By Phil Roberts
Dubai once was an emerging constitutional monarchy and a democracy, but corrupt bribes made by oil brokers to the sheikh stamped it out. The story starts in the late 1800s when pirates were still plying the Persian Gulf and the “Trucial Coast” who’s Arab residents worked as pearl divers and goat-herders. British naval support came when it appeared that the trade routes to India were under threat. Trucial Coast residents, anxious for dependable trade centers, set up several forts at key points. One became Dubai fort. Finding that few merchants were settling nearby, the family-tribe invited Persians from across the Gulf to set up shop in Dubai. They were granted land on which to build shops and guaranteed they’d not pay taxes in exchange for swearing loyalty to the sheikh. The Iranians would get to determine their own rules of trade if they would take on the duty of transporting pearls to India, and in return, bring back clothes, food, wood and building materials. The arrangement went well enough that more and more Persian merchants set up shop. As pearl prices rose, sufficient amounts for all kept up profits; there was little dissent.. All were happy–the merchants, the local earl divers, the sheikh who paid his small staff and purchased the necessary items needed to maintain a fort and a home. By that time, Dubai’s standing nearly rivaled that of nearby Sharjah, the seat of the political officer from the British Foreign Service.
But then disaster struck when it became news worldwide that the “perfect pearl” process had been invented in Japan. The so-called “culture business” soon took over the world market. The natural pearls, each one with minor flaws, lost out to “perfection.” To add to Dubai’s woes, America’s return to tariffs through Smoot-Hawley brought trade to a halt, crashed economies and worsened the “Great Depression.”
To retain the merchants who were about to close up shop and to ensure themselves some steady income, the sheikhs made a dramatic proposal. “If we give you a parliament that could decide on policy, would you agree to be taxed (the amount decided annually by you in parliament) with the consent of a ‘constitutional monarch,'” who, of course, would receive a set percentage of tax monies annually? The leading merchants agreed; a parliament was set up with members designated by “party”–the merchants were granted some seats, the Dubai pearl divers, boat owners and traders, a few seats, and the herdsmen, a few more. Added was a “party” of royals–many were family relatives of the sheikh. The British political officer was informed of the arrangement. Much to his annoyance. he had been left out of the organizing group and not specified as having any role in the new parliament.
The initial session revealed deep divisions between the groups–the merchants seeking to keep taxes low, the royal group vying for greater subsidies for the sheikh and his family.
After the session ended, with optimism expressed all around that compromise and semi-self rule along the lines of the British parliament could be developed. A working democracy could be possible. After all, traditionally, the sheikhs had been elected and had held public meetings, known as q majlis several times each year, to learn of the people’s needs.
The British, wanting to tighten ties to India, introduced the first scheduled air trips via their Imperial Airlines, first fiight landing in Sharjah in Oct. 1932.
The economy remained poor, due to the effects of Smoot-Hawley tariffs and the slow-down in world trade. Any changes in trade relations required prior permission of the British Foreign Office. But a change in fortunes, particularly for the sheikh, was on the horizon.
On occasion, an American or Frenchman would slip through with aspirations of deal-making. Oil had been found across the Persian Gulf and it attracted attention to the Trucial Coast side. Permission to test for oil would do no harm, they argued.
None of the oil brokers wanted to deal with a parliament. Too many members, too much of a chance they’d make strict demands. They were capable of making agreements that were costly but wanted by the people. It was much easier to deal with an autocrat, particularly if your bribe was attractive enough.
The immediate problem for the oilmen in Dubai was how to cut out that pesky parliament who may demand a fair deal all around and cost far too much in the long run.. One American broker took on the challenge of convincing the sheikh to dismantle the parliament. He succeeded by appealing to an age-old motivation–greed.
In the middle of the night, parliamentarians were awakened, herded to jails, and in some cases shot on their front steps. Most, including cousins of the royal family, were forced into exile, never to return. The sheikh enjoyed his new 16-cylinder Lincoln (with extra-wide tires in order to traverse the sand), his gold coins, and other “gifts” he received from the oil broker. Better yet, he had enough wealth that he would never miss being harangued by parliament to provide services to the people. And, of course, the broker’s client got exclusive oil exploration rights through the “generosity” of the sheikh. So ended Dubai’s brief brush with democracy…. Fragile to begin with, it could not survive corruption at home and from abroad….
This extract is from a much longer study, portions of which were presented at the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in San Francisco years ago. The study began in 1996 when the author informally interviewed nearly a half dozen elderly men who had witnessed most of the events in the 1930s. Sources include published works, dispatches from the Political Officer, held in the British Public Record Office, National Archives, Kew; the published transcribed record held in the National Library, Abu Dhabi, and university archives throughout the UAE). The record of oil brokers comes from sources including several collections held in the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming. Oddly, the offices of one broker was in a building demolished for the construction of the World Trade Center years later.