Arabian Gulf Digital Archive

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Arabian Gulf Digital Archive
Agency overview
Formed2019
Jurisdiction National Archives of the United Arab Emirates
Headquarters Abu Dhabi
Website www.agda.ae/en

The Arabian Gulf Digital Archive (AGDA) is the bilingual, free and open-access online national archive of the United Arab Emirates which was launched in 2019. It offers digitized documents about the events concerning the Gulf countries from the 1820s.

Contents

History and coverage

The AGDA was created in 2019 as a result of the combination of the archives of the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom. [1] [2] The related agreement was signed by the parties in 2017. [3] It is part of the National Archives of the United Arab Emirates [4] [5] and contains videos, photographs and documents in Arabic and English. [1] The latter also includes letters, memos, transcripts, and official correspondence [6] some of which are those of the oil companies which involved in the oil exploration activities in the region. [7] The materials are constructed through the optical character recognition and can be accessed via Internet and mobile devices. [1]

The archive contains nearly more than a quarter of a million documents and photographs covering the events related to the region from the 1820s to the 2000s. [2] [8] Some of them are the papers produced by the British Foreign Office. [2]

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">Geography of the United Arab Emirates</span>

The United Arab Emirates is situated in the Middle East and West Asia, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf, between Oman and Saudi Arabia; it is at a strategic location along the northern approaches to the Strait of Hormuz, a vital transit point for world crude oil. The UAE lies between 22°50′ and 26° north latitude and between 51° and 56°25′ east longitude. It shares a 19 km (12 mi) border with Qatar on the northwest, a 530 km (330 mi) border with Saudi Arabia on the west, south, and southeast, and a 450 km (280 mi) border with Oman on the southeast and northeast.

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

The United Arab Emirates is a high-income developing market economy. The UAE's economy is the 4th largest in the Middle East, with a gross domestic product (GDP) of US$415 billion in 2021-2023.

The diplomatic foreign relations of the United Arab Emirates are conducted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United Arab Emirates</span> Country in West Asia

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East. Located at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, it shares land borders with Oman to the east and Saudi Arabia to the southwest; as well as maritime borders in the Persian Gulf with Qatar and Iran. The United Arab Emirates is an elective monarchy formed from a federation of seven emirates. As of 2024, the UAE has an estimated population of about 10 million. Islam is the official religion and Arabic is the official language. Abu Dhabi is the country's capital, while Dubai, the most populous city, is an international hub.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gulf Cooperation Council</span> Regional trade bloc in the Middle East

The Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf, also known as the Gulf Cooperation Council, is a regional, intergovernmental, political, and economic union comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. The council's main headquarters is located in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. The Charter of the GCC was signed on 25 May 1981, formally establishing the institution.

The United Arab Emirates national football team represents United Arab Emirates in international football and serves under the auspices of the country's Football Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arab states of the Persian Gulf</span>

The Arab states of the Persian Gulf or the Arab Gulf states refers to a group of Arab states bordering the Persian Gulf. There are seven member states of the Arab League in the region: Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. Yemen is bound to the six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council, based on history and culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Emirate of Abu Dhabi</span> Constituent emirate of the United Arab Emirates

The Emirate of Abu Dhabi is one of seven emirates that constitute the United Arab Emirates. It is the largest emirate, accounting for 87% of the nation's total land area or 67,340 km2 (26,000 sq mi).

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

The United Arab Emirates has quite a close and friendly relationship with the US, being described as the United States' best counter-terrorism ally in the Gulf by Richard A. Clarke, the U.S. national security advisor and counter-terrorism expert. In terms of defense, the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces has been nicknamed "Little Sparta" by United States Armed Forces generals and former U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis for its active role against extremists in the Middle East. The United Arab Emirates also hosts the only United States border preclearance in the Middle East. Both countries are members of the I2U2 Group, which was established in 2021.

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

The Emiratis are the citizen population of the United Arab Emirates. Within the UAE itself, their number is approximately 1.15 million.

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

Relations between the neighboring countries of Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are deeply historic, dating back centuries prior to the establishment of the modern-day United Arab Emirates; however today are shaky and unpredictable. Both the countries maintain diplomatic relations with each other, having embassies in each other's capitals.

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

Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are neighbouring countries in the Middle East and Persian Gulf region, and share extensive political and cultural ties. Saudi Arabia maintains an embassy in Abu Dhabi and a consulate in Dubai of the UAE, while the UAE has an embassy in Riyadh and a consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental issues in the United Arab Emirates</span>

Environmental issues in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are caused by the exploitation of natural resources, rapid population growth, and high energy demand. The continuing temperature rise caused by global warming contributes to UAE's water scarcity, drought, rising sea level, and aridity. The UAE has a hot desert climate, which is very vulnerable to the effects of climate change and contributes to worsening water scarcity, quality, and water contamination.

The Qatar diplomatic crisis was a high-profile incident involving the deterioration of ties between Qatar and the Arab League between 2017 and 2021. It began when Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Egypt simultaneously severed their bilateral relations with Qatar and subsequently banned Qatar-registered aircraft and Qatari ships from utilizing their sovereign territory by air, land, and sea; this involved the Saudis' closure of Qatar's only land crossing, initiating a de facto blockade of the country. Tensions between the two sides came to a close in January 2021, following a resolution between the Saudis and the Qataris.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">May 2019 Gulf of Oman incident</span> Sabotage of 4 commercial ships in the Gulf of Oman

On 12 May 2019, four commercial ships were damaged off Fujairah's coast in the Gulf of Oman. The ships included two Saudi Arabian registered oil tankers, a Norwegian registered oil tanker, and an Emirati registered bunkering ship. The ships were anchored on the United Arab Emirates territorial waters for bunkering in Port of Fujairah. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates reported that the ships had been subject to a "sabotage attack". The United Arab Emirates launched a joint investigation probe with United States and France. The initial investigation assessment determined that 5-to-10-foot holes near or below all the ships' waterlines were probably caused by explosive charges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in the Trucial States</span>

Chattel slavery existed in the Trucial States (1892–1971), which later formed the United Arab Emirates. The Trucial States consisted of the Sheikdoms Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Fujairah, and Ras Al Khaimah. The region was mainly supplied with enslaved people from the Indian Ocean slave trade, but humans were also trafficked to the area from Hejaz, Oman and Persia. Slaves were used in the famous pearl fish industry and later in the oil industry, as well as sex slaves and domestic servants. Many members of the Afro-Arabian minority are descendants of the former slaves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siniyah Island</span> Island in the United Arab Emirates

Siniyah Island is a natural island situated off the coast of the Emirate of Umm Al Quwain in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). It is the site of the oldest pearl fishing town in the Persian Gulf, as well as of an Eastern Christian Monastery and Bishop's Palace. The island's name means 'flashing lights', thought to be a reference to the harsh sunlight of the area.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Arabian Gulf Digital Archive". cogapp.com. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 Gerald Power (1 October 2019). "The Arabian Gulf Digital Archive. A Major New Resource for Gulf Analysts". The Euro-Gulf Information Center. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  3. Kristian Coates Ulrichsen (2021). "Cultural and religious diplomacy as soft power in EU–GCC relations". In Adel Abdel Ghafar; Silvia Colombo (eds.). The European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council: Towards a New Path. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 67. ISBN   978-981-16-0279-5.
  4. "Finding and Using Digital Archives: Finding digital archives - a list of resources". University of Westminster Library Guides. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  5. Sundar Natarajan; Elangovan Alagumalai (February 2021). "The role of national archives in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)". SSRN Electronic Journal. 3 (1): 12. doi:10.2139/ssrn.4243594. S2CID   253866390.
  6. "Digital Collections and Databases". Orient Institut Beirut. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  7. Khalid Al Hosani (4 May 2019). "UAE Updates. Arabian Gulf Digital Archive". The Gazelle. No. 160. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  8. "The Arabian Gulf Digital Archive is a window into the UAE's rich past". The National . Retrieved 6 February 2023.