Today I want to talk about a fascinating and hilarious ‘war’ I recently read about. The 38 minute war.
Some background: Zanzibar was an island country in the Indian Ocean. Today it forms part of Tanzania. The main island (Zanzibar Island) had been under the control of the Sultans of Oman since 1698 when they kicked out the Portugese settlers who had claimed it in 1499. Sultan Majid Bin Said declared the island independent from Oman in 1858, which was recognized by the U.K, and split the sultanate from that of Oman. The second Sultan Bargash bin Said had been forced by British ultimatum and a threat of blockade to abolish the Zanzibar slave trade in June 1873. Zanzibar was declared a British protectorate, the slave trade was banned, though ownership of slaves remained legal, and a British nominee: Lloyd Mathews was appointed to lead the Sultan’s cabinet. Slavery was still practiced, but not officially approved.
Lloyd Mathews had been seconded by Britain in 1877 to create a small, modern, Zanzibari army which was to eventually number over 6000 men. He carried the rank of Brigadier-General and in due course was to become the real power behind the throne. A demonstration of Britain’s power was that it was accepted as having a veto over the appointment of future sultans.
Lloyd Mathews:
Sultan Hamad (who ruled Zanzibar from 5 March 1893) suddenly died on the 25th of August 1896. His 29 year old nephew (and the son of the second Sultan) Khalid bin Bargash moved into the palace complex at Zanzibar Town without British approval, in contravention of the treaty. Khalid was warned by the diplomatic agent to Zanzibar Basil Cave to think very carefully about his actions.
Khalid bin Bargash:
Khalid ignored Cave’s warning and began mustering his forces in the Palace Square. By the end of the day he had 2800 men armed with rifles and muskets. The majority were armed civilians but the force included 700 soldiers who had sided with Khalid. The sultan’s artillery consisted of a few Maxim machine guns, a gatling gun, a 17th-century bronze cannon, and two 12-pounder field guns. He aimed these at the British ships in the harbor. The Sultan’s troops also took possession of the Zanzibari Navy, which consisted of one wooden sloop, the HHS Glasgow, built as a royal yacht for the Sultan in 1878.
The HHS Glasgow:
Mathew’s force was small numerically – around 900 Zanzibari soldiers, many of them ex-slaves, commanded by a Lieutenant Raikes. They were supplemented by up to 180 marines and seamen landed from a small Royal Navy cruiser, HMS Philomel and two gunboats, HMS Thrush and HMS Sparrow, which were conveniently in the harbor. These vessels’ firepower was considerable – Philomel mounted eight 4.7-inch guns and eight 3-pounders, while the sisters Thrush and Sparrow each carried six 4-inch and two 3-pounders. The three ships also carried numerous machine guns.
HMS Thrush:
Even more Royal Navy might arrived, another small cruiser, HMS Racoon with six 6-inch and eight 3-pounders – and the flagship of the Cape and East Africa Station, HMS St. George. An Edgar Class protected cruiser of 7350 tons, she carried no less than ten 6-in guns and twelve 6-pounders. Her greatest power lay however in the two massive 9.2-inch ship-killers carried as bow and stern-chasers. Mathews received authorization via telegram from the British Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury to “adopt whatever measures you may consider necessary.”
HMS St. George:
The British naval commander, Rear-Admiral Harry Rawson, made it clear that if Khalid had not submitted by 9 AM the following day, fire would be opened. Through that afternoon fear and foreboding must now have reigned in the city – a British official wrote later that “The silence which hung over Zanzibar was appalling. Usually drums were beating or babies cried but that night there was absolutely not a sound.”
An amusing aside is that at 8 AM the following day (1 hour before the attack was to commence) Khalid sent word to the English navy, he said “I don’t think you will really attack me!” The English response was a curt “We certainly will!”
The sultan attempted to have the US consul, Richard Dorsey Mohun, recognize his accession, but the messenger was told: “..as his accession had not been verified by Her Majesty's government, it is impossible to reply.”
At 0900, at the exact moment the ultimatum ran out, Racoon, Thrush and Sparrow opened fire simultaneously on the palace. The wooden structure, never designed for defense, and now barricaded with crates and bales, offered no protection to Khalid’s 3000 supporters from the hail of high-explosive shells. Some later reports indicated that Khalid fled for safety at the first shot, though others credited him with staying longer.
The Zanzibari yacht Glasgow opened fired upon the St. George with her seven 9-pounder guns. Fire was returned by the St. George and the Glasgow was instantly sunk, her crew then being rescued by Royal Navy launches. - This crew spent the rest of the battle watching the shelling from a Royal Navy ship!
The shelling of the palace continued for 38 minutes. The palace was now on fire and Khalid’s flag had been cut down. For England, only a single sailor was wounded, but for the Sultanate of Zanzibar five hundred were killed or injured (including civilians), 4 artillery pieces were destroyed, a shore battery was destroyed, two other boats were sunk, and the HHS Glasgow (the Sultan's personal royal ship) was sunk.
So ended the shortest war in history, and a great demonstration of both the might and the perfect civility of the English during the peak of their empire. Slavery was completely removed from Zanzibar over the following decade.
The palace before bombardment:
The palace after bombardment:
Never let anyone shame us for our history, it is full of glorious and wonderful tales like this one.