The Anglo-Zanzibar War took place in 1896. In 1890, Great Britain and Germany had agreed that Zanzibar fell in the British sphere of influence in Africa. Soon after, it became a British protectorate with a puppet sultan on the throne. In 1896, he died mysteriously and was replaced by a rightful claimant named Khalid bin Banghash. Khalid may have poisoned him. The British had not approved Khalid’s ascension and did not like his traditional beliefs, like support of slavery. Two British warships already in the harbor were joined by three others and Queen Victoria issued an ultimatum for Khalid to step down by 9 A.M. on August 27, 1896. Khalid refused the ultimatum and at 9:05 the warships opened fire. They sank the Zanzibari navy, which consisted on one wooden steam-powered warship, and then bombarded the royal palace with over 1,000 shells. Khalid escaped early on to the German embassy and subsequently fled the country. After 38 minutes of shelling, the British ceased fire and the war was over. About 500 of Khalid’s soldiers who were defending the palace were killed or injured. One British sailor was injured. The British installed a new puppet who abolished slavery and began to modernize the country.
– Amazing 70-71 / The Shortest War in History by Ben Johnson https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/The-Shortest-War-in-History/
0 Comments