The sultan’s palace after the bombing./ Photos: www.zanzibarhistory.org
Eduardo González. 20/08/2017
On 27 August 1896, 121 years ago, the Zanzibar Island experienced the shortest war of history: 38 exact minutes were enough for the British Empire to remove from power a sultan that dared to rise up.
The events go back to 1890, when the United Kingdom and Germany delimited their respective spheres of influences in the East of Africa. The British kept the Sultanate of Zanzibar as a protectorate and the continental territory of Tanganyika was left in the hands of Germany. Both entities have made up the United Republic of Tanzania for half a century.
On 25 August 1896, the anglophile sultan of Zanzibar and his nephew (and supposed poisoner), Jalid bin Bargash, used the opportunity to organize a coup d’État and gathered an army of 2,800 men fast, with the corresponding artillery. The manoeuvre upset the British Empire, who intended to take a more similar sultan to the throne.
On 26 August, Bin Bargash and his men were in the royal palace, while the sultan’s yacht waited anchored and full of weapons in the port. In response, the United Kingdom sent a fleet of five cruisers to the Sultanate, while the diplomatic representative in the island, Basil Cave, received very clear instructions: “You are authorized to take any measure you consider to be necessary”.
The British Empire only needed 38 minutes to overthrow the rebel sultan and regain control over the island
At eight in the morning on 27 August, London sent an ultimatum to Bin Bargash, who threatened with the start of hostilities if he did not leave the palace within an hour. “We have no intention of lowering our flag and we do not believe you are going to open fire against us”, the sultan responded.
At nine in the morning, despite the attempts of mediation of a North American diplomat, the Government of Queen Victoria declared the war officially. Two minutes later, the imperial ships fired against the palace and destroyed the artillery of the defenders without a problem.
After about half an hour of bombing, the troops loyal to Bin Bargash (who had escaped through a back door of the building) surrendered to the British forces. The war of Zanzibar had officially ended only 38 minutes after being declared.
The balance was disproportionate: around 500 victims (wounded or dead) on the side of Bin Bargash and a slightly injured seaman on the British side. The new front man of London, the sultan Hamud bin Muhamed, was forced to pay a compensation for the expenses caused in the 38 minutes of bombing.
Bin Bargash and Basil Cave