It lasted less than an hour and featured the United Kingdom: this was the fastest war in history

Gaston Sanchez

09/14/2021 7:01 AM

• Clarín.com

• International

Updated 9/14/2021 7:01 AM

There are conflicts that involve many countries and last for several years, such as the Great War or

World War II

.

But there are also those who amaze the world for their peculiarities.

In this sense, the

Anglo-Zanzibarian

war

 was remembered as the

fastest in history

.

It was fought between the

United Kingdom

and the government of the island of

Zanzibar

on August 27, 1896.

It lasted just 38 minutes

(although some say it was 25 and others 45) and the dispute originated after the sudden death of the reigning sultan.

Hamad bin Thuwaini died suddenly on August 25 of that same year, two days before the conflict, and his cousin suddenly took power within hours.

But from that moment there was a

conflict of interest

since the successor, Khalid bin Bargash, did not have the same intentions to

cooperate with

British than the previous sultan.

The bombing of the British army destroyed the royal palace in Zanzibar.

A new sultan

Being a

British protectorate

, the Empire kept a veto right over the appointment of future sultans. Consul Basil Cave, in charge of affairs in the area, had in mind another candidate with whom it would be easier to collaborate and ordered 

the self-proclaimed sultan to

abdicate

on the grounds of an act of rebellion.

For his part, the new sultan, who had already tried to seize the throne three years ago, began to manage his resistance to the British advance. After making public that he resigned himself to leaving power, he formed an army of almost

2,800 armed men.

Although the majority were civilians, approximately 700 were Zanzibar soldiers. In addition, he collected some

artillery

pieces

, a

cannon

and the royal yacht HHS Glasgow.

The British had it clear, they wanted the new sultan to leave the throne.

That is why they quickly gathered their army off the coast of the archipelago, which currently belongs to Tanzania, and on August 26 they were given an

ultimatum

: at 9 am the next day they had to

abdicate

or they

would attack

.

The Anglo-Zanzibarian war lasted just 38 minutes.

The ultimatum

"They are authorized to take whatever action they deem necessary and will be supported by His Majesty's government. However, do not take any course of action that you are not sure of being able to complete successfully," said the telegram received by the British commanders.

At 8.30 am on August 27, the self-proclaimed sultan responded to the requests of the British crown: "We have no intention of lowering our flag and we do not believe that you are going to open fire on us."

Cave, for his part, replied: "We do not want to open fire, but unless you do what we have ordered, we will."

Time passed and it was all a matter of minutes until the first bomb exploded.

Finally, at 9 in the morning of that August 27, 1896, the conflict began.

The British fleet stationed on the Zanzibarian coast began to

bombard

the

royal palace

, which numbered approximately

3,000 people

, including soldiers, servants, slaves and the sultan's staff.

Chained slaves in Zanzibar.

The 38 minute war

Approximately 500 Zanzibars were killed and only a single Briton was injured.

Khalid's artillery was destroyed in just two minutes and the sultan decided to leave the palace with his fighters inside.

He ended up

taking refuge

in a

German consulate

with some of his followers.

Meanwhile, at 9.40, with the palace already destroyed and the Sultan's flag collapsed, the British bombardments ceased.

Thus, the Anglo-Zanzibarian war ended after 500 bombs, 4,100 machine gun cartridges and 1,000 rifle cartridges, ending the

reign

of

just 42 hours

of Sultan Khalid Bin Barghash.

After losing the war, Barghash spent time at the German consulate.

On October 2, he left for German East Africa where he received political asylum.

During the First World War he was captured by the British in Tanzania and exiled to the Seychelles and then to the island of Saint Helena.

He returned to East Africa in 1925 and passed away in Mombasa, Kenya, two years later.

Sultan Khalid bin Barghash reigned for just two days.

The British put their other cousin, Hamud ibn Mohammed, on the throne of Zanzibar. The Anglo-Zanzibarian war is considered the

shortest in history,

lasting just 38 minutes

. Although it may vary depending on the moment in which the actions are considered to have started (whether from the ultimatum or with the first shot) and the moment in which the last shot was fired is also discussed.   

Beyond the details, when compared to the war between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly, known as the longest war in history in which there was not a single shot, starting in 1651 and ending in 1986, the contrast ends up being huge.

In addition, the one that follows on the list of the shortest wars in history is the one that broke out in 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras, which lasted four days and is known as "

the Hundred Hours War

." 

Look also

Tattoos, mutilations, fangs and forked tongue: the man who became the "infernal orc"

After 20 years, they solve a mysterious crime that inspired a Netflix series