Britain WON the SHORTEST WAR ever fought. Its terms: SLAVERY DIES. 🇬🇧 25 August 1896. The Sultan of Zanzibar dies suddenly. Before his body is cold, his cousin Khalid walks into the palace with an army behind him and declares himself Sultan. Britain says no. Not because of who he is. Because of what the last Sultan had signed: the slave trade through Zanzibar was to be strangled, and a usurper with 2,800 armed men and a harem full of slaves is not going to honour that. In the harbour sit 5 Royal Navy ships. St George. Philomel. Racoon. Thrush. Sparrow. The consul sends the palace an ultimatum. Stand down by 9 o'clock on the morning of the 27th. Khalid replies that he does not believe the British would fire on him. At 9:00 the flag is still flying. At 9:02 every gun in the bay opens up. The palace answers with bronze cannon 200 years old. The Sultan's only ship, the yacht Glasgow, fires on a British cruiser. She has no chance. She sinks so shallow her masts never go under. Then comes the detail nobody expects. British sailors row into the smoke to save the Sultan's crew they have just sunk. Every one of them is pulled alive from the water. At 9:40 the palace flag comes down. Khalid has already run for the German consulate. 38 minutes. Shorter than your commute. By the afternoon there is a new Sultan, and Britain's terms are simple: slavery dies. Within the year the decree is signed. The pub-quiz fact hides the real story. We tell the whole of our history. If you can afford to, help us teach thousands their own history: proudofus.co.uk/support Want to learn more or teach your children? proudofus.co.uk/teach Be Part Of Us. ☝️🇬🇧 Be Proud Of Us. 🙏🇬🇧