Did you know? The shortest war lasted for 38 minutes

The Anglo-Zanzibar War started brewing after the Pro-British sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini died on August 25, 1896, and his cousin, Khalid bin Barghash, seized the throne (Khalid didn’t agree with the British colonial rule).

However, the British government wanted Khalid dethroned and wanted Hamoud bin Muhammad as the sultan, and they gave Khalid till 9:00 am to abdicate the throne. Khalid thought the British were bluffing. He surrounded the royal palace with his guards and artillery.

At precisely 9 a.m., when Khalid refused to abdicate, the British bombardment began. Guns from the ships fired at the sultan’s palace. After 38 minutes, Khalid’s troops fled the scene.

Khalid and his closest circle ended up in the nearby German consulate and requested asylum. Britain finally captured Khalid during World War I, and that was when he promised to live in exile and renounce his claim to the sultanate.

Approximately 500 Zanzibaris died out of a fighting force of 3,000 during the bombardment, the British forces lost 1 man out of a fighting force of 1,000.