On 27 August 1896, British warships opened fire on the Sultan’s palace in Zanzibar. By the time the guns fell silent, roughly 40 minutes had passed. The Anglo-Zanzibar War is commonly called the shortest war in recorded history. Yet according to the Historical Association, more than 500 defenders died while one British marine was injured.
The immediate dispute concerned succession. Khalid bin Barghash had taken power after the previous sultan’s death, but Britain preferred another candidate, Hamud bin Muhammed. The Royal Navy issued an ultimatum; when it expired, it bombarded the palace. Khalid fled, and Britain’s preferred ruler took the throne.
The story is often presented as an amusing historical record: the war that barely lasted long enough for lunch. But the duration is not the real story. A European empire used overwhelming firepower to decide who would govern another society, and hundreds of people died in the process.
- Historical source: Historical Association: the Anglo-Zanzibar War.
- Read next: H. L. Hunley: The Civil War submarine that sank a ship and never came home, or explore how Haiti changed the map of the United States.
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