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WonderHistory fact

The shortest war on record was fought on 27 August 1896, when British warships shelled the sultan's palace in Zanzibar, an island state off East Africa, after a new sultan had taken power without British approval. The fighting lasted between 38 and 45 minutes.

Zanzibar, 27 August 1896

History

The story behind the card

Zanzibar, today part of Tanzania, had been a British protectorate since 1890, and under that agreement a new sultan needed the approval of the British consul. When the pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini died suddenly on 25 August 1896, Khalid bin Barghash, a son of an earlier sultan, moved into the palace and declared himself sultan, while Britain wanted Hamoud bin Mohammed. The British gave Khalid until 9 a.m. on 27 August to stand down. When the deadline passed, three ships opened fire at 9.02, the palace caught fire, the sultan's old royal yacht was sunk, and the shooting stopped at about 9.40. Around 500 of the sultan's defenders were killed or wounded, while one British sailor was injured. Khalid took refuge in the German consulate and escaped to German East Africa. Hamoud became sultan, and Zanzibar stayed under strong British influence until independence in 1963.

Türkçe oku
Kayıtlara geçmiş en kısa savaş, 27 Ağustos 1896'da İngiltere ile Doğu Afrika açıklarındaki ada devleti Zanzibar arasında yaşandı. İngiliz savaş gemileri, İngiltere'nin onayı olmadan tahta çıkan yeni sultanın sarayını topa tuttu; çatışma 38 ile 45 dakika arasında sürdü.
Zanzibar, 27 Ağustos 1896

Bugün Tanzanya'nın parçası olan Zanzibar, 1890'dan beri İngiliz himayesindeydi; o yılki anlaşmaya göre yeni bir sultanın tahta çıkması için İngiliz konsolosunun onayı gerekiyordu. İngiliz yanlısı Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini 25 Ağustos 1896'da aniden ölünce, önceki sultanlardan birinin oğlu olan Khalid bin Barghash saraya yerleşip kendini sultan ilan etti. İngiltere ise tahtta Hamoud bin Mohammed'i görmek istiyordu. İngilizler Khalid'e çekilmesi için 27 Ağustos sabah saat 9'a kadar süre verdi. Süre dolunca üç gemi 9.02'de ateş açtı; saray alev aldı, sultanın eski kraliyet yatı batırıldı ve atışlar 9.40 dolaylarında kesildi. Sultanın saflarında yaklaşık 500 kişi öldü ya da yaralandı; İngiliz tarafında ise yalnızca bir denizci yaralandı. Khalid, Alman konsolosluğuna sığındı ve oradan Alman Doğu Afrikası'na kaçtı. Hamoud sultan oldu; Zanzibar 1963'te bağımsızlığını kazanana kadar güçlü İngiliz etkisi altında kaldı.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Anglo-Zanzibar War
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