The Third Anglo-Mysore War (1790–92)
- The Third Anglo-Mysore War began in 1790 when Tipu attacked Travancore, an ally of the English. Since it was the only source of pepper for the East India Company, the British sided with Travancore and attacked Mysore.
- In 1791, Lord Cornwallis took the leadership and at the head of a large army marched to Seringapatam while the Nizam and the Marathas supported the British. Although Tipu offered serious opposition, he was eventually defeated in 1792.
- After the war, the Treaty of Seringapatam in 1792 was signed. Under this treaty, half of the Mysorean territory was to be surrendered to the British, Nizam, and the Marathas. And Tipu was supposed to pay three crore rupees as part of war damage.
- The Third Anglo-Mysore War firmly established British supremacy in South India.
Anglo-Mysore Wars
Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan fought four wars against the British before the final surrender of the Mysore Sultanate to the British authority in 1799. These wars are known as the Anglo-Mysore Wars and are the longest military confrontations in the history of India. These wars were fought for control over the Mysorean territories between the British and the rulers of Mysore. The Marathas, the Nawab of Carnatic, and the Nizam of Hyderabad from time to time aligned with the British East India Company (EIC) to subdue the Mysore ruler. Because, the growing power of Mysore under Haider Ali worried the nearby Marathas, the Nawab of Carnatic, and the Nizam of Hyderabad, who were all concerned about Mysore’s increasing influence. However, EIC solely wanted to expand its territory, initially, they supported Martha over Mysore later they fought with Martha as well. The EIC’s intentions in Mysore and the Maratha states were mainly driven by commercial interests. Haidar and Tipu’s dominance over the spice trade along the Malabar coast raised concerns for the British, as it directly affected their trading interests in pepper and cardamom. Additionally, the strength of Mysore posed a challenge to the British East India Company’s control over the region of Madras. These above events led to the foundation of Anglo Mysore wars which lasted from 1767 to 1799 in four different time periods.
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