Creation of UAE
The United Arab Emirates came into being in December 1971, when six of the seven emirates that now make up the country joined together as a single federal state. The seventh, Ras al-Khaimah, followed in early 1972. The union turned a cluster of small, formerly British-protected sheikhdoms on the Persian Gulf into a sovereign country, and it later grew into one of the Middle East's most prominent economies and a major hub for trade, aviation and finance.
The background lay in the long British presence in the Gulf. From the early nineteenth century, Britain signed a series of maritime agreements with the rulers of the coast, which became known to Europeans as the Trucial States. Britain managed their foreign affairs and defense while leaving internal matters to local rulers. In January 1968, the British government announced that it would withdraw its forces from east of Suez by the end of 1971, partly because of financial pressures at home. This left the rulers facing the prospect of independence without a protector, amid larger neighbors and unresolved territorial and political questions.
In response, the rulers of Abu Dhabi and Dubai, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum, agreed in 1968 to cooperate and invited others to join. Negotiations went on for several years and included Bahrain and Qatar, which had been part of the wider discussions. Both eventually chose full independence instead. The remaining emirates continued the effort, and mediation by Britain and others helped smooth disagreements over structure and leadership.
On 2 December 1971, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain and Fujairah formally established the federation, with Sheikh Zayed as its first president and Sheikh Rashid as vice president. A provisional constitution set up a federal council of rulers and a shared government, while each emirate kept considerable autonomy. Ras al-Khaimah joined in February 1972. Shortly before the union, Iran took control of Abu Musa and the Greater and Lesser Tunbs, islands claimed by Sharjah and Ras al-Khaimah. The UAE still disputes this, and it remains a point of tension.
The new state benefited from growing oil revenues, especially in Abu Dhabi, which had begun exporting oil in the early 1960s. These funds supported infrastructure, education and healthcare, and the provisional constitution was made permanent in 1996. Over the following decades, Dubai in particular built a diversified economy based on trade, tourism and services. Today the UAE remains a federation of hereditary monarchies, and its founding is commemorated each year on National Day, 2 December.