Dubai, one of the most dazzling and modern metropolises of our era, was once a humble village of impoverished fishermen. For thousands of years, the communities along the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula relied primarily on pearl diving as their main source of livelihood. As early as the 3rd millennium BCE, trade relations existed between the Gulf’s pearl fishing communities and the villages of southern Mesopotamia.

The first mention of Dubai by a Westerner dates back to 1590, when a Venetian merchant named Gasparo Balbi described various Gulf locations known for the quality of their pearls, including a place he referred to as “Dibai.” In the early 1800s, a British map of the region labeled the area as “Debai,” showing it as a tiny village of about a thousand people, consisting of the local sheikh’s residence, straw huts of the fishermen, a watchtower, a few palm and date plantations, and a freshwater well.

By the early 1900s, despite growing commercial activity, the life of pearl divers remained incredibly harsh. These men would spend the entire summer at sea, aboard boats carrying up to sixty people, surviving only on fish, rice, and dates. They would dive as deep as fifteen meters, taking only brief moments to catch their breath. Divers wore a basket around their necks to collect pearls and would oil their ears and plug their noses to withstand the pressure.

Trade agents often beat those who refused to dive again, and there was always the danger of jellyfish and shark attacks. Many divers developed skin diseases due to prolonged sun exposure, and many others drowned. The Gulf’s pearl trade peaked in the 1920s but suffered a major blow following the 1929 economic crash. The situation worsened throughout the 1930s and 1940s due to competition from Japanese cultured pearls and import tariffs imposed by the Indian government.

Fishermen began to starve and live in poverty. It was in this context that local emirs started diversifying the economy, first by investing in oil extraction and later in construction, tourism, and services, transforming Dubai into the global city it is today.