Second Anglo-Mysore War

Second Anglo-Mysore War was a major conflict in South India between the forces of Mysore under Hyder Ali and later Tipu Sultan and the Company backed by British forces, with intermittent involvement from the Maratha Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad. The war took place during the wider geopolitical turmoil of the American Revolutionary War and the Anglo-French War, influencing Indian alliances and naval operations in the Indian Ocean. The conflict ended indecisively with the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, which restored boundaries and prisoners but had lasting consequences for regional power balances.

Background

In the 1770s, the expansionist policies of Hyder Ali in the Carnatic and along the Malabar Coast alarmed the Company and neighboring polities including the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maratha Empire. Tensions were exacerbated by previous engagements such as the First Anglo-Mysore War and the shifting alliances after the Seven Years' War and the War of American Independence. Trade competition in the Bay of Bengal and the intervention of French agents seeking influence in Mysore linked the conflict to global rivalries involving Louis XVI and Charles III of Spain indirectly through allied policies. The Company’s governors and commanders, including Lord Cornwallis and Robert Clive, had differing views on containment versus accommodation of Mysore, while local rulers like Nawab of the Carnatic and Tipu Sultan navigated dynastic and diplomatic pressures.

Course of the War

Hostilities began in 1780 after a series of provocations and territorial disputes. Mysore achieved early success with the decisive victory at the Pollilur that humiliated Company forces and compromised the position of commanders like Sir Hector Munro. The war featured coordinated land campaigns across the Deccan Plateau, sieges of key forts such as Palakkad Fort and Cape Comorin operations, and naval contests in the Laccadive Sea and the Malabar Coast where the French Navy and Royal Navy projected power. Command exchanges saw Hyder Ali die in 1782 and Tipu Sultan assume command, prolonging resistance against sieges and counteroffensives led by Sir Eyre Coote and other British commanders. The course of the war oscillated between Mysore’s offensive raids into Carnatic provinces and British efforts to secure supply lines and coastal enclaves like Madras and Arcot.

Major Battles and Campaigns

Several notable engagements shaped the conflict. The Pollilur stands out as a catastrophic defeat for the Company; the contested Siege of Arcot and actions near Cuddalore involved combined land and naval elements. Campaigns in the Kerala region and on the Malabar Coast disrupted Company ally revenues and drew in local rulers such as the Zamorin of Calicut and Raja of Travancore. The relief operations conducted by Sir Eyre Coote reversed Mysorean gains in the Carnatic during 1781–1782, while sieges at Shahpura and maneuver warfare across the Deccan showed the operational range of Mysore’s cavalry and elephant corps. Naval skirmishes near Negapatam and around Ceylon brought in the French Navy and British Royal Navy assets, influencing supply and communication for both sides.

Diplomacy and Alliances

Diplomacy was crucial: Mysore sought and received material and diplomatic support from France, which saw an opportunity to weaken the East India Company amid the ongoing war in Europe. The Maratha Empire and the Nizam of Hyderabad oscillated between confrontational and conciliatory stances, pursuing their territorial interests while avoiding total entanglement; figures like the Peshwa and the Nizam negotiated with both Mysore and the Company. British diplomatic efforts involved governors such as Lord Macartney and parliamentary oversight in Westminster to coordinate imperial strategy. The eventual armistice and the negotiation conducted at Mangalore culminated in the Treaty of Mangalore, which exchanged prisoners and restored prewar frontiers after mediation involving envoys from Hyder Ali’s court and Company representatives.

Consequences and Aftermath

The treaty left the territorial map largely unchanged, but the war had significant political and military consequences. The survival of Tipu Sultan as ruler entrenched Mysore as a resilient challenger to Company expansion, setting the stage for the later Third Anglo-Mysore War and Fourth Anglo-Mysore War. British military reforms and administrative adjustments in Madras Presidency followed lessons from defeats and the role of professional commanders like Sir Eyre Coote informed later doctrine. The conflict affected maritime commerce in the Indian Ocean and reinforced Franco-British rivalry in India, influencing subsequent diplomatic calculations by the Maratha Empire, the Nizam, and regional polities such as the Wodeyars. The war also contributed to parliamentary debates in London over Company oversight and imperial defense that would shape British policy in India in the late 18th century.

Category:Wars involving the Kingdom of Mysore Category:Wars involving the British East India Company Category:Wars of Indian independence