British Vs. Mysore
Introduction
British vs. Mysore dispute relates to a string of conflicts fought in the latter third of the 18th century between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company (represented mostly by the Madras Presidency), Maratha Empire, Kingdom of Travancore, and Nizam of Hyderabad. The Nizam's forces attacked from the north while the British invaded from the west, south, and east. War was fought between Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan on four fronts.
Mysore Dynasty
• The Wodeyar Dynasty is another name for the Mysore dynasty.
• After Vijayanagara's ancient empire was decimated in the Battle of Talikota (1565), numerous small kingdoms emerged from its ruins.
• The Wodeyars founded a Hindu empire in the vicinity of Mysore around 1612. Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar II ruled from 1734 until 1766.
• In the latter half of the 18th century, Mysore developed into a potent state under the direction of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan.
• The English believed their political and commercial interests in South India were in jeopardy because of Mysore's proximity to the French and Haidar Ali and Tipu's control over the rich Malabar Coast trade.
• The English control over Madras was seen as being threatened by Mysore's power.
• The British and the Kingdom of Mysore engaged in a series of four wars known as the Anglo-Mysore Conflicts in Southern India in the second half of the 18th century.
The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–1769)
Background to the conflict
• The Wodeyars founded a Hindu empire in the vicinity of Mysore around 1612. Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar II ruled from 1734 until 1766.
• Haider Ali, a soldier in the Wodeyar army, rose to the position of de-facto king of Mysore thanks to his outstanding leadership skills and military strategy.
Causes
• Mysore's proximity to the French and Haidar Ali's sway over the lucrative Malabar Coast commerce threatened the English political and commercial interests, as well as their power over Madras.
• The British convinced the Nizam of Hyderabad to sign a treaty handing them the Northern Circars in exchange for defending the Nizam against Haidar Ali, who was already involved in a conflict with the Marathas, after they defeated the nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Buxar.
The war's progress
• By forming an alliance with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad, the British started a war against Mysore.
• Hyder Ali was successful in persuading the Nizam and the Marathas through diplomatic skill.
• To disarm the Marathas, he offered them gifts.
• Another year and a half passed with no sign of an end to the war.
• After changing his course, Haidar arrived at the Madras gates.
Outcome of the conflict
• The English were forced to sign the humiliating Treaty of Madras with Haidar on April 4, 1769, which officially ended the war when complete anarchy and dread erupted in Madras.
• It was resolved that they would support one another in the case of an outside invasion after the stolen regions were given back to their rightful owners.
Haider Ali (1721–1782)
• Haider Ali started his career as a horseman in the Mysore army under the ministers of the reigning king Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar.
• Despite being illiterate, he was clever, politically skilled, and military savvy.
• He established himself as the de facto king of Mysore in 1761 with the help of the French troops and trained his army using western methods.
• He captured Dod Ballapur, Sera, Bednur, and Hoskote in 1761-63, took control of the Marathas and the Nizami army, and persuaded the troublesome Poligars of South India (Tamil Nadu) to submit.
• Taxes were another kind of revenue they obtained from the growers.
• After Madhavrao's passing in 1772, Haidar Ali was forced to pay them large sums of money to secure their peace.
• Between 1774 and 1776, Haidar Ali repeatedly assaulted the Marathas, regaining all the regions he had previously lost as well as capturing fresh territory.
Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–184)
Causes
• The Maratha army attacked Mysore in 1771, and the British disregarded the terms of the Madras Treaty.
• They had betrayed their confidence, according to Haider Ali.
• In addition, Haider Ali believed that the French were more creative in finding solutions to the army's needs for lead, saltpeter, and guns.
• As a result, Napoleon started using Mahe, a French possession on the Malabar Coast, to transport French military supplies to Mysore.
• The developing relationship between the two alarmed the British.
• As a result, the British made an attempt to take Mahe, which Haider Ali was defending.
• The Marathas invaded Mysore in 1771. On the other side, the British declined to support Hyder Ali and refused to uphold the Treaty of Madras.
• The Marathas consequently took control of Hyder Ali's domain. He had to pay a 36 lakh rupee payment and an additional yearly tribute to the Marathas in order to obtain peace.
• Hyder Ali was outraged by this and started to hate the British.
• In 1780, Hyder Ali declared war on the English after they attacked Mahe, a French colony that was under his control.
• Hyder Ali joined forces with the Nizam and the Marathas throughout the war, and they defeated the British army at Arcot.
• After Hyder Ali passed away in 1782, the war was carried on by Tipu Sultan Sir Eyre Coote, who had already engaged Hyder Ali on several occasions.
• The conflict came to an unresolved end with the Mangalore Treaty.
Outcome of the conflict
• After an unsuccessful battle, the two sides agreed to a peace treaty known as the Treaty of Mangalore, which was signed in March 1784 and called for the restoration of the territories each side had taken from the other.
Tipu Sultan (1750–1799)
• Tipu Sultan, often known as the Tiger of Mysore, was Haidar Ali's son and a great fighter. His birthdate was November 1750.
• He had a good education and was fluent in Kanarese, Arabic, Persian, and Urdu.
• Like his father Haider Ali, Tipu placed a high priority on the creation and maintenance of a strong military.
• He led his army according to a model used in Europe and used Persian words of command.
• However, he never allowed them (the French) to develop as a pressure group, even though he enlisted the help of French officers to instruct his troops.
• Tipu was aware of the importance of a naval force.
• In 1796, he founded the Board of Admiralty, and his plans were for a fleet of 20 large frigates and 22 battleships.
• He built three dockyards in Molidabad, Wajedabad, and Mangalore. However, none of his plans were realized.
• In addition to being a patron of science and technology, he is known as India's "pioneer of rocket technology."
• He wrote a manual for the military outlining how rockets function.
• He was also a pioneer in introducing sericulture to the Mysore state.
• Tipu, a fervent advocate of democracy and a shrewd negotiator, assisted the French soldiers in Seringapatam in 1797 in founding a Jacobin Club.
Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792)
Causes
• The problems between Tipu Sultan and the British were not resolved by the Treaty of Mangalore.
• They were both aiming for political hegemony in the Deccan.
• Tipu Sultan attacked Travancore, an English ally and the principal pepper supply for the East India Company, sparking the start of the Third Anglo-Mysore War.
• Tipu believed that Travancore's purchase of Jalkottal and Cannanore from the Dutch in the feudatory of his Cochin realm violated his sovereign rights.
• The British started to strengthen their ties with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad.
• French support helped Tipu Sultan, who took over Mysore after Hyder Ali's passing, by enhancing his military might.
• Additionally, he refused to free English prisoners taken during the second Anglo-Mysore War in compliance with the Treaty of Mangalore.
The war's progress
• Tipu started a war against Travancore in 1789. An ally of the British was Travancore.
• In 1790, Bengal's governor general, Lord Cornwallis, launched war on Tipu.
• After being defeated in the first stages of the battle, Tipu's soldiers were forced to leave.
• Later, the English invaded Seringapatam, the capital of Tipu, compelling Tipu to sign a peace treaty.
Outcome of the conflict
• The struggle came to an end in 1792 with the signing of the Treaty of Seringapatam.
• In accordance with the conditions of the treaty, Tipu had to cede the provinces of Malabar, Dindigul, Coorg, and Baramahal to the English.
• He also had to pay the British a war indemnity of Rs. 3 crore.
• Two of Tipu's sons were also required to be given to the British as sureties until the loan was paid in full.
The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)
Causes
• The years 1792–1799 were used by the British and Tipu Sultan to make up for their losses.
• When the Hindu king of the Wodeyar dynasty passed away in 1796, Tipu proclaimed himself Sultan and vowed to exact revenge for his humiliating loss in the previous conflict.
• In 1798, ardent imperialist Lord Wellesley succeeded Sir John Shore as Governor-General.
• Wellesley was worried about the growing relations Tipu was developing with France.
• Tipu was charged with conspiring against the British by dispatching traitorous messengers to Arabia, Afghanistan, the Isle of France (Mauritius), and Versailles. Tipu's response did not satisfy Wellesley, and the fourth Anglo-Mysore war was subsequently sparked.
• Tipu and the English were unable to coexist peacefully after the Treaty of Seringapatam.
• Tipu turned down the opportunity to join Lord Wellesley's subsidiary alliance as well.
• The partnership between Tipu and the French was viewed as dangerous by the British.
The war's progress
• Mysore was attacked from all four sides.
• The Marathas and Nizams invaded from the north.
• Tipu's army was 4:1 outnumbered.
• In the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799, the British emerged victorious.
• In the course of defending the city, Tipu died.
Outcome of the conflict
• The Nizam of Hyderabad and the British were in charge of Tipu's lands.
• The Wodeyar family was reinstated to the principal territory surrounding Seringapatam and Mysore, which it had previously reigned before Hyder Ali assumed the role of de facto king.
• A British resident was appointed to the Mysore Court after the British and Mysore created a subsidiary alliance.
• The Kingdom of Mysore was a royal kingdom that was not directly under British control until 1947, when it made the decision to join the Indian Union.
Conclusion
The Nizam's forces attacked from the north while the British invaded from the west, south, and east. War was fought between Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan on four fronts. For the benefit of the East India Company, which seized control of the majority of the Indian subcontinent, the Hyder Ali family and Tipu (who was assassinated in the fourth war, in 1799), were ousted. Mysore was also demolished.