The idea of a ‘war’ provokes images of a long, dragged out conflict. Where thousands of lives are sacrificed in order to gain the smallest patches of land. But not all wars are the same. Not every conflict lasts years, months, weeks or even a day. This is the story of the shortest war in recorded history, the Anglo-Zanzibar War.
The story of this bizarre war begins with the scramble for Africa. European powers competed in their colonial conquest of the continent. The Sultanate of Zanzibar was a small, yet thriving, maritime trading state off the east coast of Africa. Through the first half of the nineteenth century, the sultanate had expanded their trade and territory along the east African coast. But with the arrival of European powers, the sultanate had been confined to the island of Zanzibar. By 1890, the Sultanate’s mainland territories had been ceded to Germany, and Britain allowed the Sultanate to remain on the island of Zanzibar as a British protectorate. The British had allowed the island to preserve the position of sultan, although the British held almost all political power.
The British brought with them two main objectives for the island. A, revive their strong economy, and B, abolish slavery. Both of which angered the locals, as the British brought new economic policies, and slavery was an integral part of Zanzibar’s culture and economy, as it was involved in the spice trade. Many of the sultans of Zanzibar in the late 1800s attempted to resist British objectives. For this reason, after the death of Sultan Sayyid Ali bin Said (1890-1893), the British decided to appoint a sultan that would submit to their rule and objectives for the island. They appointed Hamad bin Thuywan (1893-1896) as the next sultan, but one man opposed this. Khalid bin Barghash, son of a past Sultan, Barghash bin Said. He occupied the palace, citing that he was the son of the past ruler. However, the position of the Sultan of Zanzibar was not a hereditary one. In the end, the British were able to force him to step down and crowned Hamad bin Thuywan as the Sultan of Zanzibar. But by 1896, Hamad also resented British rule, and had created a one-thousand-man army just for himself.
But this wasn’t the end for Khalid bin Barghash.
Following the death of Hamad bin Thuywan on August 25, 1896, Khalid was determined not to be overlooked again. While it isn’t known exactly how Hamad passed, its popular belief that he was poisoned by Khalid. While the British had decided upon Hamud bin Muhammed (1896-1902) to be the next sultan, Khalid seized the palace, and appointed himself as Sultan of Zanzibar. Three-thousand of his supporters and soldiers surrounded the palace. The British swiftly took action, gathering Zanzibari loyalist troops as well as British soldiers, ready to take on Khalid. The British gave Khalid an ultimatum. If Khalid and his supporters did not vacate the palace by 9am on August 27th, 1896, the British would fire. Khalid didn’t believe the Brits’ threat and sent them a message saying so. He remained in the palace and at 9am on August 27th, 1896, the British fired at the palace of the Sultan of Zanzibar.
The British fired at the palace, as warships reached the harbor, preparing the battle. Soon the palace was engulfed in flames, and it was clear to Khalid that the threats made by the British were indeed not false. After approximately thirty-eight minutes of battle, Khalid and his men surrendered, making the Anglo-Zanzibar conflict the shortest war in history. Khalid’s men suffered high numbers of casualties for such a short battle, with five-hundred killed or wounded, due to the weak structure of the palace. Khalid fled to the German consulate, and he was permitted by the Germans to live in exile in Dar es Salaam. Khalid was eventually captured by British forces during the First World War, and died in Mombasa in 1927. Hamud bin Muhammed (1896-1902) was crowned sultan of Zanzibar.
The island of Zanzibar never forgot the story of Khalid and his brief conflict. The British remained in Zanzibar for decades to follow. They eventually freed the island of its status as a protectorate in 1963, but no revolutions or attempts to overthrow the British ever occurred. It seems they remembered the time the British defeated Khalid and his forces in a brief thirty-eight minutes.
References
“The Anglo-Zanzibar War.” The British Newspaper Archive, The British Newspaper Archive, 27 Aug. 2015, https://blog.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/2015/08/27/the-anglo-zanzibar-war/.
Johnson, Ben. “The Shortest War in History - the Anglo Zanzibar War.” Historic UK, Historic UK, https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Shortest-War-in-History/.
Hudson, Myles. "Anglo-Zanzibar War". Encyclopedia Britannica, 20 Aug. 2021, https://www.britannica.com/event/Anglo-Zanzibar-War. Accessed 15 July 2022.
Image Sources
Richard Dorsey Mohun (1865-1915), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:AngloZanzibarWar.jpg
Bundesarchiv, Bild 105-DOA0295 / Walther Dobbertin / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/de/deed.en>, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bundesarchiv_Bild_105-DOA0295,_Deutsch-Ostafrika,_Sultan.jpg
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