The kingdom that fought back hardest
No Indian power gave the East India Company more trouble than Mysore. It took four wars and thirty years to finish it.
The Anglo-Mysore Wars were four wars fought between the Kingdom of Mysore and the East India Company between 1767 and 1799. Mysore was led first by Haider Ali and then by his son Tipu Sultan, known as the Tiger of Mysore. The wars ended only when Tipu was killed and his kingdom broken up.
Haider Ali rose from being a soldier to become the real ruler of Mysore, taking power around 1761. He was not born a king. His son Tipu Sultan succeeded him in 1782 and is remembered as the Tiger of Mysore. Tipu was a pioneer of rocket artillery, admired the French Revolution, and commissioned a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin.
The four wars at a glance
| War | Years | Mysore led by | How it ended |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | 1767–69 | Haider Ali | Treaty of Madras — Haider Ali nearly reached Madras and dictated terms. A Mysore success |
| Second | 1780–84 | Haider Ali, then Tipu Sultan | Treaty of Mangalore, 1784 — both sides returned captured territory. Inconclusive. Haider Ali died in 1782 during this war |
| Third | 1790–92 | Tipu Sultan | Treaty of Srirangapatna, 1792 — Tipu lost about half his territory and paid a heavy indemnity. A serious defeat |
| Fourth | 1799 | Tipu Sultan | No treaty. Srirangapatna was stormed, Tipu was killed on 4 May 1799, and Mysore was broken up |
The Treaty of Srirangapatna ended the THIRD war, in 1792 — not the fourth. The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War ended with no treaty at all, because Tipu Sultan died fighting and there was no one left to sign with. If a question asks which treaty ended the Fourth war, the correct answer is that none was signed.
War by war
Haider Ali fought the Company along with shifting allies and did remarkably well, advancing almost to the gates of Madras. The frightened Company signed the Treaty of Madras, agreeing to mutual restoration of territory and help if either was attacked.
Haider Ali attacked because the British had failed to help him as the Treaty of Madras promised. He died of cancer on 7 December 1782 during the war, and Tipu Sultan carried it on. Both sides tired, and the Treaty of Mangalore in March 1784 restored captured territories.
Tipu attacked Travancore, an ally of the British. The Company under Lord Cornwallis allied with the Marathas and the Nizam, captured Bangalore, and besieged Srirangapatna. By the Treaty of Srirangapatna in 1792 Tipu gave up about half his kingdom, paid a large indemnity, and surrendered two of his sons as hostages.
Lord Wellesley accused Tipu of seeking French help and declared war. Allied armies converged on Srirangapatna. On 4 May 1799 the city was stormed and Tipu Sultan was killed defending it. Mysore was divided, and a boy of the old Wodeyar family was placed on a reduced throne under a Subsidiary Alliance.
Tipu was a capable soldier, but he was isolated. The Company built alliances with the Marathas and the Nizam — the two powers that should have been Mysore's natural partners against the British. In the Third and Fourth wars Tipu faced not one enemy but three at once. The French help he counted on never arrived in any real strength.
Tipu Sultan used iron-cased rockets against British troops, which impressed the British so much that captured examples were studied in England and influenced the development of military rockets there.
Which treaty ended the Third Anglo-Mysore War, and what did Tipu lose?
The Treaty of Srirangapatna, signed in 1792. Tipu surrendered about half his territory to the British and their allies, paid a heavy war indemnity, and gave two of his sons as hostages.
Treaties in order: Madras, Mangalore, Srirangapatna, none. First to fourth — M-M-S-none. The last war needed no treaty because Tipu did not survive it.
Everything on one look
The wars, the rulers, the treaties and the end.
- First war 1767 to 1769 ended with the Treaty of Madras
- Second war 1780 to 1784 ended with the Treaty of Mangalore
- Third war 1790 to 1792 ended with the Treaty of Srirangapatna
- Fourth war in 1799 ended with no treaty at all
- Cornwallis commanded in the Third Anglo-Mysore War
- Wellesley declared the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War
- Haider Ali led Mysore in the First and part of the Second war
- Haider Ali died in December 1782, during the Second war
- Tipu Sultan was called the Tiger of Mysore
- Tipu lost about half his kingdom by the 1792 treaty
- Tipu Sultan was killed on 4 May 1799 at Srirangapatna
- Mysore accepted the Subsidiary Alliance in 1799
- The Treaty of Srirangapatna ended the Third war in 1792, not the fourth
- The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War ended with no treaty, since Tipu was killed
- Haider Ali died during the Second war, in December 1782, not in battle
- Tipu Sultan died on 4 May 1799, during the Fourth war
- The Treaty of Mangalore in 1784 ended the Second war
- The Treaty of Madras in 1769 ended the First war, a Mysore success
- Cornwallis led in the Third war, while Wellesley began the Fourth
- Mysore accepted the Subsidiary Alliance in 1799, the second state to do so
- The Marathas and the Nizam sided with the British against Tipu
- Tipu Sultan, not Haider Ali, is called the Tiger of Mysore
- The Anglo-Mysore Wars were four wars fought between 1767 and 1799
- They were fought between the Kingdom of Mysore and the East India Company
- Haider Ali became the effective ruler of Mysore around 1761
- Tipu Sultan was the son of Haider Ali and is called the Tiger of Mysore
- The First Anglo-Mysore War was fought from 1767 to 1769
- The First war ended with the Treaty of Madras, a success for Haider Ali
- The Second Anglo-Mysore War was fought from 1780 to 1784
- Haider Ali died on 7 December 1782, during the Second war
- The Second war ended with the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784
- The Third Anglo-Mysore War was fought from 1790 to 1792
- Tipu's attack on Travancore triggered the Third war
- Lord Cornwallis commanded the British in the Third war
- The Third war ended with the Treaty of Srirangapatna in 1792
- Tipu surrendered about half his territory under the 1792 treaty
- Tipu gave two of his sons as hostages under the 1792 treaty
- The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War was fought in 1799
- Lord Wellesley declared the Fourth war, citing Tipu's French links
- Tipu Sultan was killed on 4 May 1799 at Srirangapatna
- The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War ended without any treaty
- Mysore was placed under the Subsidiary Alliance in 1799
- Tipu Sultan pioneered the use of iron-cased rockets in warfare
- Tipu commissioned a military manual called Fathul Mujahidin