By Himanshu Khatri

East India Company and South India

Topic- Reason for rivalry between the EIC and Mysore

1. EIC and Mysore fought 1st Mysore War (1766-69), 2nd Mysore War (1780-84), 3rd Mysore War
(1790-92) & 4th Mysore War (1798-99)
2. Rivalry is there when both parties are vying for the same things and there is little scope for
mutual existence.
3. EIC & Mysore, both wanted to dominate the south especially the trade of the south. Thus like
the British, the Mysore was also a Mercantilist State. The British feared Mysore with respect to
their position in Madras and Carnatic and its alliance with the French.
4. Mysore’s rise as a political power threatened EIC. Under Hyder Ali (1761-82) & Tipu Sultan
(1782-99), Mysore had engaged in territorial expansion controlling territory from River Krishna
to the Malabar coast. This also made Mysore an enemy of Marathas, Hyderabad and
Travancore. Marathas and Hyderabad both were afraid of Mysore-France friendship. They
both were also allied to the EIC. Hyderabad had come under EIC protection in 1766 in return
for Northern Circars to the EIC while Treaty of Salbai 1782 ended the 1st Maratha War and
brought EIC and Marathas into an alliance. Hyderabad in 1798 was rst to enter into a treaty

fi
of subordinate alliance with the EIC.

5. In 1766, Haider Ali invaded Travancore and annexed Malabar & Calicut thus expanding its
Territory signi cantly.
fi
By Himanshu Khatri
 By Himanshu Khatri

6. Economic Conflicts: Mysore’s control of rich trade of Malabar coast was a threat to EIC trade
in pepper and cardamom. E.g. in second half of 1780s, Tipu put trade embargo on export of
pepper, cardamom & sandalwood from ports under Mysore Kingdom and then barred dealings
with english traders which hurt interests of english private traders.
7. Geopolitical Conflicts: most important reason was the geopolitical ambitions of Mysore.
1. Tipu was building a centralised state with modern military and navy with assistance of the
French.
2. He revamped the revenue collection system to raise more money to fund the
establishment of modern military.
3. He was engaging in external trade with rest of the world like the EIC and thus was a
mercantilist state.
4. Both EIC and Mysore wanted to dominate whole of south.
8. Thus, Mysore was so ambitious that the policy of indirect rule like established in Bengal and
Awadh could not have worked. Thus Governor Generals like Cornwallis (1786-93) and
Wellesley (1798-1805) believed in military solution to the threat of Mysore.

om
l.c
ai
gm
6@
00
tr2
nd
na
ra
fo
y
nl
O

By Himanshu Khatri
 By Himanshu Khatri

Topic: The 4 Mysore wars

1. EIC and Mysore fought 1st Mysore War (1766-69), 2nd Mysore War (1780-84), 3rd Mysore War
(1790-92) & 4th Mysore War (1798-99)
2. 1st Mysore War (1766-69):
1. Marathas and Hyderabad fought on side of the EIC as they were afraid of territorial
ambitions of Mysore and France-Mysore alliance. In 1766, Haider Ali had annexed Malabar
& Calicut from Travancore. Nizam Ali Khan gave Northern Circars to EIC in return for
protection against Indian neighbours (Marathas & Mysore).
2. In 1768, EIC and Hyderabad signed a treaty by which Hyderabad agreed to Diwani of
Mysore to EIC once Mysore is defeated.
3. Haider Ali crushed the EIC and both sides returned each others territories. EIC & Mysore
signed a treaty to protect each other i.e. a military alliance.
3. 2nd Mysore War (1780-84)
1. Marathas and Hyderabad fought on side of Mysore. This was because of following
reasons
1. EIC and Marathas were engaged in 1st Maratha War (1775-82). Once this war ended
with Treaty of Salbai 1782, the Marathas switched sides.
2. Hyderabad was unhappy with EIC because the latter had captured Guntur and
replaced Nawab of Karnatak with its own puppet.
3. Mysore was unhappy with EIC because of capture of Guntur by EIC and because EIC
did not honour the treaty signed after the 1st Mysore War as EIC did not come to aid of
om

Mysore when Marathas attacked in 1771.

l.c

2. EIC made peace with Marathas via Treaty of Salbai 1782 and with Hyderabad by returning
ai
gm

Guntur. Haider Ali died in 1782 of cancer, and Tipu came to power.
6@
00

3. The result of this war was same as the 1st Mysore War i.e. no major change and both
tr2
nd

sides returned each others captured territory.

na
ra

4. 3rd Mysore War (1790-92)

fo

1. Marathas and Hyderabad fought alongside British since they were its allies.
y
nl
O

2. The war began because

1. Mysore had attacked Travancore which was an ally of the EIC.
2. Mysore’s control of rich trade of Malabar coast was a threat to EIC trade in pepper and
cardamom. E.g. in second half of 1780s, Tipu put trade embargo on export of pepper,
cardamom & sandalwood from ports under Mysore Kingdom and then barred dealings
with english traders which hurt interests of english private traders.
3. Tipu lost huge amount of territory (Dindugul, Baramahal, Malabar).

By Himanshu Khatri
 By Himanshu Khatri

5. 4th Mysore War (1798-99): Tipu entered into negotiations with the French government which
made British uneasy. Also, Britain was already at war with France. Napoleon had attacked
Egypt in 1798 with an intent to cut off British trade with India. Lord Wellesley (1798-1805)
om

believed in empire building and thus his personality also played a role. In this war, Tipu died
l.c
ai
gm

defending his capital Srirangapatnam.Mysore lost a huge amount of territory (Wynad, Canara,
6@

Sunda, Coimbatore). The old Wodeyar dynasty was brought back to power and Subordinate
00
tr2

Alliance was signed with Mysore in 1799. The last threat to the British in the south thus came
nd

to an end.
na
ra
fo
y
nl
O

By Himanshu Khatri
 By Himanshu Khatri

Travancore:
1. 1800: British resident accepted by Travancore after death of Rama Varma (1758-98)
2. 1805- Subordinate alliance signed after EIC helped put down a revolt by Nair Troops.
3. 1809- Prime Minister Velu Thampi revolted against EIC with support of soldiers and peasants
due to British interference in internal affairs. The revolt was crushed by EIC.

Carnatic:
EIC enjoyed special position since 2nd Carnatic War (1746-54) due to their alliance with
Muhammad Ali (1752-95). After death of Muhammad Ali in 1795, the EIC under Lord Wellesley
(1798-1805) annexed Carnatic in 1801.

om
l.c
ai
gm
6@
00
tr2
nd
na
ra
fo
y
nl
O

By Himanshu Khatri