Historedia
AfricaEvent

Anglo-Zanzibar War, the shortest war in recorded history

When
1896
Where
Palace complex at Zanzibar Town, including the Beit al Hukum Palace
Episodes
1

The Anglo-Zanzibar War occurred on 27 August 1896, lasting between 38 and 45 minutes. It resulted from the suspicious death of Sultan Hamad and the unauthorized succession of Khalid bin Barghash. British forces bombarded the palace, ending Zanzibar's sovereignty. The conflict involved Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson and Consul Basil Cave, who demanded Khalid's departure. The war marked the start of heavy British influence in the region.

Episodes

  1. 27 August 1896 · Palace complex at Zanzibar Town, including the Beit al Hukum PalaceBombardment of the Palace

    British forces bombarded the palace after the ultimatum expired at 09:00 on 27 August 1896. The conflict lasted between 38 and 45 minutes, marking it as the shortest recorded war.

Background and detail

Background. The immediate cause was the death of pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini on 25 August 1896. His nephew, Khalid bin Barghash, seized power without British approval, violating the 1890 protectorate agreement requiring consul permission for accession. The British considered this a casus belli. Khalid had previously attempted a similar succession in 1893 but was persuaded to stand down by the British consul-general.

Ultimatum. Consul Basil Cave requested Khalid stand down, but Khalid ignored these messages and planned to proclaim himself sultan at 15:00. Cave stated this would constitute rebellion. At 14:30, Hamad was buried, and a royal salute proclaimed Khalid's succession. Rawson sent an ultimatum requiring Khalid to leave the palace by 09:00 on 27 August or face bombardment. Negotiations failed.

People involved

Sources

  1. Anglo-Zanzibar War Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-11
  2. Khalid bin Barghash of Zanzibar Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-27
  3. Zanzibar Wikipedia, revision of 2026-10-04

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.