Zanzibar history

In 1896, Said Khalid seized power in Zanzibar. A British fleet soon arrived at the port of Zanzibar and ordered him out of the royal palace. Khalid refused to leave. At 9:02 on the morning of August 27, British ships started a fire on the palace, (BEGIN) a war between Britain and Zanzibar. The palace (DESTROY) very quickly. At 9:40 that morning, Said Khalid surrendered and the war ended. This “war” was the (SHORT) in history. It lasted a total of 38 minutes! The British (LATE) requested money from the people of Zanzibar to pay for the shells the British warships had used to win the war.

A palace with 1,300 rooms

It was King Louis XIV of France who ordered a palace with 1,300 rooms in the 1600s. Louis wanted a bigger palace than any other king. In 1661, the French started (BUILD) this new palace. It was located at a place outside Paris, (CALL) Versailles. It had to be big – Louis’s court had 20,000 people, and Versailles (BECOME) the centre of court life.