BEFORE OIL19under British domination.^15 The area became known afterward as the
Trucial Coast, named for the series of truces signed with the British.
The al- Nahyan family of Abu Dhabi and the al- Maktoums of Dubai
were pro- British, and their sheikdoms grew to dominate the Trucial
Coast federation, overshadowing the more hostile Qawasim- ruled emir-
ates. Abu Dhabi’s discovery of oil in 1958 gave it the wherewithal to
control the federation. In 1971, six of the seven sheikhdoms banded
together as the UAE, an independent country governed from Abu Dhabi.
Ras al- Khaimah joined reluctantly in 1972, lacking funds and diplomatic
backing for independence.^16
Oil abruptly reversed the desolation of the UAE. The federation is now
second only to Saudi Arabia in terms of population and economy. Its
nine million inhabitants are dominated by expatriates, who make up
85 percent of the population— perhaps the highest proportion of foreign
residents in any major country. The historic entrepôt port of Dubai has
maintained the role of commercial capital since 1959, when its port
expansion enabled it to accept cargo ships. Dubai has since expanded
into a global hub for trade, logistics, banking, and tourism. Abu Dhabi,
with 81 percent of the UAE’s land and 93 percent of its oil and gas, con-
trols domestic politics, security, and foreign affairs. Abu Dhabi citizens
enjoy the highest per capita GDP in the Gulf outside of Qatar, around
$93,000 in 2014 versus $63,000 for the UAE as a whole.^17 Ras al- Khaimah
and Fujairah have created their own industries in ceramics and bun-
kering, while the three others serve as bedroom communities for the
expanding Dubai– Abu Dhabi metroplex.
The UAE and Kuwait possess nearly equal hydrocarbon resource
bases but share few similarities in governance. Kuwaiti political open-
ness and press freedom contrasts with the UAE’s tighter controls on poli-
tics and opposition speech, which include long jail terms for political
opponents. On the other hand, the emirate of Dubai is the most socially
tolerant of any of the Gulf sheikhdoms and one of the world’s freest eco-
nomies. Dubai’s openness to foreign culture, investment, and migration
has allowed it to thrive after depletion of its small oil reserves, and it has
built the region’s first successful post- oil economy.