a common currency, whereas Abu Dhabi adopted

780-469: Was de facto tied to the office of vice president (but not vice versa). Sheikh Rashid was responsible for the transformation of Dubai from a small cluster of settlements near the Dubai Creek to a modern port city and commercial hub. A quote commonly attributed to Sheikh Rashid reflected his concern that Dubai's oil, which was discovered in 1966 and which began production in 1969, would run out within

810-407: Was a first cousin of Sheikh Rashid's only wife, Latifah. Their fathers had been brothers. However, Shakhbut's father had killed Latifah's father and seized the throne of Abu Dhabi in 1922, causing Latifah's family to flee to Dubai where, many years later, the two families arranged for Sheikh Rashid to marry Latifah. Given this history, there was little love lost between the cousins and relations between

840-604: Was a reflection of the discontent felt by a number of leading figures in Dubai, including members of the Maktoum family itself. In October 1938 the situation had deteriorated to the point where Dubai was split into two armed camps by its creek: Deira was held by the discontented members of the Al Bu Falasah and Bur Dubai by Sheikh Saeed and his followers. Following mediation by other Rulers and the British Political Agent, who travelled from Bahrain, on 20 October an agreement

870-454: Was signed establishing the Majlis , a consultative council of fifteen leading community members to be headed by Sheikh Saeed. The Majlis set up a number of Municipal bodies, including a Municipal Council and a Council of Merchants, as well as the post of Director of Education, taken by Sheikh Mana Al Maktoum. The Majlis wasn't only concerned with practical matters, however, but also sought to limit

900-485: Was the first vice president and second prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, and was the ruler of Dubai . He ruled Dubai for 32 years from 1958 until his death in 1990. He was the vice president from the founding of the UAE until his death. Al Maktoum was the first vice president to serve as prime minister concurrently, when he became prime minister on 30 April 1979. After him the office of prime minister

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