The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history. The war marked the end of the Zanzibari Sultanate as a sovereign state. It was also the first time that a British ship had been sunk in the Indian Ocean by a non-British vessel.
About Anglo-Zanzibar War in brief
The Anglo-Zanzibar War was fought on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war in history. The immediate cause of the war was the death of the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896 and the subsequent succession of Sultan Khalid bin Barghash. British authorities preferred Hamud bin Muhammed, who was more favourable to British interests, as sultan. The British considered this a casus belli and sent an ultimatum to Khalid demanding that he order his forces to stand down and leave the palace. In response, Khalid called up his palace guard and barricaded himself inside the palace, where he remained until the British arrived. The war marked the end of the Zanzibari Sultanate as a sovereign state and the start of a period of heavy British influence. The sultan’s forces sustained roughly 500 casualties, while only one British sailor was injured. Germany was also interested in the sultans of East Africa, and two powers vied for control of territory in the area throughout the late 19th century. One such conflict led to clashes between German troops and the local population, which led to the deaths of 20 Arabs in Tanga. In addition, some Arab ruling classes were upset by the interruption of a valuable trade, which resulted in some unrest, in addition to the conflict in Tanganyika. Britain had recognised the sultanate’s sovereignty and its sultan in 1886, and generally maintained good relations with the country and sultanate.
However, Germany refused to fly the flag of the Sultanate, and this led to armed clashes between armed troops and local population. The Sultan of Tanga claimed the rights to land of Kenya andTanganyika to Britain and that the British authorities refused to recognise him as the ruler of the Tanga Sultanate. In the end, the conflict was won by the British, and the Sultans were forced to give up their claim to the land in the early 20th century, leading to the creation of the Tanzanian state of Tanzania. The island is now part of Tanzania, and today it forms part of the Democratic Republic of the African Union (DRA) The war was fought over the control of the island by a small group of pro-Anglo Zonzibaris. It was also the first time that a British ship had been sunk in the Indian Ocean by a non-British vessel. It is believed to have been the last time a British warship was sunk off the coast of Zanzibia. The U.S. Navy also sunk a Zanzibe royal yacht in 1858, which was recognised by the United Kingdom, and split the s Sultanate from that of Oman. The Zanzebari royal yacht HHS Glasgow and two smaller vessels were also fired ineffectually at the British ships. The flag at the palace was shot down and fire ceased at 09: 46. By 1896, this consisted of the palace itself; the Beit al-Hukm, an attached harem; and the House of Wonders.
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This page is based on the article Anglo-Zanzibar War published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 08, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
