A Very Short War From Hermit's History...!

Why is it that they never taught us about the real cool history stuff in school? Too much trouble, I reckon!

Well, here is the Hermit's view of something that they should have mentioned...the shortest war in history! If we have to fight a war, maybe we should follow this example, ya know?

The Shortest War In History

Photo credit: Richard Dorsey Mohun

A mysterious death. A shady relative. A colonial British presence. The perfect ingredients for war.

In 1896, Hamad bin Thuwaini was ruling over Zanzibar, a protectorate of the British Empire, after being instated as a “puppet” sultan by the British. His reign had lasted just three years when he suddenly died in his palace on August 25. Rumor has it that his cousin Khalid bin Barghash had him poisoned, a belief seemingly confirmed by the fact that Barghash quickly moved into the palace and assumed the status of sultan without British permission.

Basil Cave, the chief British diplomat in the area, caught wind of the affair and didn’t approve of the change in leadership. Cave requested the assistance of British military warships stationed nearby. While he awaited permission from Britain to open fire, Barghash gathered his own surprisingly well-armed forces.

At 9:00 AM on August 27, Cave gave the order to begin bombarding the palace. At 9:02 AM, Khalid’s army was essentially destroyed and the palace began to crumble. By 9:40 AM, the sultan had pulled down his flag and the British ended their attack. In 38 minutes, the shortest war in history was over.

See what I mean? History doesn't have to be long, dull, and boring. Dates we would never remember, names we never could pronounce. Instead trhey should have taught us some really interesting like this from Listverse! Would have been much more fun!, don't you think?

Coffee out on the patio. Just pardon the contractor's mess!