Regents and Princes - 3
This is the ninth part of the series. Click here for Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8.
Hyder Ali, as the Sarvadhikari of the Mysore kingdom, had succeeded in expanding it to its largest extent yet. When he died of a cancer ailment in 1782, his son Tipu Sultan took over the position, continuing as the de facto ruler of Mysore, while Chamaraja IX Wodeyar still maintained the nominal role of kingship.
Hyder Ali in his quest for expansion had made enemies on all sides. He had successfully staved off the onslaught of attacks by the Marathas, but they had regrouped under the new Peshwa Madhavrao I, and were on a mission to expand themselves. The Zamorin of Calicut was upset as Hyder had weaned off the kingdom of Cochi from Calicut control. Hyder had entered into an alliance with the French, this incurring the enemity of the British, whose star was on the rise in India. Tipu was surrounded by enemies.
A master of military tactics, Tipu handled the situation excellently. Reports from the time are written admiringly of his exploits; the speed with which he moved men and arms and himself confounded enemies and he seemed to be everywhere at once. Hyder had died in the middle of the Second Anglo-Mysore War and the war ended with the Treaty of Mangalore in which the East India Company and Mysore returned to the state of affairs before the war. Between, 1785 and 1787, Tipu fought the Marathas conducting successful seiges, but this too ended badly with Mysore having to return the lands it had taken from the Marathas, in addition to paying a hefty tribute.
In 1790, war erupted again with the British. But this time, the British were in an alliance with virtually all of Mysore's enemies; the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Travancore Kingdom and the Coorg Kingdom. This time, fortune did not favour Tipu and at the Treaty of Srirangapatna, signed on 17 March, 1792, Tipu gave away almost half of the Mysore kingdom; part to the Marathas, part to the Nizam and part to the British. He also had to pay a tribute of three hundred and thirty lac rupees, besides leaving two of his three sons as hostages with the British.
In 1796, Chamaraja IX died after suffering from smallpox. He left behind a two-year old son. But Tipu, took the crown for himself establishing the state of Khudadad. Chamaraja's adopted mother and wife now plotted to regain the kingdom from Tipu. In 1798, the British surrounded Srirangapatna and attcked. In the battle known as the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Tipu was killed in action. The British, at the request of the Rani Lakshmi Ammanni Devi, Chamaraja's adoptive mother, placed his son, Krishnaraja, now five years old, on the throne.
Tipu remains a controversial figure today, much maligned as a despot and religious fundamentalist, and much honoured for his prowess against the colonial power of the British. Both points of view are partly true, and it is also true that another ruler of Mysore, albeit not from the Wodeyar family, could not be succeeded by his son.
Click here for Part 10.
Hyder Ali, as the Sarvadhikari of the Mysore kingdom, had succeeded in expanding it to its largest extent yet. When he died of a cancer ailment in 1782, his son Tipu Sultan took over the position, continuing as the de facto ruler of Mysore, while Chamaraja IX Wodeyar still maintained the nominal role of kingship.
Hyder Ali in his quest for expansion had made enemies on all sides. He had successfully staved off the onslaught of attacks by the Marathas, but they had regrouped under the new Peshwa Madhavrao I, and were on a mission to expand themselves. The Zamorin of Calicut was upset as Hyder had weaned off the kingdom of Cochi from Calicut control. Hyder had entered into an alliance with the French, this incurring the enemity of the British, whose star was on the rise in India. Tipu was surrounded by enemies.
A master of military tactics, Tipu handled the situation excellently. Reports from the time are written admiringly of his exploits; the speed with which he moved men and arms and himself confounded enemies and he seemed to be everywhere at once. Hyder had died in the middle of the Second Anglo-Mysore War and the war ended with the Treaty of Mangalore in which the East India Company and Mysore returned to the state of affairs before the war. Between, 1785 and 1787, Tipu fought the Marathas conducting successful seiges, but this too ended badly with Mysore having to return the lands it had taken from the Marathas, in addition to paying a hefty tribute.
In 1790, war erupted again with the British. But this time, the British were in an alliance with virtually all of Mysore's enemies; the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Travancore Kingdom and the Coorg Kingdom. This time, fortune did not favour Tipu and at the Treaty of Srirangapatna, signed on 17 March, 1792, Tipu gave away almost half of the Mysore kingdom; part to the Marathas, part to the Nizam and part to the British. He also had to pay a tribute of three hundred and thirty lac rupees, besides leaving two of his three sons as hostages with the British.
In 1796, Chamaraja IX died after suffering from smallpox. He left behind a two-year old son. But Tipu, took the crown for himself establishing the state of Khudadad. Chamaraja's adopted mother and wife now plotted to regain the kingdom from Tipu. In 1798, the British surrounded Srirangapatna and attcked. In the battle known as the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, Tipu was killed in action. The British, at the request of the Rani Lakshmi Ammanni Devi, Chamaraja's adoptive mother, placed his son, Krishnaraja, now five years old, on the throne.
Tipu remains a controversial figure today, much maligned as a despot and religious fundamentalist, and much honoured for his prowess against the colonial power of the British. Both points of view are partly true, and it is also true that another ruler of Mysore, albeit not from the Wodeyar family, could not be succeeded by his son.
Click here for Part 10.
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