The 38 Minute War - Ep.3
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The 38 Minute War - Ep.3
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Most wars last years. This one couldn’t outlast a podcast episode.
In 1896, the British Empire declared war on the tiny sultanate of Zanzibar, and wrapped the whole thing up in less time than it takes to cook a full English breakfast.
But beneath the trivia-night absurdity of “the shortest war in history” is a brutal, brilliant display of imperial power, a palace in ruins, and a sultan who learned the hard way what happens when you challenge the world’s largest empire without a plan… or navy.
In this episode, we dig into how a miscalculated succession crisis, three British warships, and exactly zero patience turned a royal dispute into a 38-minute spectacle of firepower. You'll hear about defiant sultans, strategic telegrams, and a royal yacht that didn’t stand a chance. It’s a war with everything condensed into less than an hour.
Because sometimes, history doesn’t need a battlefield.
Sometimes, all it takes to erase a kingdom… is 38 minutes.
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