New here? Welcome! We're your go-to spot for fascinating stories about African culture, history, and languages. Stick around – there's always something exciting to discover!
A common stereotype that’s usually passed around in casual conversations among Kenyans is that people from the Coast are very lazy. It could be the fact that they usually open their businesses very late in the day, and even when they do so, they close them a tad too early. Or it could be about how slowly they walk. Or how slowly they talk. Or many other factors.
However, none has been humorously referenced as the Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896. This was, in summary, a war that was fought between the British soldiers and the Zanzibar Army. 38 minutes into the war, however, the ‘Zanzibar-ians’ are said to have proclaimed “Nshachoka, yaishe” meaning “I’m already tired, so let’s end it.”
It is interesting to note that, while there existed wars that spanned 116 years (like The Hundred Year War fought by the British against the French between 1337 and 1453) or even 345 years (like the Arauco War fought by the Chileans against the colonial Spaniards between 1536 and 1881). So, how did this Anglo-Zanzibar war last for just half an hour? Let’s get into the story!
Barter trade, but for land
It all started on 1st July 1890, when Britain and Germany signed the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty, known in simple terms as the Anglo-German Agreement. Through this agreement:
- Germany gained the island of Heligoland in the North Sea, the Caprivi Strip, which is a narrow strip of land in the north-eastern part of Namibia, and finally, the coast of Tanganyika.
- Britain gained the sultanate of Witu-land on the Kenyan Coast as well as control over the sultanate of Zanzibar.
And it is this Zanzibar which began revolting against the British. This is because the British declared Zanzibar a protectorate, hence they had all the rights to install their puppet as the leader. The sultan who came to power at this time was Sayyid Ali bin Said, who ruled between 1890 and 1893.
Ali bin Said went on to be a hard person to control, and so, upon his death in 1893, the British stated that they wanted the next successor to be someone who was submissive to their directives. Not as hard-headed as Ali bin Said had been.
However, on the night of his Ali bin Said’s death, his nephew, Khalid bin Barghash stormed into the palace and occupied it, stating that he wouldn’t leave because he was destined to be the next Sultan. It is interesting to note that he was 19 years old at the time.
The British Consul at the time, Rennell Rodd, sent 200 soldiers to surround the palace, and ordered Khalid to open up the doors or his soldiers would blow them up. Of course, he didn’t, and so the soldiers simply blew up the doors, gained entry into the palace, took Khalid and placed him under house arrest.
As the new sultanate, they appointed Sayyid Hamad bin Thuwaini, Khalid’s cousin who had to accept the terms and conditions presented. Hamad ruled for 3 years, until the morning of 25th August 1896, when he died in his palace.
25th August 1896
A few hours later, Khalid was inside the palace, and even went as far as to declare himself as the Sultan. This came as a surprise to the British – as to how someone would rise to become Sultan without their approval. Hamud bin Mohammed was their choice; he appeared to be compliant and had even been endorsed by Senior Diplomat Arthur Hardinge.
Khalid, however, had still locked himself in the palace. The British, of course, were not happy with this, so they sent Basil Cave to convince him to come out of the palace. However, Khalid wouldn’t let a second chance at being the Sultan pass, so he declined the move and insisted on staying in the palace. In fact, he surrounded it with at least 3,000 men who were armed with rifles and muskets, as well as a Royal Yacht in the nearby harbor too.
Basil Cave started organizing his marines upon seeing this. Although two warships were already anchored in the harbor, Cave asked for another one to be deployed, along with more troops ashore, under the pretence of defending the British consulate. Despite all these preparations, Cave was aware that he did not have the authority to open fire without the explicit approval of the British government.
He, therefore, sent a telegram to the Foreign Office, asking, “Are we authorized, in the event of all attempts at a peaceful solution proving useless, to fire on the Palace from the men-of-war?”
While waiting for a response, Cave continued to send ultimatums to Khalid, demanding that he stand down his troops, leave the palace, and return home. However, Khalid refused to comply and instead declared that he would proclaim himself as the Sultan at exactly 3 pm.
Cave tried to coax him that this would constitute an act of rebellion, and that the British government would not recognize his powers. But then, all these pleas seemed to fall on deaf ears, for Khalid went on with what he was doing. It was at 2:30 pm that the late Sultan Hamad was buried. Exactly 30 minutes later, as had been mentioned, a royal salute from the palace guns was made to proclaim Khalid’s ascension to power.
26th August 1896
On this day, two more British warships arrived at the harbor, with one carrying Rear Admiral Harry Rawson, who was the commander-in-chief of the British fleet in that area. He was a no-nonsense man, judging from his expeditions in the Kingdom of Benin, where he had brought down the kingdom, looted and burned the palace, and then went ahead to plunder the royal treasures.
He gave Khalid an ultimatum to leave the palace by 9 am the following day, or else he would not like what he would see.
On that same day, Lord Salisbury’s telegram arrived, authorizing Cave to use the resources at his disposal to remove Khalid from power.
“You are authorized by Her Majesty’s government to adopt whatever measures you may consider necessary, and will be supported in your action by Her Majesty’s Government. Do not, however, attempt to take any action which you are not certain of being able to accomplish successfully.”
Cave couldn’t have been happier than when he received this reply. It was now all systems go! During the afternoon, he ordered all non-military ships to leave the harbor in preparation for war. All British women and children were also transported elsewhere for their safety. Consul Mohun noted that, for that night:
“The silence which hung over Zanzibar was appalling. Usually, drums were beating or babies cried, but that night, there was absolutely not a sound.”
27th August 1896
At 8 am, just an hour before Rawson’s ultimatum expired, Khalid sent a reply to Cave stating:
“We have no intention of hauling down our flag, and we do not believe you would open fire on us.”
Cave replied in true British diplomatic style, stating:
“We do now want to open fire, but unless you do as you are told, we shall certainly do so.”
That was the last time they communicated, for Khalid still refused. With no further word from the palace, Rawson hoisted the signal ‘prepare for action’ at exactly 8:55 am.
At 9 am, the command was given for the British ships to begin the bombardment of the palace. By 9:02 am, the majority of Khalid’s artillery had been destroyed, and the palace had caught fire, with its wooden structure collapsing with as many as 3,000 defenders inside. It was around this time that Khalid is said to have escaped through a back exit of the palace, leaving his servants and fighters to defend the palace alone.
A Reuters news correspondent reported that:
“The Sultan fled at the first shot, along with all the leading Arabs, leaving their slaves and followers to continue the fighting. ”
The shelling only ceased at 9:40 am, by which time the palace had caught fire, the Sultan’s artillery had been silenced, and his flag cut down. This brought the war to an end after just 38 minutes. For such a short war, however, the casualty rate was surprisingly high, with over 500 of Khalid’s soldiers dying, mainly due to the high explosive shells exploding on the palace’s flimsy structure. The British ships and crew had fired around 500 shells, 4,100 machine gun rounds and 1,000 rifle rounds in total.
British casualties amounted to only one wounded soldier, who later recovered. Khalid’s warship, Glasgow, fired at one British warship, St George, but Rawson easily dispatched the yacht. The return fire caused the Glasgow to sink, and the crew hoisted a British flag as a token of their surrender, and thus, were all rescued by British sailors.
Aftermath
The British went on to control the town and palace, and by afternoon, they had installed Sultan Hamoud bin Mohammed. Hamoud promptly agreed to all British terms regarding his position and accepted without question the British demands.
Khalid fled to exile in mainland Tanganyika, specifically in Tanzania, where the Germans allowed him to reside temporarily. He sought refuge at the German consulate, where he was protected by ten armed German sailors and marines. However, the British stationed men outside to arrest him if he attempted to leave.
Despite extradition requests, the German consul refused to surrender Khalid to the British as his country’s extradition treaty with Britain specifically excluded political prisoners.
It was not until the British forces raided Tanganyika during the East African Campaign of World War I that they finally captured Khalid. He was then sent to Saint Helena, where he served time before being allowed to return to East Africa. He later died in Mombasa in 1927.
As for Khalid’s supporters who had been left behind in Zanzibar, they were forced to pay reparations to cover the cost of shells fired against them, and for damages caused by the looting of the local town, which had amounted to 300,000 rupees. With Zanzibar having suffered gravely at the hands of a mere fraction of the British Empire’s military power, no further revolutions occurred on the island until Britain relieved it of its protectorate status in 1963.
As for Sultan Khalid, he went down in history, as having led the shortest war in history. Nshachoka, yaishe!
Language Learning Resources
A heartfelt thanks to Galadima Onesimus Bitrus and Samuel Kwabena Kabutey for their invaluable contributions to the language articles. If you're interested in contributing a piece for your language, please feel free to reach out!
Join the Lughayangu Community!
