12 Shortest War Ever
The Anglo-Zanzibar war comes up all the time on lists of curiosities, records, weird things, etc., as the shortest war in recorded history. It certainly is a historical curiosity, but it was still an actual, real war, with stakes and politics behind it. This week’s episode gets into a few details about the shortest war in history, and why (for Zanzibar at least) it was more than just a curiosity.
The photograph below shows a part of the Sultan’s palace complex after the war which, depending on which source you read, lasted either 38, 40, or 45 minutes.
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The Anglo-Zanzibar War is a favorite for factoid sites like Neatorama and Mental Floss.
2:11A73E5827618330@EANX-123890FB70AFA750@2413800-1231FC2F51E23B58@0-12D53A0870E424D0@A%20Palace%20Bombarded%20British%20Fleet%20Opens%20Fire%20on%20Zanzibar.%20The%20Usurper%20Forced%20To%20Flee%20His">Reporting on the war from the AP in 1896 (requires login).