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TheAnglo-Mysore wars were a series of four wars fought during the last three decades of the 18th century between theSultanate of Mysore on the one hand, and the BritishEast India Company (represented chiefly by the neighbouringMadras Presidency),Maratha Empire,Kingdom of Travancore, and theKingdom of Hyderabad on the other.Hyder Ali and his succeeding sonTipu fought the wars on four fronts: with the British attacking from the west, south and east and theNizam's forces attacking from the north.[1] Thefourth war resulted in the overthrow of the house of Hyder Ali and Tipu (the latter was killed in the fourth war, in 1799), and the dismantlement of Mysore to the benefit of the East India Company, whichtook control of much of the Indian subcontinent.
In theFirst Anglo-Mysore War (1767 – 1769), Hyder Ali enjoyed some measure of success against the British, almost capturing Madras. The British convincedNizam Mir Nizam Ali Khan to attack Ali. That was temporary, however, and the Nizam signed a new treaty with the British in February 1768. Ali had to contend with aBritish Bombay army attacking from the west and a Madras army attacking from the northeast. However, Ali's attack towards Madras resulted in the Madras government suing for peace, and the resultantTreaty of Madras.[1]
TheSecond Anglo-Mysore War (1780 – 1784) witnessed bloodier battles with fortunes fluctuating between the contesting powers. Ali defeatedWilliam Baillie at theBattle of Pollilur in September 1780, andJohn Braithwaite atKumbakonam in February 1782, both of whom were taken prisoner toSrirangapatana. This war saw the comeback ofSir Eyre Coote, the British commander who defeated Ali at theBattle of Porto Novo and Arni. Tipu continued the war following his father's death. Finally, the war ended with the signing of theTreaty of Mangalore on 11 March 1784, which restored thestatus quo ante bellum. The Treaty ofGajendraghad in April 1787 ended the conflict with the Marathas. Warren Hastings (1772-1785) was Governor-General of India during the Second Anglo-Mysore War.[1]
In theThird Anglo-Mysore War (1790 – 1792), Tipu Sultan, now an ally ofFrance, invaded the nearbyKingdom of Travancore, a British ally, in 1789. The British forces were commanded byCharles Cornwallis. The resulting war lasted three years and was a nearly defeat for Mysore. The war ended after the 1792 siege of Srirangapatana and the signing of the Treaty of Srirangapatana, according to which Tipu Sultan had to surrender some part of his kingdom to theBritish East India Company and its allies.
TheFourth Anglo-Mysore War (1798 – 1799) saw the death of Tipu Sultan and further reductions in Mysorean territory.[1] Mysore's alliance with the French was seen as a threat to the East India Company, and Mysore was attacked from all four sides. Mysore had 35,000 soldiers, whereas the British commanded 60,000 troops.Nizam Akbar Ali Khan and theMarathas launched an invasion from the north. The British won a decisive victory at thesiege of Seringapatam (1799). Tipu Sultan was killed during the defence of the city. Much of the remaining Mysorean territory was annexed by the British, the Nizam, and the Marathas. The remaining core, aroundMysore andSeringapatam, was restored to the Indian princeYuvaraja Krishnaraja Wadiyar III (later Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar III) underhis grandmother's regency. Members of theWodeyar dynasty had been in power before Ali became the de facto ruler. The Wodeyars ruled the remnantKingdom of Mysore until 1947, when it joined theDominion of India.
After the Battles ofPlassey (1757) andBuxar (1764), which established British dominion over East India, the Anglo-Mysore Wars (1767 – 1799), theAnglo–Maratha Wars (1775-1819), and finally theAnglo-Sikh Wars (1845–1849), consolidated the British claim overSouth Asia, resulting in theBritish Empire in India, though resistance among various groups such as theAfghans and theBurmese would last well into the 1880s.
The Mysorean rockets used byTipu during theBattle of Pollilur were much more advanced than any that the BritishEast India Company had previously seen, chiefly because of the use of iron tubes for holding the propellant. This enabled higher thrust and a longer range for the missile (up to 2 kilometres (1.2 mi)). After Tipu's eventual defeat in the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War and the capture of a number of Mysorean iron rockets, they were influential in British rocket development, inspiring theCongreve rocket, which was soon put into use in theNapoleonic Wars.[2]