Maratha–Mysore War

18th century saw a steady decline of once a dominant power on the whole subcontinent – Mughal Empire. Apart from the disastrous invasion by the Afsharid ruler of Iran, Nader Shah in 1739, Mughals were successfully contested by Maratha Empire, which is largely credited for ending Mughal’s rule in India.[1] Meanwhile, British East India Company was asserting its influence in India and was engaged in a series of wars with Mysore which weakened the latter to the point that it ceased to exist as an independent kingdom by the end of the century.[2]

Mysore was a relatively small kingdom in the beginning of 1700s. However, able rulers such as Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan transformed the kingdom and westernized the army that it soon turned into a military threat both to the British and Maratha Empire.[3] Upon Haidar Ali’s death, Mysore covered 80,000 sq. miles and had a population of approximately 6 million.[4]

Starting from 1767, Kingdom of Mysore had overall had four military confrontations (1767–69; 1780–84; 1790–92; and 1799) with the British until 1799,[5] all of which were largely unsuccessful and the outcome – disastrous.

About 1761, commander in chief of the state of Mysore, Hyder Ali proclaimed himself absolute ruler of the Kingdom and started military campaigns to expand the territory of the state. In 1766, British East India Company joined forces with the local ruler of Hyderabad against Hyder Ali, but by 1769, the British were left alone in a war with Mysore Kingdom. In 1769 Hyder Ali made his way to Madras (location of the Company's government) and demanded a peace treaty.[6]

In the second war, Hyder Ali made an alliance with the Marathas and invaded Karnataka in 1780, which triggered corresponding actions form the British. The Company gained an upper hand with the arrival of supplementary troops from Calcutta, and by coincidence, the death of Hyder Ali in 1782. As a result, peace was concluded with Hyder Ali's son Tippu Sultan in 1784.

The third war started in 1790, and ended with Tippu Sultan ceding half of his dominions in 1792.

The final war was initiated by Governor-General Lord Mornington who suspected that Tippu was receiving the French aid and was preparing for yet another war. British troops invaded the Kingdom of Mysore in May 1799.

Although clashes between the Mysore ruler Hyder Ali and Marathas had taken place occasionally before 1785, the actual warfare started in February 1785.

After the Second Anglo-Mysore War, the ruler of Mysore Tipu Sultan sought to keep offensive moves by the Marathas at bay. Marathas had established a military alliance with the ruler of Hyderabad with a common purpose of recovering territories both had lost to Mysore in previous conflicts. Much of the desired territory was subject to marches, countermarches, and sieges of fortified points. The Marathas also attempted to draw the British East India Company into the pending conflict, but a neutrality policy implemented by the new governor-general, Lord Charles Cornwallis made its participation impossible.

The Maratha-Mysore War ended after the final conflict during the siege of Bahadur Benda in January 1787, and later settled for peace with the kingdom of Mysore, to which Tipu Sultan obliged with the signing of the treaty of Gajendragad in April 1787. Tipu had to pay an annual tribute of 12 lakhs per year to the Marathas, thus ending hostilities with them, which allowed him to focus on his rivalry with the British.[7][8]

Maratha-Mysore war ended in April 1787, following the finalizing of treaty of Gajendragad, as per which, Tipu Sultan of Mysore was obligated to pay 4.8 million rupees as a war cost to the Marathas, and an annual tribute of 1.2 million rupees. In addition to returning all the territory captured by Hyder Ali,[11][12] Tipu also agreed to pay 4 year's arrears of the tribute, which Mysore owed to the Marathas, through Hyder Ali.[13]

• Duff, James Grant. A history of the Mahrattas, Volume 2
• Kumar, Raj. Essays on modern India
• Sen, Sailendra Nath. Anglo-Maratha relations, 1785-96