Fourth Anglo-Mysore War

Table of Contents

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War-Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 1: Indian History- Modern Indian history from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant events, personalities, issues.

The third Anglo-Mysore war concluded with the treaty of Seringapatam but failed to bring peace between Tipu and the English.
Tipu recovered his losses and fulfilled all the terms of the Treaty of Seringapatam. He also got his sons released.

Rejection of Subsidiary Alliance: Tipu Sultan rejected the offer of a subsidiary alliance of Lord Wellesley, the Governor-General of EIC.
French Connection: Tipu Sultan aligned with French forces, especially in terms of the military alliance. He even declared himself the Citizen and planted a tree.
- This alerted the British who saw the French as a threat to their dominance in the world.
Allegation of Betrayal: British accused Tipu of sending emissaries to Arabia, Afghanistan and to the Isle of France (Mauritius) and Versailles to gather support against the British in the war.
- Tipu tried to defend his position against above in front of Wellesley but he was seeking an excuse to attack Mysore.
- This led to the beginning of the fourth Anglo-Mysore War.

Beginning of the War: the fourth Anglo-Mysore was started on April 17, 1799 when Mysore was attacked by the British forces.
Alliance: The British forces under Wellesley secured the alliance of Marathas and Nizam of Hyderabad against Tipu in the fourth Anglo-Mysore war.
Defeat of Tipu Sultan: Tipu’s army was outnumbered against British-led alliance forces by 4:1. This led to his defeat in the Battle of Seringapatam in 1799.
Death of Tipu Sultan: Tipu died in the Battle while defending his capital city of Seringapatam in 1799.

Subsidiary Alliance with Mysore: The core area around Seringapatam and Mysore was restored to a minor Krishnaraja III of the Wodeyar dynasty who was made to sign a subsidiary alliance with the British.
Spoils of War: After Tipu’s Defeat, areas of Tipu’s Kingdom were shared with Marathas and Nizam of Hyderabad.
- The British took possession of Kanara, Wayanad, Coimbatore, Dwaraporam and Seringapatam.