First Anglo-Mysore War
First Anglo-Mysore War | |||||||
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Part of the Anglo-Mysore Wars | |||||||
A map of the war theatre | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Nizam of Hyderabad (defected in 1768)
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Peshwa Faction of the Maratha Empire Nawab of the Carnatic | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767–1769) was a conflict in
Background
The eighteenth century was a period of great turmoil in Indian subcontinent. Although the century opened with much of the subcontinent under the control of the
Nominally ruled by the
Causes of war
The British East India Company, seeking an overland connection between its holdings at
At the same time, the nizam was involved in an alliance with the Marathas. Both he and the Marathas' ruling
Conflict involving Madras authorities, Muhammed Jinnah and Tipu Sultan, was also simmering. Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, allied to the British, whose territory his surrounded, was upset that Hyder was harboring opponents of his, including his older brother Mahfuhz Khan, and Raja Saheb, the son of Chanda Saheb, a previous contender for the throne of the Carnatic. Hyder was annoyed that the British had established a fortified outpost at Vellore, and that the company had several times rebuffed his offers of alliance. An offer he made in late 1766 was rejected because the local company council viewed it as incompatible with the treaty signed with the nizam. The First Anglo-Mysore War saw Hyder Ali gain some measures of success against the British, almost capturing Madras.[10]
Course of the war
The war began in January 1767, when the Marathas, possibly anticipating movements by the Nizam, invaded northern Mysore. They reached as far south as the
In May, Smith discovered that Hyder and The Nizam were negotiating an alliance, he consequently withdrew most of his troops to the Carnatic frontier.[12] The deal struck between the two powers to join against the British. The alliance accord stated that Hyder Ali was to pay Rs. 18 lakhs to the Nizam for him to be able to pay off the Marathas who in turn would end their invasion of the southern regions whereas Nizam was to consider Hyder's son Tipu Sultan as Nawab of the Carnatic subsequent to the claim of Carnatic territory.
This diplomatic maneuvering resulted in an attack against a company outpost at Changama by the combined Mysore and Hyderabad army under Hyder's command.
In early 1768, company authorities in Bombay organised an expedition to Mysore's Malabar coast territories. Hyder had established a small fleet, based primarily in the port of Mangalore, in the mid-1760s. This fleet, which the British reported as numbering about ten ships, deserted en masse, apparently because the captains were unhappy with Lutf Ali Beg, a Mysorean cavalry officer, as fleet commander.[22] Owing to a British deception, Lutf Ali Beg also withdrew much of the Mangalore garrison to move on what he perceived to be the British target, Onore. The British consequently occupied Mangalore against minimal opposition in February.[23] This activity, combined with the loss of the nizam as an ally, prompted Hyder to withdraw from the Carnatic, and move with speed to the Malabar. Dispatching his son Tipu with an advance force, Haider followed, and eventually retook Mangalore and the other ports held by the over-extended British forces.[23][24] He also levied additional taxes as punishment against rebellious Nair districts that had supported the British.[24]
During Haider's absence from the Carnatic, the British recovered many places that Hyder had taken and only weakly garrisoned, and advanced as far south as Dindigul.[25] They also convinced the Marathas to enter the conflict, and a large force of theirs, under the command of Morari Rao, joined with Colonel Smith at Ooscota in early August 1768.[26] This army then began preparations to besiege Bangalore, but Hyder returned to Bangalore from the Malabar on 9 August, in time to harass the allies before the siege could begin.[27] On 22 August Hyder attacked the Maratha camp at Ooscota, but was repulsed with heavy losses.[28] Hyder was then foiled in an attempt to prevent the arrival of a second British column at the allied camp; the strength of these combined forces convinced him to retreat from Bangalore toward Gurramkonda, where he was reinforced by his brother in law.[29] He also attempted diplomatic measures to prevent a siege of Bangalore, offering to pay ten lakhs rupees and grant other land concessions in exchange for peace. The British countered with an aggressive list of demands that included payments of tribute to the nizam and larger land concessions to the British East India Company. Hyder specifically refused to deal with Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah, whose lands were where much of the fighting had taken place, and a man Hyder intensely disliked. The negotiations failed to reach common ground.[29]
On 3 October, Hyder, while moving his army from Guuramkonda back toward Bangalore, surprised a small garrison of Muhammed Ali Khan Wallajah's men at a rock fort called Mulabagilu, near Hosakote. British reinforcements were sent, and Colonel Wood was able to recover the lower fort but not the upper. The next day he went out with a few companies of men to investigate movements that might have been cover for enemy reinforcements. This small force, numbering four companies,
Hyder then raised additional forces in Mysore and went on the offensive. In November 1768 he split his army into two, and crossed the ghats into the Carnatic, regaining control of many minor posts held by the British. En route to Erode Hyder overwhelmed one contingent of British, who were sent as prisoners to Seringapatam when it was established that one of its officers was fighting in violation of a parole agreement. After rapidly establishing control over much of the southern Carnatic, his march turned toward Madras.[35] This prompted the British to send an envoy to discuss peace; because of Hyder's insistence that the nawab of the Carnatic be excluded from the negotiations, they went nowhere. Hyder then surprised company authorities by taking a picked force of 6,000 cavalry and a small number of infantry, and made a three-day forced march of 130 miles (210 km) to the gates of Madras.[36]
This show of force compelled the company to negotiate further, since Madras had been left nearly defenceless by military movements made to counter those of Hyder's main force.[37] Hyder, who was seeking diplomatic leverage against the Marathas, wanted an alliance of mutual defence and offence.[38] The company refused to accede to an offensive military treaty; the Treaty of Madras signed on 29 March 1769 had terms that each would support the other if attacked.[39][40]
Battles
- Battle of Chengam(or Chengama, 3 September 1767)
- Battle of Tiruvannamalai (25 September 1767)
- Siege of Ambur (November–December 1767)
- Battle of Ooscota (night of 22/23 August 1768)
- Battle of Mulwagul (4 October 1768)
- Battle of Baugloor (22–23 November 1768)
Consequences
Notes
- ^ https://www.sjctni.edu/Department/hs/eLecture/Anglo%20Mysore%20Wars.ppt [bare URL]
- ^ Bowring (1899), pp. 19–23.
- ^ Bowring (1899), p. 33.
- ^ Duff (1878), pp. 607–608.
- ^ Duff (1878), p. 651.
- ^ Duff (1878), p. 652.
- ^ a b Regani (1988), p. 130.
- ^ a b Regani (1988), p. 131.
- ^ Regani (1988), pp. 133–134.
- ^ Regani (1988), p. 129.
- ^ Duff (1878), p. 653.
- ^ a b Wilks (1869), p. 306.
- ^ a b c Bowring (1899), p. 49.
- ^ a b Wilks (1869), p. 312.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 311.
- ^ Bowring (1899), p. 50.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 322.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 323.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 324.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 326.
- ^ Wilks (1869), pp. 328–329.
- ^ Sen (1993), pp. 147–148.
- ^ a b Wilks (1869), p. 331.
- ^ a b Bowring (1899), p. 51.
- ^ Bowring (1899), p. 52.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 340.
- ^ Wilks (1869), pp. 341–342.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 342.
- ^ a b Bowring (1899), p. 53.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 346.
- ^ a b Wilks (1869), p. 347.
- ^ Wilks (1869), p. 348.
- ^ Bowring (1899), p. 54.
- ^ Bowring (1899), p. 55.
- ^ a b Bowring (1899), p. 56.
- ^ Bowring (1899), p. 57.
- ^ Wilks (1869), pp. 367–369.
- ^ Duff (1878), p. 668.
- ^ Bowring (1899), p. 58.
- ISBN 978-81-313-0034-3.
- ^ Bowring (1899), pp. 59–82.
- ^ Bowring (1899), pp. 80–84.
References
- OCLC 11827326.
- Brittlebank, Kate (1999). Tipu Sultan's Search for Legitimacy. Delhi: Oxford University Press. OCLC 246448596.
- Chitnis, Krishnaji Nageshrao (2000). The Nawabs of Savanur. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors. OCLC 231937582.
- D'Souza, A. L. P. (1983). History of the Catholic Community of South Kanara. Mangalore: Desco Publishers. OCLC 11536326.
- OCLC 23116888.
- Lethbridge, Roger (1893). The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled or Decorated, of the Indian Empire. London and New York: Macmillan. OCLC 3104377.
- OCLC 231988745.
- Rao Punganuri, Ram Chandra (1849). OCLC 123942796. Rao Punganuri was, according to Brown, in the employ of both Hyder and Tipu.
- Regani, Sarojini (1988) [1963]. Nizam–British Relations, 1724–1857. New Delhi: Concept Publishing. OCLC 221315464.
- Sen, Surendra Nath (1993). Studies in Indian History: Historical Records at Goa. New Delhi: Asian Educational Services. OCLC 257994044.
- Subramanian, K. R. (1928). The Maratha Rajas of Tanjore. Mylapore, Madras: self-published. OCLC 249773661.
- Tour, Maistre de la; Mohammed, Gholam (1855). The History of Hyder Shah, Alias Hyder Ali Khan Bahadur. London: W. Thacker. OCLC 65664006. Biography of Hyder and memoir by one of his French officers; coauthor Gholam Mohammed was Tipu Sultan's son.
- OCLC 460735564.
- Journal of the United Service Institution of India, Volume 32. New Delhi: United Service Institution of India. 1903. OCLC 1770956.