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Third and Fourth Anglo Mysore Wars: Causes, Results, Treaty of Seringapatam

By Balaji

Updated on: March 2nd, 2023

The Anglo-Mysore Wars was a series of wars that were fought between the kingdom of Mysore and the East India Company. It can be divided into four parts. The first two wars were a mix of partial success and failure for the Mysore kingdom. The Third Anglo-Mysore war lasted from 1790 to 1792 in Southern India. This war resulted from a power struggle between Tipu Sultan and the Britishers.

The Anglo-Mysore wars occurred during the late 18th century. The third and the Fourth Anglo-Mysore wars occurred between the British government and the kingdom of Mysore. The Anglo-Mysore war is an extremely important topic for the UPSC exam, therefore, should not be ignored.

Table of content

(more)
  • 1. Anglo-Mysore Wars (more)
  • 2. Third Anglo-Mysore War (more)
  • 3. Result of the Third Anglo-Mysore War (more)
  • 4. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (more)
  • 5. Result of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (more)

Anglo-Mysore Wars

As mentioned above, the Anglo-Mysore War was a series of four wars fought between the Mysore Sultanate and the British East India Company. Both parties wished to have their dominance over the Deccan. The first Anglo-Mysore war was fought from 1767 – 1769. Haider Ali was the ruler of Mysore at the time.

The first war can be considered a joint struggle between the Marathas, Nizam of Hyderabad, and the British, who formed an alliance against Haider Ali. The British government had to sign an agreement with Haider Ali eventually, called the Treaty of Madras.

The second Anglo-Mysore war was fought between 1780 – 1784. This Anglo-Mysore war again occurred between Haider Ali and the Britishers, where Haider Ali managed to win. He later died of cancer in 1782. He was succeeded by his son Tipu Sultan who carried on with the war for another year, resulting in the Treaty of Mangalore signing, opting for peace.

Third Anglo-Mysore War

The Third Anglo-Mysore war was fought between 1790-1792. This war was the result of the failure of the Treaty of Mangalore. This led to another power tussle between Tipu Sultan and the British, who were trying to set foot on the Deccan. The third Anglo-Mysore war started with the attack by Tipu Sultan over Travancore, which was the sole source of pepper for the British.

Tipu Sultan had joined hands with the French, which was not agreeable to the British government. Travancore was earlier considered an ally of the Britishers; therefore, with Tipu Sultan’s attack in 1789, they geared up and planned to announce war on him.

  • The Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad also joined hands in plotting the attack with the British.
  • In 1790, Tipu Sultan was able to defeat the British.
  • Later in 1791, the then Governor-General of Bengal, Lord Cornwallis, announced an attack on Tipu Sultan.
  • Tipu Sultan eventually faced defeat in the third Anglo-Mysore war at the hands of the British army.
  • When no choice remained, Tipu Sultan had to sign the Treaty of Seringapatam to make peace in 1792, which ended the war.

Result of the Third Anglo-Mysore War

The signing of the Treaty of Seringapatam led to the release of over half of the territory of Mysore to the alliance of the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, and the British government.

  • Tipu Sultan had to surrender Malabar, Coorg, Baramahal, and Dindigul to the British government, whereas the Marathas occupied the areas surrounding Tungabhadra and its tributaries. The Nizam of Hyderabad acquired the regions from Krishna to Pennar.
  • Along with all this, Tipu Sultan also had to pay 3 crore rupees as a penalty for all the damage caused due to war.
  • He also had to surrender his two young sons as part of the contract until he settled his dues.
  • The third Anglo-Mysore war resulted in the dominance of the British over South India.

Third and Fourth Anglo Mysore Wars Notes

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

The third Mysore war was soon after succeeded by the Fourth Anglo-Mysore war in 1792. The war went on till 1799. This was the time when both Tipu Sultan and the Britishers were interested in recovering the losses that they went through in the earlier war. Tipu Sultan followed all the terms and conditions of the Treaty of Seringapatam and was able to bring back his sons.

It was in the year 1796 when the Hindu ruler of the Wodeyar Dynasty passed away, and Tipu Sultan declared himself as the Sultan. The friendly relations of Tipu Sultan with the French again gave rise to some concerns from the British.

  • The new Governor-General, Lord Wellesley, took charge in 1798. He was also disturbed by the growing relationship between the French and Tipu Sultan.
  • Lord Wellesley forcibly attempted to bring Tipu Sultan down by making him agree to the Subsidiary Alliance system in India.
  • Tipu Sultan nearly failed to adhere to the Subsidiary Alliance system of Lord Wellesley.
  • Mysore was attacked from all sides thereafter when the Marathas and Nizam of Hyderabad attacked from the North.
  • Tipu Sultan finally lost in the Battle of Seringapatam at the hands of the British in 1799 and eventually lost his life in the war.

Result of the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

After Tipu Sultan laid down his life in an attempt to save his city, his territories were further taken by the Nizam and the British. The Wodeyar Dynasty regained the main region around Seringapatam and Mysore.

  • Furthermore, the kingdom of Mysore joined hands through the Subsidiary Alliance with the British government.
  • As a result, a British resident took his place in the Mysore court.
  • Mysore could therefore maintain its princely status until 1947 and was not under the control of the British government.
  • After independence, Mysore opted to be a part of the Indian Union.
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