The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict between the
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a geopolitical realm in southern India founded in around 1399 in the vicinity of the modern-day city of Mysore and prevailed until 1950. The territorial boundaries and the form of government transmuted substantially ...
and the British
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...
from 1780 to 1784. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the conflict between Britain against the French and Dutch in the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
influenced Anglo-Mysorean hostilities in India. The great majority of soldiers on the company side were raised, trained, paid and commanded by the company, not the British government. However, the company's operations were also bolstered by Crown troops sent from Great Britain, and by troops from
Hanover
Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...
, which was also ruled by Great Britain's King
George III
George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
.
Following the British seizure of the French port of
Mahé in 1779, Mysorean ruler
Hyder Ali opened hostilities against the British in 1780, with significant success in early campaigns. As the war progressed, the British recovered some territorial losses. Both France and Britain sent troops and naval squadrons from Europe to assist in the war effort, which widened later in 1780 when Britain declared war on the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. In 1783 news of a preliminary peace between France and Great Britain reached India, resulting in the withdrawal of French support from the Mysorean war effort. The British consequently also sought to end the conflict, and the British government ordered the Company to secure peace with Mysore. This resulted in the 1784
Treaty of Mangalore
The Treaty of Mangalore was signed between Tipu Sultan and the British East India Company on 11 March 1784. It was signed in Mangaluru and brought an end to the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
Background
Hyder Ali became dalwai Dalavayi of Mysore b ...
, restoring the
status quo ante bellum
The term is a Latin phrase meaning 'the situation as it existed before the war'.
The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no ...
under terms that company officials, such as
Warren Hastings
Warren Hastings (6 December 1732 – 22 August 1818) was a British colonial administrator, who served as the first governor of the Presidency of Fort William (Bengal), the head of the Supreme Council of Bengal, and so the first governor-gener ...
, found extremely unfavourable.
Background
Hyder Ali ruled Mysore (though he did not have the title of king). Stung by what he considered a British breach of faith during an earlier war against the
Maratha
The Marathi people (; Marathi: , ''Marāṭhī lōk'') or Marathis (Marathi: मराठी, ''Marāṭhī'') are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are native to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-A ...
s, Hyder Ali committed himself to a French alliance to seek revenge against the British. Upon the French declaration of
war against Britain in 1778, aided by the popularity of ambassador
Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin (April 17, 1790) was an American polymath: a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher and Political philosophy, political philosopher.#britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the m ...
, the British East India Company resolved to drive the French out of India by taking the few enclaves of French possessions left on the subcontinent. The company began by
capturing Pondicherry and other French outposts in 1778. They then captured the French-controlled port at
Mahé on the
Malabar Coast
The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...
in 1779. Mahé was of great strategic importance to Hyder, who received French-supplied arms and munitions through the port, and Hyder had not only told the British that it was under his protection, he had also provided troops for its defence. Hyder set about forming a confederacy against the British, which, in addition to the French, included the Marathas and the
Nizam of Hyderabad
Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...
.
War

In July 1780, Hyder Ali invaded the
Carnatic with an army of 80,000. He descended through the passes of the
Eastern Ghats
The Eastern Ghats is a mountain range that stretches along the East Coast of India, eastern coast of the Indian peninsula. Covering an area of , it traverses the states and union territories of India, states of Odisha, Telangana, Andhra Prade ...
, burning villages as he went, before laying siege to British forts in northern
Arcot. The British responded by sending a force of 5,000 to lift the sieges. From his camp at Arcot, Hyder Ali sent part of his army under the command of his eldest son,
Tipu Sultan
Tipu Sultan (, , ''Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu''; 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799) commonly referred to as Sher-e-Mysore or "Tiger of Mysore", was a ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery ...
, to intercept a British force from
Guntur
Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...
, under the command of Colonel
William Baillie, which had been sent to reinforce Colonel
Hector Munro's army to the north at Madras. On the morning of 10 September 1780, Baillie's force came under heavy fire from Tipu's guns near
Pollilur. Baillie formed his force into a long square formation and began to move slowly forward. However, Hyder Ali's cavalry broke through the formation's front, inflicting many casualties and forcing Baillie to surrender. Out of the British force of 3,820 men, 336 were killed. The defeat was considered to be the East India Company's most crushing loss in India up to that time. Munro reacted to the defeat by retreating to Madras, abandoning his baggage and dumping his cannons in the water tank at
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...
, a small town some south of Madras. Naravane states in fact that it was a massacre with only 50 officers and 200 men taken prisoner, including Baille.
Instead of following up the victory and pressing on for a decisive victory at Madras, Hyder Ali renewed the siege at Arcot, which he captured on 3 November. This decision gave the British time to shore up their defences in the south, and to despatch reinforcements under the command of Sir
Eyre Coote to Madras.

Coote, though repulsed at
Chidambaram, defeated Hyder Ali in succession in the battles of
Porto Novo and
Sholinghur, while Tipu was forced to raise the siege of
Wandiwash, and besieged
Vellore
Vellore ( ), also spelled Velur, is a sprawling city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River and surrounded by the Javadi Hills in the northeastern ...
instead. The arrival of Lord
Macartney as governor of Madras in the summer of 1781 included news of
war with the
Dutch Republic
The United Provinces of the Netherlands, commonly referred to in historiography as the Dutch Republic, was a confederation that existed from 1579 until the Batavian Revolution in 1795. It was a predecessor state of the present-day Netherlands ...
. Macartney ordered the seizure of Dutch outposts in India, and the British captured the main Dutch outpost at
Negapatam after
three weeks of siege in November 1781 against defenses that included 2,000 of Hyder Ali's men. This forced Hyder Ali to realize that he could never completely defeat a power that had command of the sea, since British naval support contributed to the victory.
Tipu also defeated Colonel
Braithwaite at Annagudi near
Tanjore
Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore,#Pletcher, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of South Indian c ...
on 18 February 1782.
[ This army consisted of 100 Europeans, 300 cavalry, 1400 sepoys and 10 field pieces. Tipu seized all the guns and took the entire detachment as prisoners. In December 1781, Tipu seized Chittur from British hands. These operations gave Tipu valuable military experience. Both Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan gained alliances with Ali Raja Bibi Junumabe II and the Mappila Muslim community and later met with Muslim Malay from ]Malacca
Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...
under Dutch service.
During the summer of 1782, company officials in Bombay sent additional troops to Tellicherry, from whence they began operations against Mysorean holdings in the Malabar. Hyder Ali sent Tipu and a strong force to counter this threat, and the latter had pinned this force at Panianee when he learned of Hyder Ali's sudden death from cancer. Tipu's precipitate departure from the scene provided some relief to the British force, but Bombay officials had sent further reinforcements under General Richard Matthews to the Malabar in late December to relieve it before they learned of Hyder Ali's death. When they received this news, they immediately ordered Matthews to cross the Western Ghats and take Bednore. He felt compelled to do so despite a lack of sound military footing for the effort. He entered Bednore, which surrendered after Matthews drove Mysorean forces from the Ghats. However, Matthews had so overextended his supply lines that he was soon thereafter besieged in Bednore by Tipu, and forced to capitulate. Matthews and seventeen other officers were taken to Seringapatam, and from there to the remote hilltop prison of Gopal Drooge ( Kabbaldurga) where they were seemingly forced to imbibe a lethal poison.
On the east coast, an army led by General James Stuart marched from Madras to resupply besieged fortifications and to dispute Cuddalore, where French forces had arrived and joined with those of Mysore. Stuart besieged Cuddalore even though the forces were nearly equal in size. The French fleet of the Baillie de Suffren drove away the British fleet, and landed marines to assist in Cuddalore's defence. However, when word arrived of a preliminary peace between France and Britain, the siege was ended. General Stuart, who was engaged in disputes with Lord Macartney, was eventually recalled and sent back to England.
The British captured Mangalore in March 1783, but Tipu brought his main army, and after recapturing Bednore, besieged and eventually captured Mangalore. At the same time, troops from Stuart's army were joined with those of Colonel William Fullarton in the Tanjore region, where he captured the fortress at Palghautcherry in November, and then entered Coimbatore
Coimbatore (Tamil: kōyamputtūr, ), also known as Kovai (), is one of the major Metropolitan cities of India, metropolitan cities in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Noyy ...
against little resistance.
File:William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam.JPG, William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam
File:Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam.JPG, Plaque of the William Baillie Memorial, Seringapatam
File:Battle of Porto Novo, 1781.JPG, Memorial for the Battle of Porto Novo, 1781 at Porto Novo
Treaty of Mangalore
During this time, company officials received orders from company headquarters in London to bring an end to the war, and entered negotiations with Tipu Sultan. Pursuant to a preliminary cease fire, Colonel Fullarton was ordered to abandon all of his recent conquests. However, due to allegations that Tipu violated terms of the cease fire at Mangalore, Fullarton remained at Palghautcherry. On 30 January the garrison of Mangalore surrendered to Tipu Sultan.
The war was ended on 11 March 1784 with the signing of the Treaty of Mangalore
The Treaty of Mangalore was signed between Tipu Sultan and the British East India Company on 11 March 1784. It was signed in Mangaluru and brought an end to the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
Background
Hyder Ali became dalwai Dalavayi of Mysore b ...
,[ in which both sides agreed to restore the others' lands to the '']status quo ante bellum
The term is a Latin phrase meaning 'the situation as it existed before the war'.
The term was originally used in treaties to refer to the withdrawal of enemy troops and the restoration of prewar leadership. When used as such, it means that no ...
''. The treaty is an important document in the history of India, because it was the last occasion when an Indian power dictated terms to the company.
Consequences
It was the second of four Anglo-Mysore Wars, which ultimately ended with British control over most of southern India. Pursuant to the terms of the Treaty of Mangalore, the British did not participate in the conflict between Mysore and its neighbours, the Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...
and the Nizam of Hyderabad
Nizam of Hyderabad was the title of the ruler of Hyderabad State ( part of the Indian state of Telangana, and the Kalyana-Karnataka region of Karnataka). ''Nizam'' is a shortened form of (; ), and was the title bestowed upon Asaf Jah I wh ...
, that began in 1785. In Parliament
In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
, the Pitt administration passed Pitt's India Act that gave the government control of the East India Company in political matters.
Battle honour
A battle honour
A battle honour is an award of a right by a government or sovereign to a military unit to emblazon the name of a battle or Military operation, operation on its flags ("colours"), uniforms or other accessories where ornamentation is possible.
In ...
, ''Carnatic'' was awarded for two periods: 1780–1784, during the Second Anglo-Mysore War, when Hyder Ali threatened Madras
Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...
; and 1790–1792, during the Third Anglo-Mysore War
The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–1792) was a conflict in South India between the Kingdom of Mysore and the British East India Company, the Travancore, Kingdom of Travancore, the Maratha Empire, Maratha Confederacy, and the Nizam of Hyderabad ...
, up to the siege of Mysore
Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...
. Originally awarded to three battalions of Bengal Native Infantry in 1829, it lapsed after their disbandment due to participation in the 1857 uprising. In 1889, it was awarded to twenty units of the Madras Presidency Army. The battle honour is considered repugnant, an official term of opprobrium used by the Government of India.
See also
* Franco-Indian alliances
* Mysorean invasion of Malabar
Notes
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Anglo-Mysore War 02
1780 in India
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18th century in India
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History of Karnataka
History of Kerala
History of Mangalore
Mysorean invasion of Malabar
Wars involving British India
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