Anglo-Mysore Wars

Hyder Ali of Mysore and his son Tipu Sultan were the rulers of south india who fiercely resisted the British through the Anglo-Mysore Wars.

First Mysore War (1767-1769)

Hyder Ali clashed with the British several times in the First Mysore War, which took place from 1767 to 1769. Finally, the British made peace with them.

Second Mysore War (1780-1784)

In 1780, Hyder Ali started fighting again. The British, who had been defeated by him many times, defeated Hyder Ali in 1781. After Hyder Ali's death, Tipu Sultan attacked the British who had planned to attack Mysore with about 5,000 soldiers. Realizing that Tipu could not be defeated by military force, the British brought the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maratha rulers to their side. In addition, they assigned many spies to Tipu's army.

Third Mysore War (1790-1792)

The growth of Mysore, which was the richest state in South India, threatened the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Peshwa of Maratha. It was in this situation that the British also started trying to subdue Tipu. In the Third Mysore War that took place in 1789, the British army clashed with Tipu's army near Srirangapatna. The Mysore army fought bravely, but when the attack from Hyderabad and the Marathas came, Tipu was defeated. As demanded by the enemy, he had to sign the 'Treaty of Srirangapatna'. Accordingly, he lost about half of the territories of Mysore. As if that were not enough, Tipu had to pay a huge amount of compensation to the British. About 3.3 crore rupees!

Fourth Mysore War (1798-1799)

Tipu immediately paid the British one crore rupees out of the huge compensation. Until the rest of the amount was paid, the British took Tipu's two sons as hostages and imprisoned them in the Vellore Fort. The ruined country and the unpayable debt forced Tipu to fight against the British again. However, his own bodyguard, Mir Sadiq, had already turned into a British spy. Unaware of this, Tipu clashed with the British army near Srirangapatna. Tipu fought bravely, but the spies changed the course of the war. Defeated again, Tipu retreated from the battlefield and hid in the Srirangapatna fort. But Mir Sadiq told the British the secret route to the fort. Tipu died a heroic death in the ensuing battle. With this battle in 1799, British rule in South India was strengthened.