Second Anglo Mysore War

Important wars and battles in Indian History

Second Anglo Mysore War - 1780 to 1784 A.D.

July 1780      Hyder Ali attacked Carnatic
Oct 1780     Hyder Ali captured Arcot
Nov 1781      Hyder Ali defeated at Porto Nova
7 Dec 1782     Hyder Ali died
1784     Treaty of Mangalore 

Declaration of the Second War 

In 1769, after suffering heavy losses in the the first Anglo-Mysore war, the British sued for peace. In the treaty both the parties agreed to help each other in case of an attack from a third party. However the terms of the treaty were not fulfilled by the Madras Government. The British refused to help Hyder Ali when Mysore was attacked by the Marathas in 1771. Hyder found that the French gave more support in terms of his military demands. So in 1780 when the English wanted to attack the French at Mahe, situated on the west coast of Mysore, Hyder Ali did not permit it. Therefore the English declared war against Hyder Ali.

Hyder Ali captures Arcot

Hyder Ali arranged a joint front with the Nizam and the Marathas. In July 1780, Hyder Ali with 80,000 men and 100 guns attacked Carnatic. In October 1780 he captured Arcot, defeating an English army under Colonel Braille. In the words used by Sir Alfred Lyall, "the fortunes of the English in India had fallen to their lowest watermark". Meanwhile Sir Eyre Coote, Commander-in-chief in India, sent by Warren Hastings detached the Raja of Berar, Mahadji Sindhi and Nizam from the alliance with the Hyder Ali.

Hyder Ali dies

Undaunted, Hyder Ali boldly continued the war with the British. But in November 1781, Sir Eyre Coote defeated Hyder Ali at Porto Nova. In January 1782, English captured Trincomali, the harbour of Ceylon from Dutch. In 1982, Hyder Ali inflicted a humiliating defeat on the British troops under Colonel Braithwaite. However Hyder was not destined to fight further. On December 7, 1782, Hyder Ali died leaving the unfinished task to his son Tipu Sultan.

Hyder Ali was one of the ablest personalities in the history of India. It would be unfair to describe him as an "absolutely unscurpulous" man, who "had no religion, nor morals, and no compassion, as Dr Smith has done. Though he did not strictly follow the external observances of the religion, he had a sincere religious conscience, and Wilks has described him as the "most tolerant" of all Muhammadan princes.

Treaty of Mangalore

Like his father, Tipu Sultan, was a brave warrior and continued the war against the British. Brigadier Mathews, appointed by the Bombay Government was captured by Tipu in 1783. Then in November 1783, Colonel Fullarton captured Coimbatore. But absolute success eluded both the sides. Tired of the war, the two sides concluded the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784. According to the treaty, both the parties decided to restore each other's conquered territories and free all the prisoners. Thus the second round of struggle too proved inconclusive. Warren Hastings, however, did not like the terms of treaty, and the British did not gained anything from the war.