The Berlin Conference and the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896

In this episode, Lucas and Luna explore the shortest war in history—the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896—which lasted a mere 38 to 45 minutes. They delve into the cause of the war: the death of Zanzibar's pro-British Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini and the subsequent seizure of power by his nephew Khalid bin Barghash, who proclaimed himself sultan without British approval. The British Royal Navy, already stationed in Zanzibar's harbor, issued an ultimatum for Khalid to step down. When he refused, British warships HMS Thrush, HMS Philomel, and HMS Racoon bombarded the Beit al-Hukum palace and the Sultan's only armed ship, the HHS Glasgow. Khalid fled, and the war ended almost as soon as it began. The episode also discusses the broader context of the Scramble for Africa, the Anglo-Zanzibar Treaty of 1890 that made Zanzibar a British protectorate, and the subsequent consolidation of British control over East Africa. Lucas and Luna reflect on the sobering brevity of the conflict, which claimed about 500 casualties on the Zanzibari side. This is a focused look at a small but telling episode in the partition of Africa. #AngloZanzibarWar #ShortestWar #KhalidBinBarghash #HMSThrush #BeitalHukum #Zanzibar #BritishEmpire #ScrambleForAfrica #BerlinConference #SultanHamad #HHSGlasgow #EastAfrica #ColonialHistory #1896 #RoyalNavy #History #FexingoHistory #MilitaryHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo