THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (UAE) in 1993 was a federation of seven separate amirates that had joined together in the winter of 1971-72 to form a single independent country. The new nation was created out of the British dependencies that had been known as the Trucial Coast states (also seen as Trucial Oman or Oman Coast) since 1853 when Britain and the local rulers signed the Treaty of Maritime Peace in Perpetuity, an agreement that ceded to London responsibility for foreign affairs. The individual amirates of the UAE include Abu Dhabi (also seen as Abu Zaby), Ajman, Al Fujayrah, Dubayy (also seen as Dubai), Ras al Khaymah, Sharjah (also seen as Ash Shariqah), and Umm al Qaywayn.