Page 253 - UAE Truncal States

Chapter Six

at the same time adequate to satisfy the requirements of only a
modest population. The skill of the beduin tribesman in mastering
the rigours of I he burning summer desert and in maximising his
economic benefits from the various resources in the ages before
world trade agreements and instant communications is often
overlooked or just not understood today. Baskets are now rarely
made from the fronds of the palm, truffles are left uncollected in the
sand, and as in most other societies in the world that enjoy the
benefits of modern civilisation, the simpler pleasures of the past are
rapidly forgotten.
During the last hundred years there were three factors which led to
an influx of foreigners, all arising out of new economic opportunities.
These were: the years of exceptional prosperity in the pearling
industry, particularly during the first two decades of this century;
the transfer of trade from Persian ports to Dubai after 1902; and the
more recent development of the oil industry. The decline and collapse
of the market for Gulf pearls had a devastating effect on the fortunes
of the wealthy families and reduced many other people nearly to
starvation. This development, which happened within the memory of
many living people, demonstrates the extent to which the population,
both original and immigrant, had come to rely on one resource which,
when it failed, could not be made up for by the conventional use of
the territory’s remaining natural resources.
Whenever the delicate balance between resources, economic
opportunity and the number of people who could live thereby was
upset, which happened several limes during the recorded history of
this region, many people tightened their bells and made do, while
others emigrated to neighbouring countries or returned to where
they had come from. A period of economic decline also brings forth a
few soldiers of fortune, and this area was no exception.

Factors leading to raids and maritime ghazu
For several centuries the settled population of the entire Musandam
promontory was so small that, even without much trade, the then
modest needs of the beduin and the village communities were
secured. Under the leadership of the Qawasim many people of the
coastal villages and the hinterland benefited from the growing share
of the trade in the area as sailors, boat-builders, and traders in ever-
increasing numbers.
The Qasimi hold over the naturally-favoured trading places such

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