United Arab Emirates

The United Arab Emirates (Arabic: Dawlat al-Imarat al-Arabiyah al-Muttahidah), or U.A.E., is a federation of sheikdoms along the Arabian or Persian Gulf in the Middle East. It comprises seven sheikdoms: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, [Page 1744]Fujairah, Ras al-Khaimah, Umm al-Quiwain, and Ajman. The U.A.E. was founded on December 2, 1971. The U.A.E. and its people are not fully integrated but are still independent, and each of the sheikhdoms retains its own distinct character. The U.A.E. also features divided loyalties, as branches of tribes reside over large areas of different sheikhdoms.

The region was originally called the Pirate Coast and was renamed the Trucial Coast after the initiation of several mutual truces signed and agreed upon among the sheikdoms and with Great Britain in 1820. The sheikdoms ...