The war between the United Kingdom and the Zanzibar Sultanate occurred on August 27, 1896 and entered the annals of history. This conflict between the two countries is the shortest war that has been recorded by historians. The article will talk about this military conflict, which claimed many lives, despite its short duration. The reader will also find out how long the shortest war in the world lasted.
Zanzibar - African colony
Zanzibar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Tanganyika. At the present moment, the state is part of Tanzania.
The main island, Unguja (or the island of Zanzibar), was under nominal control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698, after the Portuguese settlers who settled there in 1499 were expelled. Sultan Majid bin Said declared the island independent of Oman in 1858, independence was recognized by Great Britain, as was the separation of the sultanate from Oman. Barhash bin Said, the second Sultan and father of Sultan Khalid, was forced to abolish the slave trade in June 1873 under British pressure and the threat of blockade. But the slave trade still took place, since it brought great revenue to the treasury. Subsequent sultans settled in the city of Zanzibar, where a palace complex was built on the coast. By 1896, it consisted of the Beit al-Hukm Palace itself, a huge harem, as well as Beit al-Ajayib, or the “House of Miracles” - the ceremonial palace named the first building in East Africa, equipped with electricity. The complex was mainly built from local wood. All three main buildings were adjacent to each other on the same line and connected by wooden bridges.
The reason for the military conflict
The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Tuvaini on August 25, 1896 and the subsequent accession to the throne of Sultan Khalid bin Bargash. The British authorities wanted to see Hamoud bin Mohammed as the leader of this African country, who was a more profitable person for the British authorities and the royal court. In accordance with the agreement signed in 1886, the condition for the inauguration of the sultanate was to obtain permission from the British consul, Khalid did not fulfill this requirement. The British considered this act casus belli, that is, the reason for declaring war, and sent an ultimatum to Khalid, demanding that he order his troops to leave the palace. In response, Khalid called his palace guards and barricaded himself in the palace.
Forces of the parties
The ultimatum expired at 09:00 a.m. East African Time (EAT) on August 27. At this point, the British had assembled three military cruisers, two gunboats, 150 marines and sailors, and 900 soldiers of Zanzibar origin in the port area. The Royal Navy contingent was under the command of Rear Admiral Harry Rawson, and their Zanzibar forces were commanded by Brigadier General Lloyd Matthews of the Zanzibar Army (who was also the first Minister of Zanzibar). On the opposite side, about 2,800 soldiers defended the Sultan's palace. It was mainly a civilian population, but among the defenders were the palace guard of the Sultan, and several hundred of his servants and slaves. The defenders of the Sultan had several artillery pieces and machine guns that were installed in front of the palace.
Negotiations of the Sultan and Consul
At 08:00 a.m. on August 27, after Khalid sent an envoy asking for negotiations, the consul replied that there would be no military action against the sultan if he agreed to the terms of the ultimatum. However, the sultan did not accept the conditions of the British, believing that they would not open fire. At 08:55, having received no further news from the palace, Admiral Rawson gave the signal to prepare for action aboard the cruiser St. George. Thus began the shortest war in history, resulting in many casualties.
The course of the military operation
Exactly at 09:00, General Lloyd Matthews ordered the British ships to start firing. The shelling of the Sultan's palace began at 09:02. Three ships of Her Majesty - "Raccoon", "Sparrow", "Thrush" - at the same time began to shell the palace. The first thrush shot immediately destroyed an Arab 12-pound cannon.
The warship also sunk two steam boats, from which the Zanzibar men fired with rifles. Some of the fighting took place on land: the Khalid people shot at the soldiers of Lord Raik as they approached the palace, however, this was an ineffective action.
Sultan's Escape
The palace caught fire, and all the artillery of the Zanzibar people was put out of action. Three thousand defenders, servants and slaves were in the main palace, built of wood. Among them there were many victims who died and suffered from explosive shells. Despite initial reports that the sultan was captured and should be exiled to India, Khalid was able to escape from the palace. A Reuters correspondent said the sultan "escaped after the first shot with his close associates, and left his slaves and associates to continue the fighting."
Sea battle
At 09:05, the obsolete Glasgow yacht shot at the St. George cruiser using seven 9-pound guns and a Gatling gun, which was a gift from Queen Victoria to the Sultan. In response, the British naval forces attacked the Glasgow yacht, which was the only one in service with the Sultan. The Sultan's yacht was sunk along with two small boats. The Glasgow team raised the British flag as a sign of surrender, and the entire crew was rescued by British sailors.
The result of the shortest war
Most attacks of the Zanzibar forces in the direction of the pro-British troops were ineffective. The operation ended at 09:40 with the complete victory of the British troops. Thus, the shortest war in the world lasted no longer than 38 minutes.
By that time, the palace and the adjacent harem had burned down, the artillery of the Sultan was completely disabled, and the Zanzibar flag was shot down. The British took control of both the city and the palace, and by noon, Hamoud bin Muhammad, an Arab by birth, was declared as a sultan, with significantly limited authority. It was an ideal candidate for the British crown. The main outcome of the shortest war was a violent change of power. British ships and crews fired about 500 shells and 4,100 machine-gun shots.
Although most of the inhabitants of Zanzibar joined the British, the Indian quarter of the city suffered from robberies, and about twenty residents died in chaos. To restore order, 150 British Sikh troops were relocated from Mombasa to patrol the streets. Sailors from the cruisers "St. George" and "Philomel" left their ships to form a fire brigade to extinguish the fire, which spread from the palace to neighboring customs sheds.
Victims and consequences
About 500 Zanzibar men and women were killed or injured during the shortest war, 38 minutes. Most people died from the fire that swept the palace. It is not known how many of these victims were military. For Zanzibar, it was a huge loss. The shortest war in history lasted only thirty-eight minutes, but claimed many lives. On the British side, there was only one heavily wounded officer aboard the Thrush, who later recovered.
Conflict duration
Historian experts are still arguing about how long the shortest war in history has lasted. Some experts argue that the conflict lasted thirty-eight minutes, while others hold the view that the war lasted a little over fifty minutes. However, most historians adhere to the classic version of the duration of the conflict, claiming that it began at 09:02 a.m. and ended at 09:40 a.m. EST. This military clash was included in the Guinness Book of Records due to its transience. By the way, the Portuguese-Indian War is considered another short war, the island of Goa served as a bone of contention. It lasted only 2 days. On the night of October 17-18, Indian troops attacked the island. The Portuguese military failed to provide adequate resistance and surrendered on October 19, and Goa passed into the possession of India. Also, the Danube military operation lasted 2 days. On August 21, 1968, troops of the allies of the Warsaw Pact entered Czechoslovakia.
The fate of the fugitive Sultan Khalid
Sultan Khalid, Captain Saleh, and about forty of his followers, after escaping from the palace, took refuge at the German consulate. They were guarded by ten armed German sailors and Marines, while Matthews stationed people outside to arrest the Sultan and his associates if they tried to leave the consulate. Despite requests for extradition, the German consul refused to surrender Khalid to the British, as the extradition treaty between Germany and Britain definitely excluded political prisoners.
Instead, the German consul promised to send Khalid to East Africa so that he would not "set foot on the land of Zanzibar." At 10:00 on October 2, a German fleet ship arrived at the port. At high tide, one of the ships sailed to the garden gates of the consulate, and Khalid from the consular base boarded directly on board a German warship and, therefore, was released from arrest. He was then transferred to Dar es Salaam in German East Africa. Khalid was captured by British troops in 1916, during the East African campaign in World War I, and exiled to Seychelles and St. Helena before being allowed to return to East Africa. The British punished Khalid's supporters, forcing them to pay reparations to cover the cost of shells fired against them, and for the damage caused by looting, which amounted to 300,000 rupees.
New Zanzibar Leadership
Sultan Hamoud was loyal to the British, for this reason he was appointed as a nominal leader. Zanzibar finally lost any independence, completely obeying the British Crown. The British completely controlled all spheres of public life of this African state, the country lost its independence. A few months after the war, Hamud abolished slavery in all its forms. But the emancipation of slaves was rather slow. Within ten years, only 17,293 slaves were freed, and the actual number of slaves was more than 60,000 in 1891.
The war greatly changed the ruined palace complex. The harem, the lighthouse and the palace were destroyed due to shelling. The palace site became a garden, and a new palace was erected on the site of the harem. One of the premises of the palace complex remained almost intact and subsequently became the main secretariat of the British authorities.