Anglo-Zanzibar War: The shortest battle of 36 minutes

War means destruction. War means the struggle to occupy the country. War means attacking the enemy with tanks, cannons and ammunition. This fight continues month after month, year after year. But believe me, the war can end in just 36 minutes!

Yes, that is what happened in the Anglo-Zanzibar War. The war ended in less than an hour. Many historians frowned that it was over in such a short time. They do not agree to call it war. Because the defeat of Zanzibar was certain to the British in this war.Like them, the outcome of the war is already clear, what can be called a war!

Whatever it was, it was a historic event. The Ango-Zanzibar War has gone down in history as the smallest war of all time. Let's find out now about this historic 36-minute battle.

The Anglo-Zanzibar War took place on 27 August 1897. The duration of this battle was only 36 minutes in total. Many people say 40 minutes with incidental incidents. By winning this war, the British re-established their monopoly over Zanzibar.

Source

  *The onset of events

Late nineteenth century. Sultan Hamid bin Twaini of Zanzibar died on August 25, 1797. Then Khalid bin Barghas ascended the throne. But the British wanted something else. They claimed that Hamad bin Muhammad would ascend the throne after the death of the Sultan.Earlier, in 18, the Sultanate of Zanzibar made a treaty with the British. The terms of the treaty required permission from the British Council for anyone new to the throne after the Sultan's death. But Khalid bin Barghas ascended the throne without permission from the British. The British did not accept it in any way.

The British set a deadline for Khalid bin Barghas and his troops to leave the palace. But Khalid did not listen to the British and continued to increase the number of troops around the palace. And he himself sits on the throne of the palace. It was in this context that the Anglo-Zanzibar War began.

 *Background

Zanzibar is an island in the Indian Ocean, now part of Tanzania. It has been under Portuguese rule since 1499. In 1757, the Sultan of Oman expelled the Portuguese and established his rule.

Then in 1757 Sultan Majid bin Saeed claimed the island as independent from Oman. The British then supported Majid. The later sultans of Majid built Zanzibar as an independent modern city. He built a huge palace on the sea shore.

But the sad thing is that no defense system has been put in place in this magnificent palace. Therefore, there was no way to escape from the attack of external enemies. At this time the British were keeping pace with the Sultan of Zanzibar and good relations developed between them.

After 17 years, the British tried to establish their control over the government of Zanzibar. When the Caliph died in 1690, Ali bin Saeed ascended the throne.He stopped the widespread practice of slavery in the area with the help of the British.

Sultan Ali bin Saeed declared Zanzibar a British colony. Lloyd Matthews was the British Brigadier General in the area at the time. The Sultan appointed Matthews as the first-line minister in his cabinet. The British also took this opportunity to sign the agreement. The treaty states that the British will need permission to become a sultan in the future.

Sultan Hamad bin Tawaini succeeded to the throne in 1793 after Sultan Ali bin Saeed. Relations with the British were good when he was Sultan. But a class of people in the state could not tolerate the British. Because the British have abolished their historical slavery. Slavery was very important commercially in that region.

To suppress these people, the Sultan formed an armed force of one thousand members. And it was the British who suggested the formation of this force. But after a while the picture began to change. The members of this force were involved in clashes with the British troops on various issues. The force often clashed with British troops over minor issues. For this reason, one after another complaints against this force kept coming to the Sultan from the British.

On 25 August Sultan Hamad bin Tawaini died suddenly. Then his nephew Khalid bin Barghas entered the palace with his subordinates. Khalid, 29, ascended the throne and proclaimed himself Sultan. He was supported by the Germans.

Khalid ignored the British threat and placed his troops under the command of Captain Saleh.
Captain Saleh was instructed to provide security for the palace. Khalid captured the locals in just one day and enlisted them in the army. Eventually they formed an army of 2,600 members.

He built up an armed force with some artillery, machine guns, Gatling guns and a bronze cannon.He also formed a navy with some troops on a royal warship called the HHS Glasgow. This 'HHS Glasgow' was once a gift from the British Queen to the Sultan of Zanzibar.

On the other hand, 1,050 regular soldiers came to the war on behalf of the British. Five royal warships equipped with modern weapons. Three of these were cruisers, and the other two were gunboats. There was a famous gunboat called 'HMS Thras'. With 150 skilled naval personnel. St. George Rawson was in charge of the British Navy.