Page 39 - The Origins of the United Arab Emirates_Neat

The Trucial States in igig: Rule by Tradition '5

the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Its western section,
on the Arabian Gulf, consisted of Sharjah town, the fishing villages
ofHirah and Hamriyyah, the inland oasis of Dhayd, Ras al-Khaimah,
Jazirat al-Hamra (an island not far ofishorc from Ras al-Khaimah),
Rams and Sha‘am; the eastern section, on the Gulf of Oman,
included Dibba, Khawr Fakkan, Fujairah, Kalba and Khawr Kalba.
Thus, the northern boundary extended from Sha‘am on the Arabian
Gulf to the southern extremity of the Jirri plain, and east to
Dibba on the Gulf of Oman; the southern boundary cut across
from the town of Sharjah to Khawr Kalba on the Gulf of Oman.
Sharjah town, built on a creek, was the second most important
trading centre on the Coast, although by 1939 its population was
only one quarter that of Dubai. Pearl diving and fishing were
the main occupations, and they attracted a number of Indian
and Persian residents to the town. The Arab residents belongccj
principally to the ‘Abadilah, Na‘im, Shawamis, Al-Sudan and Al-‘Ali
tribes. Ras al-Khaimah was likewise situated on a creek; and the
inhabitants, equal in number to those of Sharjah, were primarily
pearl divers, with a few engaged in the cultivation of dates. Sharjah
was large and varied enough for the population not to be wholly
dependent on the pearl trade. In Dhayd, for example, there was
sufficient water available for the cultivation of sizable quantities
of dates, oranges and mangoes; in Khawr Fakkan, the cultivation
of wheat and dates was equal in importance to the pearl industry;
Fujairah and Kalba also had an economy based on both agriculture
and trade. In addition, Sharjah owned the islands of Abu Musa
and Sir Abu Nu'ayr, both of which contained rich deposits of
red oxide, and Tunb and Little Tunb.

AJMAN AND UMM AL-QAIWAIN

The remaining Trucial shaykhdoms before World War I were Ajman
and Umm al-Qaiwain, tiny states of no more than 100 and 300
square miles, respectively. The population of both was made up
largely of pearl divers and fishermen, a fact reflected in their
political life. Ajman forms an enclave in Sharjah, and consists
basically of the town of Ajman, which lies about five miles north-east
of Sharjah town. Its population in 1908 was only 750, but by
1939 this had grown to 2000. The ruling family belongs to the
Al-bu-Khurayban branch of the Na‘im, a large and important
tribe including both settled and nomadic people and scattered over
a large area, including Sharjah, Buraimi and the Batinah coast
of Oman.