Chapter 64: One-Day Politics
The 1,500 military personnel prepared by the colonial government, led by Commander Yarman, marched into Zanzibar in a mighty force.
…
Dar es Salaam.
Majid bin Said and his relatives were rescued from the dungeon by colonial soldiers and returned to the throne of Zanzibar.
Although the legitimate government of Zanzibar regained power, Majid bin Said and his palace ministers were locked up in the palace and were not allowed to go out.
The Zanzibar army was disbanded, all officers were detained, the soldiers were sent home on leave, and their weapons were confiscated.
Only maids were allowed to stay in the palace to take care of the daily life of the Sultan and ministers. Male servants were expelled to prevent the Zanzibar side from taking advantage of them.
Felix arranged for Hans Zhang to take people to guard these people, while he himself was responsible for maintaining public order in Dar es Salaam. Basel also returned to his post to welcome the immigrants arriving at the port today.
As for Bargash bin Said and his staff, they were thrown into the Zanzibar dungeon like dead dogs. Majid bin Said hated Bargash bin Said for his backstabbing and strongly demanded that the colonial army shoot Bargash bin Said.
But Bargash bin Said is now an important piece of evidence for the East African colonies, so he cannot be executed at will.
Majid bin Said had to settle for the second best and asked for the worst cell and food for Baghash bin Said, and he must not be allowed to have an easy life.
Although Majid bin Said only stayed in the dungeon for one day, Bargash bin Said did not have time to torture him. After all, he was his own brother, and Bargash bin Said had to use Majid bin Said's name to control Zanzibar. So before Bargash bin Said had sorted out the affairs of state, Majid bin Said had a good life in the dungeon.
In addition, the East African colony came too suddenly, and Bargash bin Said was defeated too quickly, so Majid bin Said was released from prison in less than a day.
The entire process of this coup took place within one day, and the Sultanate of Zanzibar was the first national regime defeated in the East African colonies. Therefore, it was recorded in history by later East African governments as "one-day politics" or "one-day politics in Zanzibar."
The government of Bargash bin Said also became one of the shortest-lived governments in the world's history. It took only eleven hours from the time Bargash bin Said declared himself the ruler of Zanzibar to the time the East African colonial government captured the Zanzibar Royal Palace.
The only loss to the East African colonies was that an immigrant fleet was forced to be delayed, and the army lost one person killed, two seriously injured, and six slightly injured.
The reason for this loss was that the colonial army had no heavy weapons, so it could only rely on soldiers equipped with rifles and a small number of grenades to attack the Zanzibar Army, which had an absolute numerical advantage.
As a country that became independent from the Omani Empire, the Sultanate of Zanzibar is actually one of the few maritime military powers around the Indian Ocean.
Although most of Zanzibar's land area is in the coastal area of East Africa, its main body is actually the offshore island of Zanzibar.
The population and economic scale of Zanzibar Island account for more than 70% of the Sultanate of Zanzibar. On the mainland, only Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have considerable populations, mainly engaged in slave and ivory economy.
Zanzibar's navy did not join the battle. Its navy consisted of only a few old wooden European warships inherited from the Omani Empire.
Most of the Arab ships on the ocean are armed merchant ships engaged in maritime trade and are not controlled by the Sultanate of Zanzibar. The reason why Zanzibar has prestige in the region is because it occupies the geographical advantages of land and Zanzibar Island.
These Arab ships needed to stop in Zanzibar to rest and replenish supplies and fresh water, so the Zanzibar Navy was far from being as worthy of its name as imagined.
In addition, the Sultan of Zanzibar has been moving its political center to the mainland over the years, and even moved the royal palace from Zanzibar Island to Dar es Salaam, so the navy could not go ashore. This is also the reason why Bargash bin Said was able to control the Zanzibar regime with only the garrison of Dar es Salaam.
As for the fact that the capital of the Zanzibar Sultanate has now fallen into the hands of the East African colonies, it is the result of the inertia of Zanzibar people's thinking.
Before the establishment of the East African colonies, there was no capable opponent in the interior of East Africa. The Sultanate of Zanzibar was able to defeat the various East Bantu tribes in the interior who were still in the primitive society.
The lack of rivals on land led to the wise Sultan Majid bin Said of Zanzibar to actively expand along the East African coast in his early years and eventually move the capital to Dar es Salaam.
Now that the Germans have arrived, the aging Sultan and ministers of Zanzibar have not changed their mindset. In addition, the East African colonies have always adopted an attitude of equal dialogue towards Zanzibar, which further promoted the prosperity of the slave trade in Zanzibar. Therefore, the top leaders of Zanzibar continue to live a luxurious life.
…
Day 3.
Alman rode at full speed with a large army to Dar es Salaam.
On the way, Alman received the good news from Felix, but Alman and the army, which had already set out halfway, could not return, so they continued to move towards Dar es Salaam.
Felix's messengers continued westward to deliver messages to the colonial government.
"Felix, well done, this battle really impressed me!" Alman said to Felix.
"Hahaha, this is nothing. Who would have thought that the Zanzibar army was so weak? I originally thought that the Zanzibar people equipped with firearms must be stronger than the natives inland. I didn't expect them to be so useless." Felix said complacently.
"What are the casualties among the troops?" asked Alman.
"One soldier died, and two are being rescued. They are out of danger now, and the rest have almost recovered." Felix said this a little gloomily.
The main reason was that Zanzibar’s combat effectiveness was too low, which gave Felix an illusion that casualties could be completely avoided.
"Well, sacrifices are always inevitable in war, especially when the weak are fighting against the strong, and the enemy is several times their number," Alman comforted.
"Don't let individual data affect your judgment of the overall situation. It is of course a good thing if the losses can be minimized, but don't hesitate because of a small failure. Only soldiers who dare to bear setbacks and responsibilities are qualified soldiers." In order to prevent Felix from falling into ideological misunderstandings, Alman reminded him in time.
"I thought it was too perfect, Mr. Alman. Nothing in this world is perfect forever!" said Felix.
"That's right. We need to collect the remains of the fallen soldiers and move forward."
…
Yarman's arrival solved the problem of shortage of manpower in Dar es Salaam, and the Sultanate of Zanzibar fell completely under the temporary jurisdiction of the East African colony.
After receiving the intelligence, the colonial government sent the news of victory to Europe and asked Ernst for advice on his attitude and solution to the Zanzibar issue.
Due to transportation and distance constraints, Ernst received the intelligence more than ten days later.
I am scared of the trolls who always use the great book to criticize me. Why don't you compete with Jack Ma in wealth? You need to set the fan value to be greater than 1 to speak. Forget freedom of speech. The most outrageous one is the one who started to criticize after reading the first two chapters. This is a refreshing article, not a historical article. If you have the guts, go criticize Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Investiture of the Gods.
(End of this chapter)
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