When Middle East oil depletes.. What will happen to the gleaming spires of Dubai?

LailaSadeq said:

Dubai was a successful center of trade and commerce prior to the discovery of oil, rather than a ''desolate desert''. Dubai's population before the discovery of oil was dominated by non-Arabs due to trade/merchants:

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Dubai History

​"Some 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, led by the Maktoum Family, settled at the mouth of the creek in 1833. The creek was a natural harbour and Dubai soon became a center for the fishing, pearling and sea trade.

By the turn of the 20th century Dubai was a successful port. The souk (Arabic for market) on the Deira side of the creek was the largest on the coast with 350 shops and a steady throng of visitors and businessmen. By the 1930s Dubai's population was nearly 20,000, a quarter of whom were expatriates."

In 1954 the population of Dubai was 20,000. In 2005 it grew to 1,204,000. That's a huge, astronomical boom, that has oil, not pearling, fishing, tourism or shipping to thank for it's ascent. Without oil, Dubai would still be relatively unknown.

LailaSadeq said:

Us, Brown people can't possibly achieve anything without oil, eh?

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Your words, not mine.

Menshevik said:

Forgive me if I misunderstand you. It's sounds to me like you're comparing the economies of these Gulf nations to that of Norway. The major difference I see is that Norway and it's economy have been around for a lot longer than oil has been an issue. Norway didn't have a boom in the mid to late 20th century, it won't be as affected by oil's disappearance as will the Gulf nations, Saudi Arabia especially.

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You clearly don't know anything about the Persian Gulf region. Kuwait, Zubarah (Qatar), Dubai, Bahrain and Muscat/Oman were prominent centers of international trade and commerce, merchants from all over the world came to the Persian Gulf region to trade. Their local merchants were successful in sea trade and the local laborers worked in the mercantile sea trade too (ship-building, pearl fishing and fishing) -- the pearl industry was huge before the Great Depression. The advent of Japanese pearl farming and Great Depression led to a decline the Gulf's importance as a trade hub and its pearl industry evidently declined. However, their economic woes only lasted 10-15 years -- when oil was discovered more merchants settled in the region and investment poured in.

Pre-oil Gulf economies were primarily based on international trading (especially sea trade, transit trade and caravan trade), pearl industry, fishing and ship-building. Ship vessels built in Kuwait and Bahrain carried the majority of trade from India to the Red Sea and Mediterranean ports. The historical region of Bahrain (all of eastern Arabia) was the site of massive pearl banks, the region became economically prosperous due to pearls and trade. Kuwait and Zubarah (Qatar) became even more economically prosperous following the Persian invasion of Basra in 1775-1779 due to the diversion of made trade routes of India, Africa and the Mediterranean. Kuwait had already established itself as a major trading port from Aleppo to the Gulf following its establishment in the early 18th century. The Persian invasion of Basra resulted in Kuwait controlling the main trade route between India and the Mediterranean. Kuwait also became the center for all caravans carrying goods between Basra and Baghdad and Aleppo.

Menshevik said:

Dubai History

​"Some 800 members of the Bani Yas tribe, led by the Maktoum Family, settled at the mouth of the creek in 1833. The creek was a natural harbour and Dubai soon became a center for the fishing, pearling and sea trade.

By the turn of the 20th century Dubai was a successful port. The souk (Arabic for market) on the Deira side of the creek was the largest on the coast with 350 shops and a steady throng of visitors and businessmen. By the 1930s Dubai's population was nearly 20,000, a quarter of whom were expatriates."

In 1954 the population of Dubai was 20,000. In 2005 it grew to 1,204,000. That's a huge, astronomical boom, that has oil, not pearling, fishing, tourism or shipping to thank for it's ascent. Without oil, Dubai would still be relatively unknown.

Your words, not mine.

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The vast majority of countries in the world had much smaller populations before the 21st century. The Great Depression, world wars, trade blockade, plagues and Japanese artificial pearl farming all contributed to Dubai's small population by 1945.

LailaSadeq said:

. Are a troll or something?

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Why are you accusing me of being a troll?

Menshevik said:

Why are you accusing me of being a troll?

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Re-read the previous post.

LailaSadeq said:

Re-read the previous post.

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Which one? What should I be looking for?