Mysore
It was originally a viceroyalty under Vijaynagar empire in 16th century. It preserved its autonomy since 17th century and in the 18th century, Wodiyar dynasty came to power in Mysore. It's founder was Krishna Raja Wodiyar. Two of his ministers, Nanjraj and Devraj reduced the king to a puppet and they became the de-facto ruler.
Haider Ali was a pity soldier in Mysore's army. With his capability and capacity, he rose to the position of commander-in-chief.
In 1761, he overthrew Nanjraj to establish his own authority over Mysore.
Salient features of Mysore -
- Modern Arsenal - Haider Ali took the help of French to create a modern Arsenal at Dindigul. He also introduced western methods of training.
- Risala system - He organised his army through the system of Risala, whereby there exists a clear chain of command going up to the ruler. Army was divided in many risala and each risala had fixed number of soldiers, horses and weapons and one commander directly appointed by Haider Ali himself.
- Subjugation of local warlords - He subjugated the local warrior chiefs and hereditary warlords like Deshmukhs and Poligars. By doing so he expanded his area but at the same time he came in confrontation with Hyderabad and Marathas.
- Centralised system of revenue collection - In Mysore there was a very effective centralised system of revenue collection whereby land was surveyed and classified. Revenue was collected through centrally appointed salaried officials in cash.
- Military fiscalism - The land revenue system of Haider Ali and later Tipu Sultan had been termed as military fiscalism whereby taxes were directly collected by state machinery in order to maintain a large and strong army.
- Agriculture - To expand the resource base Mysore rulers paid due emphasis on the expansion of irrigation system. They repaired the old irrigation canals and wells and created new ones.
- Trade - The also promoted agricultural manufacturing whereby sericulture was promoted, They also sent trade missions to many countries like Turkey, France, Afghanistan, Iran, etc.
Reasons of war between Mysore and British -
- Rapid territorial expansion of Mysore - Within a short span of time under Haider Ali and later under Tipu Sultan, Mysore's boundary stretched from Krishna river in north to Malabar coast in west, which brought Mysore in confrontation with Hyderabad, Marathas and British. Moreover, Mysore's expansion to Travancore was also resented.
- Francophile policy of Haider Ali and Tipu Sultan - The Francophile policy of Mysore was not liked by British who thought that French are not respecting 'Treaty of Paris' and alos started to doubt the intensions of Haider Ali.
- Mysore's control over Malabar Coast - Mysore's control over the rich trade of Malabar coast was seen as a threat to the English trade in black peppers and cardamom. In 1785, Tipu Sultan imposed a ban on export of pepper and cardamom. In 1788, he explicitly banned the trade with Britishers.
- Tipu Sultan and Haider Ali aimed to establish a centralised military state with a desire to control entire South India along with Maratha area. This intension was seen as a threat to Maratha, Nizam and British.
Anglo-Mysore War
1. 1st Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69)
- Due to territorial disputes and difference with Marathas, the 1st Anglo-Mysore war started.
- This war was joined by Nizam and also English from the side of Marathas.
- Soon, Haider Ali offered peace with Maratha and Nizam and detached them from the war.
- After this, he attacked on English possession in Madras. As such, British surrendered.
- The war ended with 'Treaty of Madras'.
- As per the treaty, the prisoners were exchanged and Haider Ali restored Madras to the British. In return Britishers promised that in future they will come to aid Mysore in case of any war.
2. 2nd Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84)
- In 1771, Marathas again attacked on Mysore but Britishers did not come to the support of Haider Ali.
- This time Haider Ali realised that Britishers are scoundrels and not to be trusted for their words.
- During American war of independence, he started to help France in India. He gave the access to Mahe port. It was sourly resented by British and they attacked Mahe, which led to the beginning of 2nd Anglo-Mysore war.
- Using his diplomatic tactics, Haider Ali kept Marathas and Nizam detached from this war but unfortunately he died in 1782.
- But the war was continued by his son Tipu Sultan who earlier in 1781 defeated British in the Battle of Pollilur.
- This war continued till 1784 but it was inconclusive and ended with 'Treaty of Mangalore (1784)'.
- As per the treaty both the parties restituted each other's area.
Tipu Sultan - He was a brave and courageous person. One of his appreciable quality was that he never bow down before the Britishers. He brought many administrative innovations during his regime. For example - Mysorian rocket, New coinage system and New calendar.
Napoleon sought an alliance with Tipu Sultan. To show his affection towards French, Tipu sultan planted a 'Tree of Liberty' at his capital Seringapatam. He also became the follower of 'Jacobin club'. He also gave donations to Sringeri Sharda Peetham.
3. 3rd Anglo-Mysore War (1790-92)
- On the question of Jallikottal, Tipu Sultan attacked Travancore. (Jallikottal belonged to Mysore but the ruler of Travancore sold it to Dutch. So, Tipu Sultan attacked Travancore)
- Soon, Britishers joined the war from the side of Travancore and they also colluded with Marathas and Nizam.
- Tipu Sultan was thoroughly defeated and as per the 'Treaty of Seringapatam', Tipu Sultan had to give half of the Mysorian territory to the English and their allies. For example - Areas like Baramahal, Dindigul and Malabar were given to Britishers and their allies.
- He also had to pay ₹3.3 Crore to British as war indemnity.
4. 4th Anglo-Mysore War (1799)
- In 1798, Lord Wellesley was appointed as the new governor general. He was an imperialist to the core.
- He charged Tipu Sultan for plotting against British and proposed Tipu Sultan to accept 'Subsidiary Alliance'.
- Tipu replied by saying - "It is better to die like a soldier than to like a miserable dependent on infidels."
- Soon, Wellesley attacked on his capital Seringapatam on April 17, 1799.
- Tipu died while defending his capital on May 04, 1799.
- After his death, subsidiary alliance was imposed on Mysore and old Wodeyar ruler was appointed on the throne by the British.
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Note - This is my Vision IAS Notes (Vision IAS Class Notes) and Ashutosh Pandey Sir's Public Administration Class notes. I've also added some of the information on my own.
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