Cause of the War of the Cricket Match between Zanzibar and England

About the cause of the War of the Cricket Match between England and Zanzibar which started because of a sporting event and a misunderstanding.

YEAR: 1896

WAR: War of the Cricket Match

PLACE: Zanzibar

OPPONENTS: Zanzibar v. England

PROVOCATION: Adm. Sir Henry Rawson ordered the British fleet under his command into waters off Zanzibar's harbor so that his officers and sailors could disembark to watch a cricket match in which the British were to participate. This concentration of warships irked Seyid Khalid bin Bargash, the Sultan of Zanzibar. He immediately declared war, sending his lone battleship, Glasgow, into action. The British fleet bombarded the Sultan's palace, reduced it to rubble, killed or injured 500 of the Sultan's soldiers. When the Sultan's only battleship opened fire, the British big guns zeroed in on the vessel and sank it.

RESULT: Zanzibar sued for peace, and the Sultan escaped to become an exile in German territory. The war lasted 37 minutes, 23 seconds, the shortest war in world history.

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