First Anglo-Mysore War

Table of Contents

First 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.

Anglo-Mysore wars were fought between Rulers of Mysore and Britishers in India to ensure dominance in the region.
There were four Anglo-Mysore wars that took place in the second half of 18^th Century India.
The First Anglo-Mysore war was the starting point of the conflict which took place between 1767-69.
Chikka Krishnaraja Wodeyar II was a ruler of the Wodeyar dynasty who ruled from 1734 to 1766. Hyder Ali, who was a soldier in the army of Wodeyar, became the de-facto ruler of the Mysore.
Hyder Ali was a great administrator and possessed great military tactics. Due to his leadership skills, Mysore emerged as a great military power in the region.

Political and Commercial Interests: Hyder Ali was close to the French which threatened the political interests of the Britishers. He also took French support in training his army.
- He also controlled the rich trade of the Malabar Coast which compromised the Commercial Interests of the Britishers, leading to the First Anglo-Mysore war in 1767.
Conflict over Northern Circars: After the Battle of Buxar, Nawab of Bengal under British influence signed a treaty with Nizam of Hyderabad for protecting him from Hyder Ali.
- In return, Nizam gave them the Northern Circars which was not acceptable to Hyder Ali.

Failed Alliance: Britishers persuaded Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas to fight on their side against Hyder Ali in the first Anglo-Mysore war. But this alliance did not materialize.
Skilled Diplomacy: British-led alliance of Nizam and Marathas failed due to the skilled diplomacy of Hyder Ali.
- Hyder Ali persuaded Nizam of Hyderabad on his side in return he promised to accept Nizam’s demands.
- On the other hand, he also persuaded Marathas to be neutral in the first Anglo-Maratha war.
Duration: First Anglo-Mysore lasted for a year-and-a-half without any conclusion.
Strategic Decision: Hyder Ali changed his military strategy in the middle of the first Anglo-Mysore war. He surprised Britishers by suddenly appearing at the gates of Madras.
- This led to the humiliation of the British who accepted the treaty of Madras to conclude the first Anglo-Mysore war.

First Anglo-Mysore War Treaty: First Anglo-Mysore War was concluded with the treaty of Madras in 1769.
Treaty of Madras: Both parties agreed to help each other in case of a foreign attack. The conquered territories during the first Anglo-Mysore war were restored to each other.