Sharjah Ruler sold cement shares to fund historical research

Sharjah Ruler Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi has revealed that he sold shares in a cement company to finance the research behind his new 61-volume encyclopaedia after finding himself without sufficient funds for the project.
The disclosure came during a Sharjah Television interview about The Portuguese in the Indian Ocean: Annals of History from 1497 CE to 1750 CE, published in Arabic and English. The Ruler described how a research undertaking launched 37 years ago developed into an effort to locate, translate and analyse documents scattered across several countries.
Sheikh Sultan said he had established the Sharjah Cement Factory and owned shares whose value subsequently increased. When the historical documentation project needed financing, he arranged for those holdings to be sold through Invest Bank to meet its costs. He did not specify the value of the shares sold or the total expenditure.
The funds supported an international operation involving researchers, translators, transcribers and logistical staff. A team assembled to retrieve Portuguese records from archives in Portugal, Spain and Goa included three specialists able to convert archaic Portuguese into its modern form, alongside 29 people undertaking research and supporting work.
The Ruler traced the project’s origins to discussions at the British Library, then associated with the India Office Records, where he sought material illuminating Portuguese activity in the Gulf. He said access to English translations of Portuguese documents helped overcome the difficulties of language, dispersed archives and the volume of records.
A researcher identified as Fiona Wilkie, who worked with Portuguese material, helped coordinate the acquisition of records and recruited specialists for the undertaking. The Ruler said the first translated English file reached him in 1997, eight years after the research initiative was established in 1989.
He subsequently worked with colleagues to correct geographical names and expressions distorted during transcription or translation. Portuguese spellings of Khasab and the Arabic term for judge were among the examples he cited, explaining that faithful rendering of names in Arabic, Hindi and Persian required close attention.
The preparation and printing of collected documents continued until 2006. Sheikh Sultan recalled that Wilkie delivered the final set of files but died before he could personally thank her. He described her contribution as central to the project and said the British office established for the work was closed after its documentation responsibilities ended.
From 2006 to 2025, the material underwent further examination to resolve omissions, uncertainties and competing descriptions. The Ruler consulted historical accounts by Fernão de Castanheda, Diogo do Couto and João de Barros, whose writings he regarded as contemporary evidence of Portuguese expansion and its consequences.
The newly published encyclopaedia examines the period beginning with Vasco da Gama’s voyage from Portugal towards India and ending in 1750. Its subject extends beyond military encounters to maritime commerce, political alliances and competition involving Portuguese, Dutch, English and regional powers across the Indian Ocean.
Sheikh Sultan said the Portuguese sought to control routes connecting India with Europe, including passages through the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea. He contrasted their long ocean voyage with established commercial networks carrying goods through Gulf ports and overland towards Mediterranean markets.
The collection also addresses resistance to Portuguese expansion in Oman and neighbouring waters. The Ruler explained that he had treated events concerning Oman separately in an earlier work, The Portuguese in the Sea of Oman, to ensure local developments were not obscured by the broader regional narrative.
He said the manuscripts contained information on Omani activity in East Africa and encouraged scholars to examine original records rather than rely solely on later interpretations. He stressed that commentary should be distinguished from documentary evidence and that researchers should avoid allowing personal views to shape historical findings.
The manuscripts were ready for final editorial preparation by October 2025, followed by a year of checking before publication in October 2026. Sheikh Sultan said work began at 3am on many days as passages, place names and explanatory additions were scrutinised.
Sixty volumes present the historical documentation, while the sixty-first consolidates explanatory notes and reference material. Individual volumes contain document indexes, and editorial additions are distinguished from original wording through parentheses to help readers identify precisely what appears in the underlying manuscripts.