Historic documents give insight into early Dubai

Dubai: The roots of Dubai’s reputation as a trade hub that attracts people from across the world can be traced back to the late 1800s. Dubai has always had a history of being a cosmopolitan trading hub that is tolerant of people of all races and religions.

Dubai, the multicultural hub as we know it today, started flourishing in the 1930s when Shaikh Saeed Bin Maktoum Al Maktoum was the Ruler from 1912 to 1958.

Saeed Mohammad Noor, Head of the Coordination and Follow-up Department at the Dubai Ruler’s Court, was given documents by his grandfather Abdul Kareem Bin Mahmoud Bin Haj Qasim, who was the Hamal Bashi (Head of Port Authority) at what was then the first Dubai port, called furdhah.

The word furdhah is classical Arabic for berth, where small ships would come and dock, and bigger ships would anchor mid-stream.

Smaller boats would transport people and goods back to furdhah as it was difficult for bigger ships to get through, Abdullah Bin Jasem Al Mutairi, Adviser of Museum and Heritage Affairs and chairman of the Board of Directors office at Dubai Culture, told Gulf News.

This port was located near the Ruler’s Court back then on Dubai Creek. The Hamal Bashi was the person in charge of furdhah — he executed all Customs regulations.
 

The documents

Al Mutairi, who is also an expert on UAE history, said the documents that were handed down by the Hamal Bashi tell us about Dubai’s rich history as a multicultural trade hub. The documents in Arabic, English, Persian and Urdu date back to the 1920s.

“There are a few main themes or points that these documents highlight, which is that work at the port was organised and not random. Many of the documents detail regulations and tariffs for work at the port,” Al Mutairi said.

The most interesting document is a letter by Shaikh Saeed appointing Abdul Kareem Bin Mahmoud Bin Haj Qassim the Hamal Bashi and asking the traders if they agree to the appointment by signing a paper.

“This showed that there was some sort of democracy and that the Ruler cared about what people thought, and did not want to force someone on them,” Al Mutairi said. He said the majority of the traders accepted the appointment of the Hamal Bashi and signed their names. The title Hamal Bashi was given by Shaikh Saeed in the decree appointing him in 1920.

Another interesting document details the porters’ tariff for transporting each type of goods. Documents list transactions and items that were traded at the port. They included products such as rice, barley, wheat, tins of pineapple, vermicelli, flour, animal fodder, cotton seeds, coal and sugar. Spices such as turmeric, fenugreek, saffron and ginger were traded. Other products included ghee, raisins, sesame seeds, sago, rose water, lentil, henna, nails, paints, wax, leather, smoking pipes, thread, cloth, oudh and coffee. Old Indian weights such as “seer”, and currency such as “rupee” and “anna” were used. Traders also used “pounds” to measure weight. 

“There is also a document that says that traders who cheat on weights will be punished,” Al Mutairi said. “If a bag said it contained 100kg of something and when weighed it was 80kg there would be punishment.”

He said fake goods were also confiscated. There are also multiple letters signed by merchants from many countries, including India, Basra in Iraq, and Bahrain, proving that trade flourished.

“It is nice to see how things related to people’s needs were regulated and that the rights of both traders and consumers were protected. What we see in Dubai and all of the UAE today is just a continuation of this beautiful history of being concerned with people’s interests and giving people their rights,” Al Mutairi said.

Dubai today, under His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, is regarded as a key international player in business and a trading centre.

It is testimony to its roots of being a multicultural, tolerant city.

Tax-free port

Trade in Dubai began in the 18th century when 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe under Maktoum Bin Butti left Abu Dhabi and migrated north to found an independent shaikhdom in the area, now known as Dubai, in 1833.

By the mid-1800s, Dubai’s population had more than doubled to 3,000, due to a wave of immigrants from Abu Dhabi who were drawn to Dubai for its openness and tolerance.  

 In 1894, Shaikh Maktoum Bin Hasher Al Maktoum declared Dubai a tax-free port, giving birth to what would become the modern-day economic phenomenon of Dubai. At this stage the population had grown to 10,000.

In the early part of the 19th century, Dubai came to be known as the principal port in the area and established itself as a main centre for trade, attracting traders from India, Iran, Europe and neighbouring countries.

 Dubai had established a free trading port in 1904 and, during this time, people were migrating to Dubai from places such as Bahrain, India, Iran and Kuwait. By the 1930s, Dubai’s population was diverse, consisting of several classes and ethnic groups.

As the pearling trade collapsed around 1930, Dubai’s status as the region’s major port continued to grow, supported by major works such as the dredging of Dubai Creek in the 1950s to allow large trading vessels to use the port.

Under Shaikh Saeed and Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the city cemented its reputation as the main trading hub in the Gulf.