Dubai is governed as an absolute monarchy by theAl Maktoum family, who have ruled since 1833. It operates within the federal structure of the UAE, with the Ruler of Dubai also serving as the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE.
The emirate and the coterminous city is subdivided into nine numbered sectors.[6]
Dubai is divided into 9 sectors of which 1 to 6 are urban and 7 to 9 are rural. In numbers of 2007: 1.511.423 urban, 18.369 rural, 1.529.792 total. The sectors are subdivided into 224communities. In other sources, the sectors and communities are called districts and subdistricts. The exclave of Hatta is a community in Sector 8.
Dubai by CopernicusSentinel-2 satellite in false-colour in 2024
In the early 19th century, the coastal township of Dubai was located within the territorial lands of theBani Yas tribe, however Dubai was also on the borderlands near the control of the powerfulAl Qasimi clan. This caused both groups to assert authority over the town.[7]: 13
In the 19th century, pearls were the main commodity of the region, with buyers fromMumbai, commerce peaked in 1897.[7]: 26
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 fromLingeh,[8] but also those who had settled inRas Al Khaimah andSharjah (which had historical links with Lingeh through theAl Qawasim tribe) to Dubai. An indicator of the growing importance 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,[9] the steamers called fortnightly – in 1906, trading 70,000 tonnes of cargo.[10] The frequency of these vessels helped to accelerate Dubai's role as an emerging port and trading hub of preference. British historian John Lorimer noted the transfer of merchants from Lingeh "bids fair to become complete and permanent",[8] and also that the town had by 1906 supplanted Lingeh as the chief entrepôt of the Trucial States. By 1908, Dubai was home to a population of some 10,000 people.[7]: 21–23
By the 1930s and 1940s, the pearl business crashed due tocultured pearls from Japan. The economy crashed which triggered a famine.[7]: 28 Hopes were reignited when in 1937, an oil exploration contract was signed which guaranteedroyalty rights for Dubai and concessionary payments to SheikhSaeed bin Maktoum. However, due toWorld War II, oil would not be struck until 1966 at theFateh oil field.[7]: 36–37
In December 1971, the emirates united to form theUnited Arab Emirates, thus ending their status as British Protectorates.[11][12]
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