The British vs Mysore conflict is about a series of wars fought 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 in the latter three decades of the 18th century. The British invaded from the west, south, and east, while the Nizam's men assaulted from the north. Hyder Ali and his successor Tipu Sultan waged a war on four fronts. This article will explain to you about British vs Mysore which will be helpful in Modern Indian History preparation for the UPSC Civil service exam.

Mysore Dynasty

• The Mysore Dynasty is also known as Wodeyar Dynasty.
• Many tiny kingdoms sprang from the ruins of the ancient empire of Vijayanagara after the battle of Talikota (1565) dealt a fatal blow to it.
• In 1612, the Wodeyars established a Hindu state in the Mysore area. From 1734 until 1766, Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar II governed.
• Under the leadership of Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan in the second half of the 18th century, Mysore grew into a powerful state.
• Mysore's proximity to the French and Haidar Ali and Tipu's dominance over the lucrative Malabar Coast trade, the English thought their political and commercial interests in South India were jeopardised.
• The strength of Mysore was also considered as a danger to the English authority over Madras.
• The Anglo-Mysore Conflicts were a series of four wars fought in Southern India in the second part of the 18th century between the British and the Kingdom of Mysore.

First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69)

Background of the war

• In 1612, the Wodeyars established a Hindu state in the Mysore area. From 1734 until 1766, Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar II governed.
• With his tremendous administrative abilities and military tactics, Haider Ali, a soldier in the army of the Wodeyars, became the de-facto king of Mysore.

Causes

• The English political and commercial interests, as well as their influence over Madras, were jeopardised by Mysore's proximity to the French and Haidar Ali's dominance over the lucrative Malabar coast trade.
• After defeating the nawab of Bengal in the Battle of Buxar, the British persuaded the Nizam of Hyderabad to sign a contract giving them the Northern Circars in exchange for safeguarding the Nizam against Haidar Ali, who was already embroiled in a feud with the Marathas.

The course of the war

• The British launched a war against Mysore, allied with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad.
• With clever diplomacy, Hyder Ali was able to win over the Marathas and the Nizam.
• He bribed the Marathas to neutralize them.
• The war dragged on for another year and a half with no end in sight.
• Haidar shifted his approach and came to the Madras gates.

Result of the war

• Following full chaos and fear in Madras, the English were compelled to sign a humiliating settlement with Haidar on April 4, 1769, known as the Treaty of Madras, which ended the war.
• The seized regions were returned to their rightful owners, and it was decided that they would aid one another in the event of a foreign assault.

Haider Ali (1721-1782)

• Haider Ali, a horseman in the Mysore army under the ministers of king Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar, began his career as a horseman in the Mysore army.
• He was illiterate, yet he was intelligent, diplomatically and militarily capable.
• With the support of the French army, he became the de facto king of Mysore in 1761 and incorporated western techniques of training into his army.
• In 1761-63, he took over the Nizami army and the Marathas and seized Dod Ballapur, Sera, Bednur, and Hoskote, as well as bringing the troublesome Poligars of South India to surrender (Tamil Nadu).
• They also took money from the growers in the form of taxes.
• Haidar Ali had to pay them significant sums of money to purchase peace, but after Madhavrao's death in 1772.
• Haidar Ali invaded the Marathas many times between 1774 and 1776, recovering all of the lands he had previously lost as well as seizing new territory.

Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–84)

Causes

• When the Maratha army attacked Mysore in 1771, the British failed to follow the treaty of Madras.
• Haider Ali accused them of betraying their trust.
• Furthermore, Haider Ali found the French to be more inventive in meeting the army's needs for firearms, saltpetre, and lead.
• As a result, he began bringing French military supplies to Mysore via Mahe, a French territory on the Malabar Coast.
• The British were concerned about the growing relationship between the two.
• As a result, the British attempted to seize Mahe, which was protected by Haider Ali.
• In 1771, the Marathas attacked Mysore. The British, on the other hand, refused to honor the Treaty of Madras and refused to help Hyder Ali.
• As a consequence, the Marathas seized Hyder Ali's territory. For a price of Rs.36 lakh and another annual tribute, he had to buy peace with the Marathas.
• This enraged Hyder Ali, who began to despise the British.
• Hyder Ali waged war on the English in 1780 after the English assaulted Mahe, a French colony under his authority.

The course of the war

• Hyder Ali formed an alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas and beat the British forces in Arcot.
• Hyder Ali died in 1782, and his son Tipu Sultan Sir Eyre Coote, who had already fought Hyder Ali numerous times, continued the war.
• The Treaty of Mangalore concluded the war inconclusively.

Result of the war

Both sides negotiated peace after an inconclusive war, concluding the Treaty of Mangalore (March, 1784) in which both parties returned the areas they had acquired from each other.

Tipu Sultan (1750 -1799 )

• Tipu Sultan was Haidar Ali's son and a legendary warrior known as the Tiger of Mysore. He was born in November 1750.
• He was a well-educated individual who spoke Arabic, Persian, Kanarese, and Urdu fluently.
• Tipu, like his father Haider Ali, placed great emphasis on the development and upkeep of a capable military force.
• With Persian words of command, he organized his army on the European model.
• Despite the fact that he enlisted the assistance of French commanders to teach his troops, he never permitted them (the French) to become a pressure group.
• Tipu understood the significance of a naval force.
• He established a Board of Admiralty in 1796 and envisioned a force of 22 battleships and 20 big frigates.
• At Mangalore, Wajedabad, and Molidabad, he developed three dockyards. His ideas, however, did not come to fruition.
• He was also a supporter of science and technology, and he is acknowledged as India's "pioneer of rocket technology."
• He created a military guidebook that explains how rockets work.
• He was also a forerunner in bringing sericulture to the state of Mysore.
• Tipu was a staunch supporter of democracy and a skilled negotiator who helped the French soldiers in Seringapatam establish a Jacobin Club in 1797.

Third Anglo-Mysore War ( 1790 - 1792 )

Causes

• The Treaty of Mangalore proved insufficient to address Tipu Sultan's issues with the British.
• Both were attempting to achieve political dominance in the Deccan.
• The Third Anglo-Mysore War began when Tipu Sultan attacked Travancore, an English ally and the East India Company's main supplier of pepper.
• Tipu viewed Travancore's acquisition of Jalkottal and Cannanore from the Dutch in the Cochin state, which was a feudatory of his, to be an infringement of his sovereign powers.
• With the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas, the British began to improve their ties.
• Tipu Sultan, who took control of Mysore after Hyder Ali's death, benefited from French assistance in improving his military capabilities.
• In accordance with the Treaty of Mangalore, he also refused to release English captives seized during the second Anglo-Mysore war.

The course of the war

• In 1789, Tipu launched a war on Travancore. Travancore was a British-friendly state.
• Lord Cornwallis, the Governor-General of Bengal, declared war on Tipu in 1790.
• Tipu's men were forced to retire after being beaten in the first phase of the conflict.
• Later, the English marched on Tipu's capital of Seringapatam, forcing Tipu to make a peace deal.

Result of the war

• The Treaty of Seringapatam, signed in 1792, put an end to the conflict.
• Tipu had to hand over half of his empire to the English under the terms of the treaty, which included the provinces of Malabar, Dindigul, Coorg, and Baramahal.
• He also had to pay the British Rs.3 crore in war indemnity.
• Tipu also had to provide the British with two of his sons as sureties until he fulfilled his debt.

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War ( 1799 )

Causes

• Both the British and Tipu Sultan utilized the years 1792-1799 to make up for their losses.
• When the Wodeyar dynasty's Hindu king died in 1796, Tipu declared himself Sultan and resolved to avenge his humiliating defeat in the previous battle.
• Lord Wellesley, a staunch imperialist, succeeded Sir John Shore as Governor-General in 1798.
• Wellesley was concerned about Tipu's burgeoning ties with the French.
• Tipu was accused of sending treasonous messengers to Arabia, Afghanistan, the Isle of France (Mauritius), and Versailles to conspire against the British. Wellesley was not satisfied with Tipu's answer, and the fourth Anglo-Mysore war started.
• The Treaty of Seringapatam failed to bring Tipu and the English together in peace.
• Tipu also declined to join Lord Wellesley's Subsidiary Alliance.
• The British considered Tipu's alliance with the French as a danger.

The course of the war

• From all four directions, Mysore was assaulted.
• From the north, the Marathas and Nizams invaded.
• Tipu's army was outmanned 4:1.
• In 1799, the British won a decisive victory in the Battle of Seringapatam.
• Tipu perished in the process of protecting the city.

Result of the war

• The British and the Nizam of Hyderabad were in charge of Tipu's domains.
• The Wodeyar dynasty, which had ruled Mysore before Hyder Ali became the de-facto monarch, was restored to the main territory surrounding Seringapatam and Mysore.
• The British formed a Subsidiary Alliance with Mysore, and a British resident was appointed to the Mysore Court.
• Until 1947, when it elected to join the Indian Union, the Kingdom of Mysore was a princely state not directly under British rule.

Conclusion

The British invaded from the west, south, and east, while the Nizam's men assaulted from the north. Hyder Ali and his successor Tipu Sultan waged a war on four fronts. The family of Hyder Ali and Tipu (who was murdered in the fourth war, in 1799) were overthrown, and Mysore was dismantled for the advantage of the East India Company, which gained control of most of the Indian subcontinent.

FAQs

MCQs

1. What was the primary cause of the First Anglo-Maratha War?

A) Maratha expansion into British territories
B) British support for Raghunath Rao's claim to the Peshwa
C) Trade disputes between the British and Marathas
D) British annexation of Maratha territories

2. Which treaty ended the First Anglo-Maratha War?

A) Treaty of Bassein
B) Treaty of Salbai
C) Treaty of Surat
D) Treaty of Allahabad

3. What was the significance of the Treaty of Salbai for the British East India Company?

A) It expanded British control over central India
B) It secured a long period of peace with the Marathas
C) It gave the British control over Bombay
D) It led to the fall of the Maratha Empire

4. Who played a significant role in initiating British involvement in the First Anglo-Maratha War?

A) Lord Cornwallis
B) Lord Wellesley
C) Warren Hastings
D) Lord Clive

5. The First Anglo-Maratha War ended in:

A) 1778
B) 1780
C) 1782
D) 1784

GS Mains Questions and Answers

Q1: Examine the causes and consequences of the First Anglo-Maratha War.

Answer: The First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–82) was primarily caused by a succession dispute following the death of Peshwa Madhavrao I. Raghunath Rao, seeking the position of Peshwa, allied with the British East India Company, who sought to expand their influence in western India. The British supported Raghunath Rao militarily, leading to the conflict with the ruling Maratha leaders. The war dragged on for several years and concluded with the Treaty of Salbai (1782), which restored the status quo. The British retained only a few minor territories, and Raghunath Rao was not recognized as Peshwa. The conflict established the British as a significant power in western India and marked the beginning of a series of Anglo-Maratha conflicts.

Q2: Analyze the impact of the Treaty of Salbai on the British-Maratha relations in the late 18th century.

Answer: The Treaty of Salbai (1782) brought peace between the British and the Marathas, ensuring a 20-year period of non-aggression. This allowed the British East India Company to consolidate its control over other regions, particularly focusing on the conflict with Mysore. For the Marathas, the treaty helped maintain their political power and territory. However, the peace was temporary, and tensions resurfaced, leading to future Anglo-Maratha conflicts. The treaty is significant as it demonstrated the diplomatic strategy employed by both sides to manage their ambitions while maintaining peace in the short term.

Q3: Evaluate Warren Hastings' role in the First Anglo-Maratha War and its implications for British policy in India.

Answer: Warren Hastings played a crucial role in the First Anglo-Maratha War by initiating British involvement in the conflict. As the Governor-General of Bengal, Hastings supported Raghunath Rao’s claim to the Peshwa position, hoping to expand British influence in western India. Despite initial military setbacks, Hastings continued to press for British involvement, which ultimately led to a prolonged conflict. The war’s conclusion with the Treaty of Salbai ensured that the British retained some influence, but it highlighted the limitations of British military power at the time. Hastings’ involvement in the war also reflected the British strategy of using local disputes to further their imperial interests.

Previous Year Questions on First Anglo-Maratha War

1. UPSC CSE Prelims 2018:

Question: The Treaty of Salbai (1782) was signed between which two powers?

A) British East India Company and the Marathas
B) British East India Company and Mysore
C) British East India Company and the Mughal Empire
D) Marathas and the Portuguese

Answer: A

Explanation: The Treaty of Salbai was signed in 1782 between the British East India Company and the Maratha Empire, marking the end of the First Anglo-Maratha War and restoring peace between the two powers.

2. UPSC CSE Mains 2020 (GS Paper 1):

Question: Discuss the political significance of the First Anglo-Maratha War and the Treaty of Salbai in shaping British-Maratha relations.

Answer: The First Anglo-Maratha War was significant as it marked the beginning of a long series of conflicts between the British and the Marathas. The Treaty of Salbai (1782) helped establish temporary peace between the two powers and allowed the British to focus on other military campaigns. It also marked the British entry into the complex politics of the Maratha Empire. Although the Marathas retained much of their power, the British established themselves as key players in western India, laying the groundwork for future conflicts and eventual dominance over the Maratha Empire.