Third and Fourth Anglo

Third Anglo - Mysore War

Background

A dispute arose between Tipu and the state of Travancore . Travancore had purchased Jalkottal and Cannanore from the Dutch in the Cochin state . As Cochin was a feudatory of Tipu , he considered the act of Travancore as a violation of his sovereign rights . So , in April 1790 , Tipu declared war against Travancore for the restoration of his rights .

Course of War

The English , siding with Travancore , attacked Tipu . In 1790 , Tipu defeated the English under General Meadows . In 1791 , Cornwallis took the leadership and at the head of a large army marched through Ambur and Vellore to Bangalore and from there to Seringapatam . Coimbatore fell to them , but they lost it again , and at last with the support of the Marathas and the Nizam , the English attacked Seringapatam for the second time . Tipu offered serious opposition , but the odds were against him . Consequently , he had to pay heavily under the Treaty of Seringapatam .

Treaty of Seringapatam

Under this treaty of 1792 , nearly half of the Mysorean territory was taken over by the victors . Baramahal , Dindigul and Malabar went to the English , while the Marathas got the regions surrounding the Tungabhadra and its tributaries and the Nizam acquired the areas from the Krishna to beyond the Pennar . Besides , a war damage of three crore rupees was also taken from Tipu . Half of the war indemnity was to be paid immediately , while the rest was to be given in installments , for which Tipu's two sons were taken as hostages by the English .

Fourth Anglo - Mysore War

Background

The English as well as Tipu Sultan used the period 1792 to 1799 to recoup their losses . Tipu fulfilled all the terms of the Treaty of Seringapatam and got his sons released . In 1796 , when the Hindu ruler of Wodeyar dynasty died , Tipu refused to place Wodeyar's minor son on the throne and declared himself sultan . He also decided to avenge his humiliating defeat and the terms put by the Treaty of Seringapatam .

In 1798 , Lord Wellesley succeeded Sir John Shore as the new governor general . An imperialist to the core , Wellesley was concerned about Tipu's growing friendship with the French and aimed at annihilating Tipu's independent existence or force him to submission through the system of Subsidiary Alliance . So , the charge sheet against Tipu mentioned that he was plotting against the English with the Nizam and the Marathas and that he had sent emissaries to Arabia , Afghanistan , Kabul and Zaman Shah , as also to Isle of French and Versailles , with treasonable intent . Tipu's explanation did not satisfy Wellesley .

Course of War

The war began on April 17 , 1799 and ended on May 4 , 1799 with the fall of Seringapatam . Tipu was defeated first by English General Stuart and then by Wellesley , also participated in the Nizam . The Marathas had been promised half of the territory of Tipu and The Nizam had already signed the Subsidiary Alliance . Tipu laid down his life fighting bravely ; his family members were interned at Vellore , and his treasures were confiscated by the English . The English chose a boy from the early Hindu royal family of Mysore as the maharaja and also imposed on him the subsidiary alliance system.