This belief is compounded by the fact that within a few hours of Hamad’s death, Khalid had already moved into the palace and assumed the position of Sultan, all without British approval. Although the truth will never be fully known about the causes for his death, it is widely believed that his cousin, Khalid bin Barghash (pictured to the right), had him poisoned. Hamad ruled over this relatively peaceful protectorate for just over 3 years until, on August 25, 1896, he died suddenly in his palace. Hamad bin Thuwaini, who had been a supporter of the British in the area, was given the position in 1893. With this new found influence, Britain declared Zanzibar a protectorate of the British Empire and moved to install their own ‘puppet’ Sultan to look after the region. This treaty effectively drew up spheres of influence between the imperial powers in East Africa Zanzibar was ceded to British influence, whilst Germany was given control over mainland Tanzania. The story begins with the signing of the Heligoland-Zanzibar treaty between Britain and Germany in 1890. The little known Anglo-Zanzibar War of 1896 is generally considered to be the shortest war in history, lasting for a grand total of 38 minutes.

The 7 hour war