The Shortest War in History Lasted Just 38 Minutes

The shortest war in history was over faster than an episode of your favorite show: about 38 minutes. On the morning of August 27, 1896, five British warships opened fire on the Sultan's palace in Zanzibar. By around 9:40 am, it was all over. An entire war, started and finished before lunch. We'll show you how this lightning war happened, what exactly went down in those 38 minutes, and why historians still argue whether it was actually 40 or 45 minutes.

How does a war end up shorter than a lunch break?

Zanzibar is a group of islands off the coast of East Africa, today part of Tanzania. In 1896, the sultanate was a British protectorate. Meaning: it officially had a sultan, but the big decisions were made by Britain. On August 25, 1896, Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini died unexpectedly. That same day, his cousin Khalid bin Barghash occupied the palace and declared himself the new sultan. Without asking the British.

That was exactly the problem. Britain wanted a different candidate on the throne: Hamoud bin Mohammed, who was seen as friendly to British interests. The British gave Khalid an ultimatum. He was to leave the palace and lay down his weapons by 9 am on August 27. Khalid refused. Instead, he barricaded himself inside the palace with around 3,000 soldiers and supporters.

What happened in those 38 minutes

At 9 am, the ultimatum expired. A few minutes later, five Royal Navy ships opened fire on the palace, including the cruiser HMS St George. In total, the British fired around 500 shells. The palace was largely built of wood and quickly caught fire. On land, roughly 150 British marines and sailors plus about 900 Zanzibari soldiers fighting on the British side stood ready.

Zanzibar fired back as best it could. Around 9:05 am, the Glasgow opened fire on the British ships. The Glasgow was the Sultan's royal yacht and Zanzibar's only warship worth mentioning. The British return fire sank her within minutes. The harbor was so shallow that her masts stayed above the water. Around 9:40 am, the Sultan's flag came down and the shelling stopped. The war was over.

Was it really 38 minutes? Why the length is disputed

Depending on the source, the Anglo-Zanzibar War lasted 38, 40, or 45 minutes. The reason: there is no official final whistle for a war. Some historians count until the last shot, others until the flag came down. The number quoted most often is 38. And with it, the conflict counts as the shortest war in history.

For context: the Hundred Years' War between England and France lasted 116 years. That is roughly 61 million minutes. In that time, the Anglo-Zanzibar War could have been fought about 1.6 million times back to back.

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Where is Zanzibar, anyway?

Zanzibar sits in the Indian Ocean, just a few dozen kilometers off the coast of East Africa. Today the islands belong to Tanzania. The old town of Zanzibar City, Stone Town, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. That is exactly where the palace stood that the British shelled in 1896. If you enjoy guessing where places really are, try our geography quiz questions.

What happened after the shortest war in history

Sultan Khalid fled to the German consulate while the shelling was still going on. The British demanded his extradition, the Germans refused. On October 2, 1896, the German navy smuggled him to Dar es Salaam on the mainland. He lived there in exile until British troops finally captured him in 1916.

In Zanzibar, the British installed their preferred candidate Hamoud bin Mohammed as sultan that same day. One consequence stands out: in April 1897, Hamoud signed a decree abolishing the legal status of slavery in Zanzibar. The actual implementation dragged on for years and remained patchy.

By the way: at the other end of the scale, the numbers get just as surprising. How long the Roman Empire really lasted catches almost everyone off guard.

Remember one thing: the shortest war in history lasted about 38 minutes but still cost hundreds of casualties. Short does not mean harmless. If you want to test more surprising facts, try our history quiz questions or guess your way through all 9 categories on Quiztimate.