Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini of Zanzibar was dead. There was no question about it. The question was who would succeed him. By treaty, the British consul, Basil Cave, had the right to approve the next Sultan, and Cave and the British liked Hamud bin Muhammed. Sultan Khalid bin Barghash, however, had other ideas, and seized the palace and declared himself to be the ruler of Zanzibar. Consul Cave gave bin Barghash until 9:00 P.M. local time to leave the palace and turn the reigns of government (and the keys to the harem) over to bin Muhammed or it would be considered an act of war. When the deadline was not met, the Royal Navy, under the command of Rear Admiral Harry Rawson and local army troops under the command of Brigadier General Lloyd Mathews bombarded the palace and the harem, causing considerable damage and leading to bin Barghash fleeing to German East Africa and being replaced by Sultan Hamud bin Muhammed. Thus the Anglo-Zanzibar war, which lasted from 9:02 P.M. to 9:40 P.M., a total of thirty-eight minutes. The shortest war in history. August 27, 1896. One hundred seventeen years ago today.
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 11:37:16 +0000
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