The Shortest War in History: History's shortest war began and ended in 1896. British ships began bombing the island of Zanzibar at 9am, and Zanzibar surrendered at about 9:45am, that same morning. The battle was prompted by the ascension to Zanzibar's throne of Khalid bin Barghash, second son to Sultan Hamad bin Thuwaini, who had died two days before. The British, who had sovereignty over the island, opposed the new Sultan. When he refused to step down, the British fired upon the island, quickly bringing the insurrection to an end. (adapted from  http://www.answers.com/topic/anglo-zanzibar-war)

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