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Tanzania / Zanzibar: Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid, Sultan of Zanzibar (r. 1896)

Tanzania / Zanzibar: Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid, Sultan of Zanzibar (r. 1896)

Sayyid Khalid bin Barghash Al-Busaid (1874 – 1927) (Arabic: خالد بن برغش البوسعيد‎) was the sixth Sultan of Zanzibar and the eldest son of the second Sultan of Zanzibar, Sayyid Barghash bin Said Al-Busaid.

Khalid briefly ruled Zanzibar (from August 25 to August 27, 1896), seizing power after the sudden death of his cousin Hamad bin Thuwaini of Zanzibar who many suspect was poisoned by Khalid. Britain refused to recognize his claim to the throne, citing a treaty from 1866 which stated that a new Sultan could only accede to the throne with British permission, resulting in the Anglo-Zanzibar War in which Khalid's palace and harem were shelled by British vessels for 38 minutes, killing 500 defenders, before a surrender was received.

Khalid fled his palace to take refuge in the German consulate from which he was smuggled to German East Africa where he received political asylum. He was captured by British forces at Dar es Salaam in 1916 and was exiled to the Seychelles and Saint Helena before being allowed to return to East Africa where he died in Mombasa in 1927.

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