Third Anglo-Mysore War

Sides

Countries today: India and United Kingdom

What happened

Tipu Sultan's attack at the end of December 1789 on the Nedumkotta, the fortified line of Travancore, an ally of the East India Company, brought war with the Company, which had secured the support of the Nizam of Hyderabad and the Maratha Confederacy. A Company army took Coimbatore and other forts in 1790, but Tipu pushed it back. In 1791 the Governor-General, Lord Cornwallis, took command, marched into Mysore and stormed Bangalore in March, while Maratha forces took Dharwar in April. Cornwallis beat Tipu near Seringapatam in May but, short of food, withdrew. Returning with a larger allied army, he attacked Tipu's lines outside Seringapatam on 6 February 1792. Tipu asked for terms, and under the Treaty of Seringapatam of March 1792 he gave up about half his territory to the Company, the Marathas and Hyderabad, agreed to pay a large indemnity and handed over two of his sons as hostages.

Outcome: By the Treaty of Seringapatam (March 1792) Mysore gave up about half its territory to the Company and its allies, and Tipu handed over two of his sons as hostages.

Key events

Leaders

• Tipu Sultan · Ruler of Mysore · Kingdom of Mysore
• Charles Cornwallis · Governor-General; commanded the allied army from 1791 · East India Company forces and their allies
• William Medows · Governor of Madras; led the Company's 1790 campaign · East India Company forces and their allies
• Nizam Ali Khan (Asaf Jah II) · Nizam of Hyderabad, the Company's ally · East India Company forces and their allies
• Dharma Raja (Karthika Thirunal Rama Varma) · Raja of Travancore · East India Company forces and their allies
• Raja Kesavadas · Dewan of Travancore; led its army at the Nedumkotta · East India Company forces and their allies

Meanwhile, elsewhere in 1790 CE