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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.
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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.
Next ..
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