The title of shortest war of all time goes to the Anglo-Zanzibar War, which was fought between Great Britain and the Zanzibar Sultanate from 9:02 a.m. on August 27, 1896, to 9:40 a.m. on August 27, 1896. Yes, this war lasted just 38 minutes.
This conflict began as most bad events from the era did: imperialism. As European powers scrambled to claim land in Africa, the Heligoland-Zanzibar treaty was signed between Germany and Great Britain in 1890. This treaty gave the two powers colonizers claims to parts of East Africa, but important to this conflict, it gave Zanzibar to the British.
As a protectorate of the U.K., Zanzibar had a puppet Sultan named Hamad bin Thuwaini who unexpectedly on August 25, 1896. Khalid bin Barghash, cousin to Hamad, was clearly devastated by the sudden loss, as he immediately moved into the palace and declared himself Sultan.
There was just one problem with this. As a protectorate of the British Empire, Zanzibar did not get to choose its Sultan. Instead, the Sultan had to be approved by the British, and the British did not approve of Khalid bin Barghash.
On August 26, Basil Cave received a telegram that authorized him to use force against Khalidâs troops as needed. With this authority, Cave gave Khalid an ultimatum: leave the palace by 9 a.m. the next morning or be fired upon.
Khalid bin Barghash, for some reason, was confident that the British were bluffing. He was so confident that he waited until an hour before the deadline, on August 27 at 8 a.m., and essentially said, âSorry, I donât believe you, and Iâm not leaving.â
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