Anglo Mysore War

Anglo-Mysore War: The conflict between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British is known as the Anglo-Mysore War. A total of 4 wars were fought between 1767-1799 and there were many reasons behind these Anglo-Mysore wars, some of which are as follows-

• With the rise of Hyder Ali, the British began to see him as their main rival.
• One of the main reasons for the conflict between the British and Hyder Ali was that both were eager to increase their territory.
• The nexus of the British with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad continued to knock in the eyes of Hyder Ali.
• Hyder Ali was more attracted to the French, the staunch opponents of the British.
• Hyder Ali wanted to build his navy, for which he tried to extend his borders to the coast. But the British made his every attempt unsuccessful and captured Guntur and Mahi.

Anglo-Mysore War (1767-1799)

First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-1769)

• The British, along with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad, attacked Mysore. The British were led by General Joseph Smith.
• Hyder Ali, using diplomacy, joined the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad on his side and defeated the British badly in this war.
• Together with the Marathas and the Nizam, he besieged Madras. Due to this, the British were terribly frightened and they made the Treaty of Madras on April 4, 1769. Under the treaty –
  • The British prisoners were released.
  • Both will give up possession of each other's territory.
  • The British would pay the fine for the war loss incurred during the war.
  • In case of any calamity, both will cooperate with each other.
• But the British betrayed and in 1771 when the Marathas invaded Mysore for the third time, the British refused to help Hyder Ali. Because of this Hyder Ali hated the British till he lived.

Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-1784)

• The treaty of the First War was only in name. Despite the treaty, relations between the British and Hyder Ali were not good. The British just had to get their job done.
• In 1773 the post of Governor-General was started. The Governor-General of Bengal during 1780 was Warren Hastings.
• In this war, Hyder Ali fought with the English army along with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad. By defeating the British Colonel Bailey, he captured the capital of Karnataka, Arcot.
• But Hyder Ali died on 7 December 1782.
• His son Tipu Sultan became the next ruler of Mysore, and he continued the war.
• In March 1784, Tipu Sultan signed the Treaty of Mangalore with the British and ended the Second Anglo-Mysore War.

Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790-1792)

• According to the policy of the British, the treaties after the war were only a rest before the next attack. The British also made the treaty of Mangalore with this intention.
• In 1790, Lord Cornwallis, along with the Marathas and the Nizam, formed a three-party organization against Tipu.
• In 1792, the British army under the leadership of Lord Cornwallis conquered Vellore, Ambur, and Bangalore and besieged Srirangapatna. Tipu Sultan continued the war opposing it, but finally, when he saw that it was impossible to win this war, he made a treaty. The Third Anglo-Mysore War ended with the Treaty of Srirangapatnam in 1792.
  • Treaty of Srirangapatna - 1792
  • Tipu Sultan had to give almost half of his territory to the British and his allies.
  • Tipu Sultan had to pay Rs 3 crore as a war loss.
• Srirangapatna is in present-day Karnataka.
• The Governor-General of Bengal at this time was Lord Cornwallis. This war was also fought under his leadership. Cornwallis, in his own words, described the victory of this war as "we have almost paralyzed our enemy and at the same time did not allow our allies to become more powerful".
• In 1796 Tipu Sultan formed the Naval Board.
• In the same year, Tipu Sultan also established a new rifle factory and the French Embassy.

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)

• The attention of the British again began to be drawn towards Mysore.
• After the Third Mysore War, Tipu's power was greatly reduced.
• There was also a treaty between the British and Tipu Sultan, but Tipu Sultan did not forget his defeat and wanted to take revenge on the British.
• Due to this, he established contact with the French government in Europe. He also recruited the French into his army.
• Wellesley studied the situation soon after coming to India and understood that war was inevitable.
• Wellesley began preparing for war. But before that, he got the Nizam and the Marathas on his side.
• In 1799, when the Governor-General of Bengal, Lord Wellesley, sent a proposal for a subsidiary treaty to Tipu Sultan, Tipu Sultan rejected it. This became the main cause of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War.
• After this Lord Wellesley attacked Mysore and finally Tipu Sultan died near the fort of Srirangapatna on May 4, 1799, while fighting in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. And with this, the Anglo-Mysore conflict also ended.

 

Thank You