| Britain had been fighting for the abolition of the slave trade which had been largely unsuccessful. They were limited to intimidating slave traders and effecting quotas. The British managed to pressurise Said's successors into stopping the trade, but many treaties were ignored. In 1890, Sultan Ali, the last of Sultan Said's successors, finally honored his treaty in declaring all slaves free, and freeing any slaves that entered the area. |
In 1896, Sultan Hamed bin Thuwain died, leaving the throne vacant. Hamed's cousin, Khaled saw an opportunity and crawled through the palace window, gained a few supporters and announced he was the new Sultan. The British were obviously not impressed with this, as Zanzibar was a British protectorate. The British ordered Khaled to lower his flag by 9a.m. on the 27th of August 1896.
Needless to say this was not done, and the shortest war in history ensued (it is still listed in the Guinness Book of World Records). The British opened fire on Stone Town, destroying the Palace, the Harem, the Sultan's ship and the lighthouse. The House of Wonders was slightly damaged. 40 minutes later, the war was over and Seyyid Hamoud bin Mohammed was declared the new Sultan.
The British protectorate continued until independence was granted in 1963.
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