The three Records of the Emirates titles, of which this is the most recent, combine to create a large collection which provides facsimile copies of the key documents reflecting the developments of the United Arab Emirates from 1820 to modern times. The collections offer historical evidence for the political, economic and social evolution of the seven Emirates. The period 1966–1971 witnessed important changes in the history of the United Arab Emirates. As Great Britain moved to extricate itself from a sustained presence of 150 years' duration, through which it had been responsible for the various emirates' external affairs, numerous controls were gradually transferred. The theory that the city states could resist regional absorption only if they banded together had become a platform of the British withdrawal policy. The new subject of the unification of the Emirates, and the process, is covered in detail.