British navy personnel pictured after the Anglo-Zanzibar War, the shortest war in history. Image: Wikipedia. Public Domain.
What Caused The Shortest War In History?
The shortest war in history was the Anglo-Zanzibar War that lasted for less than 40 minutes on the 27th August 1896. The British Royal Navy took on the defiant self proclaimed Sultan Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busa'id and they won, convincingly.
In 1890, as European nations acquired African territories, Britain and Germany signed the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty that awarded Britain the East African islands of Zanzibar and Pemba while Germany took control of mainland territory, today’s Tanzania.
The British made Zanzibar a protectorate. This meant that it was under the rule of an appointed sultan who was answerable to the British government. The sultan wielded significantly less power than their predecessors and it was not a hereditary position.
The pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini was installed in 1893. The British implemented economic policies that weren’t universally appealing and their determination to abolish slavery was not acceptable to the sultan's cousin Khalid bin Barghash and a number of merchants who objected because they were rich thanks to the slave trade.
When the sultan passed away unexpectedly on the 25th August 1896 Khalid bin Barghash swiftly proclaimed himself the new sultan and he took possession of the palace. He was strongly suspected of poisoning Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini.
Khalid bin Barghash Refuses To Step Down
The Zanzibar based British diplomat Basil Cave demanded that Khalid bin Barghash halt his unapproved sultanate and allow the British approved successor Sayyid Sir Hamoud bin Mohammed Al-Busaidi to take his place. Khalid bin Barghash refused t0 step down and he claimed that as the son of the second Sultan of Zanzibar Barghash bin Said al-Busaidi he had been overlooked by the British.
He assembled approximately three thousand soldiers in the palace courtyard. Ironically, many of the weapons that the sultan and his supporters armed themselves with had been gifted by the British to the previous sultans.
Two Royal Navy warships were already anchored off the coast and soldiers disembarked to maintain order on the island, including at the British consulate. Basil Cave asked for more navy ships in the area to aid the duo. He didn’t have the authority to initiate military action so he sent a telegram to the British government in London asking if he could have their permission to do so if Khalid bin Barghash continued to resist British demands.
Basil Cave Receives Lord Salisbury's Reply
By late on the 26th August the reply from British Prime Minister Lord Salisbury and his government to Cave had arrived in Zanzibar:
“You are authorised to adopt whatever measures you may consider necessary, and will be supported in your action by Her Majesty’s Government. Do not, however, attempt to take any action which you are not certain of being able to accomplish successfully.”
Five Royal Navy warships and their crews waited off the coast, their weapons were aimed towards the palace and its occupants. All civilian boats had been moved away from potential danger.
Rear Admiral Harry Rawson issued the sultan with an ultimatum from the H.M.S. George: If he didn’t submit to British wishes and leave the palace with his supporters by 9 a.m. on the 27th August the British would use force to secure the sultanate for their candidate. Khalid bin Barghash didn’t believe that the British would open fire and he told Cave so in a note. This was a miscalculation; Cave replied that he didn’t wish to open fire but he would give the order if opposed.
The Anglo-Zanzibar War
The five warships opened fire shortly after the expiry of the ultimatum’s deadline. They were supported by around four hundred Zanzibaris loyal to the British that secured the main road to the palace. Within a few minutes, the artillery in the palace was largely destroyed. The palace began to collapse and Khalid bin Barghash fled. The H.S.S. Glasgow, the late Sultan’s yacht was anchored in the harbour and it fired on the warships until it was disabled. The fleeing sultan’s flag was lowered and the war ended after thirty eight minutes.
Tragically,
although the Anglo-Zanzibar War was the shortest war in history, it
wasn’t bloodless and there were over five hundred deaths and
casualties on the Zanzibari side. Only one British fighter was
seriously injured and there were no British fatalities.
The Aftermath Of The Shortest War In History
The British approved Sultan Sayyid Sir Hamoud bin Mohammed Al-Busaidi was installed. Unsurprisingly, he was sympathetic to the British goals for Zanzibar and slavery was abolished for everyone except concubines who had to wait until 1909 for their liberty.
Khalid bin Barghash ran to the German consulate where he surrendered. The Germans allowed him to live in exile in Dar es Salaam in German East Africa. Despite numerous calls by British governments for his extradition the Germans refused to oblige. He was arrested by the British in 1916 during World War One and he died in 1927 in Mombasa.
In 1963, the British protectorate in Zanzibar ended after the Zanzibar Revolution.
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Anglo-Zanzibar-War
https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Shortest-War-in-History/