Postage stamps and postal history of Abu Dhabi

Last updated

Sheikh Zayed, 1967. Stamp Abu 1967 40f-170px.jpg
Sheikh Zayed, 1967.

Now part of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi was formerly the largest of the seven sheikdoms which made up the Trucial States on the Pirate Coast of eastern Arabia between Oman and Qatar. The Trucial States as a whole had an area of some 32,000 square miles (83,000 km2) of which Abu Dhabi alone had 26,000 (67,000 km2). The capital was the town of Abu Dhabi which is on an offshore island and was first settled in 1761.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Background

President Gamal Abdel Nasser, 1971. Stamp of Abu Dhabi - 1971 - Colnect 197421 - Gamal Abdel Nasser 1918-1970 Former President of Egypt.jpeg
President Gamal Abdel Nasser, 1971.

The name Trucial States arose from treaties made with Great Britain in 1820 which ensured a condition of truce in the area and the suppression of piracy and slavery. The treaty expired on 31 December 1966. The decision to form the UAE was made on 18 July 1971 and the federation was founded on 1 August 1972, although the inaugural UAE postage stamps were not issued until 1 January 1973.[ citation needed ]

Postal services

In December 1960, postage stamps of British postal agencies in Eastern Arabia were supplied to the construction workers on Das Island but the postal service was administered via the agency office in Bahrain. The mail was also postmarked Bahrain so there was no clear indication that a letter had come from Das Island.[ citation needed ]

On 30 March 1963, a British agency was opened in Abu Dhabi and issued the agency stamps after the sheikh objected to the use of the Trucial States definitives. Mail from Das Island continued to be administered by Bahrain but was now cancelled by an Abu Dhabi Trucial States postmark.[ citation needed ]

1965 falconry stamps AbuDhabistamps1965.jpg
1965 falconry stamps

The first Abu Dhabi stamps were a definitive series of 30 March 1964 depicting Sheikh Shakhbout bin Zayed Al Nahyan. There were eleven values under the Indian currency that was used of 100 naye paise = 1 rupee. The range of values was 5 np to 10 rupees.

The first stamps of Abu Dhabi issued in 1964 depicting the Ruler at the time, Sheikh Shakhbout bin Zayed Al Nahyan AUH Stamps 1964.jpg
The first stamps of Abu Dhabi issued in 1964 depicting the Ruler at the time, Sheikh Shakhbout bin Zayed Al Nahyan

Despite the introduction of these definitives, the British agency stamps remained valid in both Abu Dhabi and Das Island until the end of 1966 when they were withdrawn.[ citation needed ]

A post office was opened on Das Island on 6 January 1966 and this ended the Bahrain service. Mail from Das Island was now handled within Abu Dhabi.[ citation needed ]

When the treaty with Great Britain expired at the end of 1966, Abu Dhabi introduced a new currency of 1000 fils = 1 dinar and took over its own postal administration, including the Das Island office. The earlier issues were subject to surcharges in this currency and replacement definitives were released depicting the new ruler, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. Issues continued until the introduction of UAE stamps in 1973.[ citation needed ]

In all, Abu Dhabi issued 95 stamps from 1964 to 1972, the final set being three views of the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the United Arab Emirates</span>

The United Arab Emirates is a country in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula located on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf and the northwestern coast of the Gulf of Oman. The UAE consists of seven emirates and was founded on 2 December 1971 as a federation, after UK armed forces left the region. Six of the seven emirates declared their union on 2 December 1971. The seventh, Ras al Khaimah, joined the federation on 10 February 1972. The seven sheikdoms were formerly known as the Trucial States, in reference to the truce treaties established with the British in the 19th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan</span> Sheikh of Abu Dhabi from 1966 to 2004

Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was an Emirati royal, politician, philanthropist and the founding founder of the United Arab Emirates. Zayed served as the governor of Eastern Region from 1946 until he succeeded Sheikh Shakhbut as the ruler of Abu Dhabi in 1966, and then as the first president of the United Arab Emirates while he retained his position as Abu Dhabi's ruler from 1971 until his death in 2004. He is revered in the United Arab Emirates as the Waalid al-Ummah, credited for being the principal driving force behind uniting the seven Trucial States to found the Union of the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Dhiyab ibn Isa Al Nahyan was the Sheikh of the Bani Yas of the Liwa Oasis from 1761 to 1793 and the founder of the Al Bu Falah dynasty, which still rules Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), today.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan</span> President of the United Arab Emirates from 2004 to 2022

Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the second president of the United Arab Emirates and the ruler of Abu Dhabi, serving from November 2004 until his death in May 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan</span> Sheikh of Abu Dhabi from 1855 to 1909

Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa Al Nahyan, also known as Zayed the Great or Zayed the First was the Sheikh of Abu Dhabi from 1855 to his death in 1909. He was the grandfather and namesake of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, founder of the United Arab Emirates.

Each "article" in this category is in fact a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries themselves are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.

Each "article" in this category is a collection of entries about several stamp issuers, presented in alphabetical order. The entries are formulated on the micro model and so provide summary information about all known issuers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trucial States</span> British protectorate 1820–1971 in Persian Gulf, precursor to United Arab Emirates

The Trucial States, also known as the Trucial Coast, the Trucial Sheikhdoms, Trucial Arabia or Trucial Oman, was a group of tribal confederations to the south of the Persian Gulf whose leaders had signed protective treaties, or truces, with the United Kingdom between 1820 and 1892.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of the United Arab Emirates</span>

This is a survey of the postage stamps and postal history of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Day (United Arab Emirates)</span> National day celebrated on 2 December

The UAE National Day is celebrated yearly on 2 December to commemorate the formation of the United Arab Emirates. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah, was added to the federation on 10 February 1972 making it the last emirate to join.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Arab Emirates–United Kingdom relations</span> Bilateral relations

The United Arab Emirates has an embassy in London while the United Kingdom maintains an embassy in Abu Dhabi and is unique in having another Embassy in Dubai, albeit with His Britannic Majesty's Consul-General to Dubai and the Northern Emirates, as opposed to a separate British Ambassador. The UAE-UK relations have been described as a "special relationship".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Jeddah (1974)</span> 1974 border treaty between UAE and Saudi Arabia

The 1974 Treaty of Jeddah was a treaty between Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates, signed in 21 August 1974 between King Faisal of Saudi Arabia and President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. The treaty intended to resolve the Saudi Arabia – United Arab Emirates border dispute. Saudi Arabia ratified the treaty in 1993, but the UAE has not yet ratified it. The legal validity of the treaty has been questioned, since Qatar was not included in the negotiations, and the proposed settlement affects the Qatari border. However, Qatar had already reached a separate agreement on its border with Saudi Arabia in December 1965.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British postal agencies in Eastern Arabia</span> Postal service of the British Empire and Commonwealth

British postal agencies in Eastern Arabia issued early postage stamps used in each of Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Kuwait, Muscat and Qatar. Muscat and Dubai relied on Indian postal administration until 1 April 1948 when, following the Partition of India, British agencies were established there. Two agencies were opened in Qatar: at Doha and Umm Said. In Abu Dhabi, an agency was opened on Das Island in December 1960 and in Abu Dhabi City on 30 March 1963. The agencies also supplied stamps to Bahrain until 1960; and to Kuwait during shortages in 1951–53.

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

The Buraimi dispute, also known as the Buraimi war, was a series of covert attempts by Saudi Arabia to influence the loyalties of tribes and communities in and around the oil-rich Buraimi oasis in the 1940s and 1950s, which culminated in an armed conflict between forces and tribes loyal to Saudi Arabia, on one side, and Oman and the Trucial States, on the other, which broke out as the result of a territorial dispute over the town of Al-Buraimi in Oman, and parts of what is now the city of Al Ain in the Eastern Region of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. It amounted to an attempted Saudi invasion of the Buraimi Oasis. Its roots lay in the partitioning of tribal areas and communities which took place in the Trucial States when oil companies were seeking concessions to explore the interior.

Sheikh Hazza bin Sultan Al Nahyan was the brother of Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1928 to 1966, and Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Ruler of Abu Dhabi from 1966 to 2004 and the UAE's first President. Hazza was the Ruler's Representative in the Western Region of Abu Dhabi.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border</span> International border

The Saudi Arabia–United Arab Emirates border is 457 km (284 mi) in length and runs from the Persian Gulf coast in the west to the tripoint with Oman in the east.

The political history of the United Arab Emirates covers political events and trends related to the history of the United Arab Emirates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles J. Treadwell</span> British career diplomat (1920–2010)

Sir Charles "Jim" James TreadwellCMG CVO, also known by his initials C. J. Treadwell, was a British-New Zealand military officer, career diplomat and lawyer who served as the last British representative to the Trucial States in Abu Dhabi from 1968 to 1971 and later the first British ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from 1971 to 1973 as well as the first British ambassador to the Bahamas between 1973 and 1975. He was one of the key advisors to Sheikh Zayed and worked closely with him during much of the formation of the United Arab Emirates. His uninviting remarks while addressing the leaders of the Persian Gulf sheikhdoms in 1969 contributed to the eventual fall of the Federation of Arab Emirates.

References

    Further reading