Anglo-Mysore Wars — Hyder Ali & Tipu Sultan

§1 — Four Anglo-Mysore Wars: Quick Reference

The Four Anglo-Mysore Wars: Quick Reference

§2 — The Rise of Mysore

The Rise of Mysore

The kingdom of Mysore in the 18th century was nominally ruled by the Hindu Wodeyar dynasty from Srirangapatna. Real power, however, rested with two ministers — Devaraja (Dalwai/Commander-in-chief) and Nanjaraja (Sarvadhikari/Prime Minister). Under their misrule the state was financially weak and militarily ineffective.

The de jure ruler in 1761 was Krishnaraja Wodeyar II. But by then Hyder Ali, a junior officer of remarkable talents, had risen to dominate Mysore's army.

§3 — Hyder Ali

Hyder Ali (1721–1782)

Hyder Ali was born in 1721 to a Muslim military family. Joining the Mysore army as a young man, he rose through the ranks. By 1761 — the year of the Third Battle of Panipat — he had become the Faujdar of Dindigul, then commander of Mysore. He side-lined the Wodeyars (who he kept on the throne nominally) and the chief minister, becoming de facto ruler of Mysore from 1761.

Reforms and Modernisation

Hyder Ali was an exceptional military reformer:

• He hired French officers to train his infantry on European lines.
• He established a modern arsenal at Dindigul with French technical assistance — including innovative work on iron-cased rockets.
• He maintained a strong cavalry of about 25,000 horse.
• He developed Mysore's economy with strict revenue administration and trade encouragement.

By the mid-1760s Hyder had expanded Mysore's frontiers — capturing Bidnur (1763), Kanara, Sunda, Sera, Hoskote — and was the dominant power of southern India. This brought him into conflict with the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and ultimately the British.

§4 — First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–69)

First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–1769)

Hyder's expansion alarmed his neighbours. The Madras Council formed a tripartite alliance with the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas against him in 1766. Hyder skilfully detached the Marathas (by paying them) and the Nizam (by offering territory), and faced the British alone.

The British under Colonel Smith and Joseph Smith initially won battles at Changama and Tiruvanamalai (1767), but Hyder's mobile cavalry outmanoeuvred them. In a daring stroke in March 1769, Hyder marched on Madras itself — appearing within striking distance of the city. Panic-stricken, the Madras Council sued for peace.

Treaty of Madras (April 1769)

Terms:

• Mutual restoration of conquered territories.
• Defensive alliance — each party would aid the other if attacked.
• Exchange of prisoners.

The treaty was effectively a Mysore victory — Hyder secured British neutrality. Crucially, the British did NOT honour the defensive clause when the Marathas later attacked Hyder in 1771 — a betrayal he never forgot.

§5 — Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84)

Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784)

The Second War broke out as part of a wider crisis. Hyder Ali, the Marathas, and the Nizam formed a tripartite anti-British alliance in 1780 (forged by the Maratha minister Nana Phadnavis). The triggers were:

• British failure to honour the Treaty of Madras 1769 (defensive alliance);
• British capture of Mahe (a French port on the Malabar coast within Hyder's territory) in 1779 during the global American War of Independence;
• Hyder's resentment of British interference in southern affairs.

In July 1780, Hyder swept through the Carnatic with 80,000 troops and 100 cannons, devastating British settlements. He destroyed Colonel Baillie's force at the Battle of Pollilur (10 September 1780) — one of the worst British military defeats in 18th-century India. Pollilur is famously depicted in murals in Tipu's Daria Daulat Bagh palace.

Warren Hastings (Bengal) responded by skillfully detaching the Marathas (Treaty of Salbai 1782) and the Nizam from Hyder's coalition. He sent Sir Eyre Coote with Bengal troops south. Coote defeated Hyder at the Battle of Porto Novo (1 July 1781) — a critical British recovery — and at Pollilur (second battle, 1781) and Sholinghur.

Hyder Ali fell ill and died of cancer on 7 December 1782 at Chittoor. His son Tipu Sultan succeeded and continued the war.

Treaty of Mangalore (March 1784)

The Treaty of Mangalore ended the war on terms of mutual restoration of territory and prisoners. It was signed by Tipu Sultan, with the British represented by Lord Macartney (Madras). It is famously remembered as the last treaty signed in India by an Indian power on more or less equal terms with the British EIC — every subsequent treaty was dictated by the British.

§6 — Tipu Sultan: The Tiger of Mysore

Tipu Sultan (1750–1799): The Tiger of Mysore

Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Khan Shahab in 1750) succeeded his father in December 1782. Ruler of Mysore from 1782 to 1799, he was the most formidable Indian opponent of the British and a remarkable innovator.

Diplomacy

Tipu cultivated an international anti-British coalition:

• Embassy to Versailles (1788) — sent envoys to Louis XVI seeking French alliance.
• Embassy to Constantinople — to the Ottoman Caliph.
• Correspondence with Napoleon — Napoleon's Egyptian expedition (1798) was partly motivated by the prospect of joining Tipu via the Red Sea / Persian Gulf.
• "Tree of Liberty" at Srirangapatna — Tipu joined the local Jacobin Club ("Citizen Tipoo") and planted a Tree of Liberty in Srirangapatna in solidarity with the French Revolution.

Tipu took the title of Padshah (independent emperor) — claiming sovereignty separate from the Mughal — and minted coins in his own name. He renamed his calendar (Mauludi) and weights/measures.

§7 — Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92)

Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792)

Tipu's attack on Travancore (a British protectorate) in December 1789 triggered the war. Lord Cornwallis (Governor-General) personally took the field — bringing the formidable resources of British Bengal to bear on Mysore.

Cornwallis assembled the same anti-Mysore coalition as before — British + Marathas + Nizam of Hyderabad (the "Triple Alliance" of 1790). Mysore fought alone.

Cornwallis advanced to Bangalore (captured March 1791) and then to Srirangapatna. After fierce fighting, Tipu sued for peace.

Treaty of Seringapatam (March 1792)

The terms were harsh:

• Tipu ceded half his kingdom — including Malabar, Coorg, Dindigul, Baramahal, Salem.
• War indemnity of 3.3 crore rupees.
• Tipu's two sons (Abdul Khaliq and Muiz-ud-Din) were taken as hostages until full payment was made (released 1794).

This was a catastrophic blow but Tipu rebuilt rapidly over the next seven years, restoring revenue and rearming.

§8 — Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799)

Lord Wellesley, the new Governor-General, was determined to eliminate Tipu. The pretext: Tipu's continued correspondence with the French. Napoleon's invasion of Egypt (1798) and stated intention to support Tipu intensified British alarm.

Wellesley assembled overwhelming forces. The British army under General George Harris (with Wellesley's brother Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, as a senior officer) advanced from Madras; another force under James Stuart from Bombay. The Nizam supplied troops; the Marathas were neutralised.

Mir Sadiq, Tipu's minister, betrayed him by opening the gates / not reinforcing the breach. The British stormed Srirangapatna on 4 May 1799. Tipu Sultan died defending the breach with sword in hand — refusing to flee or surrender. His body was found among the dead. He was buried in the Gumbaz at Srirangapatna alongside his father Hyder Ali and mother Fatima.

Aftermath

• The Wodeyar dynasty was restored on the throne — Krishnaraja Wodeyar III (a 5-year-old) became Maharaja under a Subsidiary Alliance.
• Coorg, Kanara, parts of Malabar, and other territories were annexed by the EIC.
• The Nizam of Hyderabad received Gooty and other districts.
• The famous Tipu's tiger (a wooden automaton) was looted and sent to London (now in V&A Museum).

§9 — Tipu's Reforms and Innovations

Tipu's Reforms and Innovations

Tipu Sultan was a remarkable moderniser whose reforms anticipated 19th-century state-building. Key innovations:

Religious Policy: A Contested Subject

Tipu's religious record is debated. He patronised Hindu temples (Sringeri Mutt — donations to Sankaracharya Sachidananda Bharati after Maratha raid 1791), gifted lands to the Sringeri Sankaracharya, and granted lands to the Melkote temple. On the other hand, in Coorg and Malabar (territories he conquered), he conducted forced conversions and demolitions of churches and temples, leading to lasting bitterness. His religious policy was inconsistent — politically driven rather than uniformly tolerant or intolerant.

§10 — Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions