Background

• During the late 1880s and 1890s, Zanzibar had increasingly fallen under British control, thanks to the cooperation of Zanzibar's sultan, Hamad bin Thuwaini. Upon his death on August 24, 1896, his nephew, Khalid bin Bargash, seized power. The British favored another member of the royal family to succeed Thuwaini and thus demanded that Bargash relinquish control.
  
  

The Battle

• Bargash refused to give up the throne and gathered an army of 3,000 men, while the British assembled three warships in the palace harbor. The new sultan attempted a last-minute negotiation but refused to concede. The British began bombing the Island at 9:00 a.m.; there is some disagreement over the exact length of the campaign. "Guinness World Records" sets the time at 45 minutes, while the BBC states that the entire conflict lasted for 38 minutes.
  
  

Aftermath

• The British favorite, Hamud bin Muhammed, was crowned sultan two days after the war. Bargash fled the island and was granted asylum by Germany; he was eventually captured by the British in 1916. Zanzibar was forced to pay back the cost of every British shell fired during the brief conflict.