the anglo-mysore war of 1767-1769

267 Pages·2016·5.97 MB·English

THE ANGLO-MYSORE WAR OF 1767-1769: A STUDY OF THE
MILITARY CAMPAIGNS OF HAIDAR ALI
A Thesis submitted to the Pondicherry University
in partial fulfilment of the requirements
for the award of the degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
IN
HISTORY
BY
KRISHNA KUMAR PANJAJE
Under the guidance of
Dr. K. VENUGOPAL REDDY
Associate Professor of History

DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SCHOOL OF SOCIAL SCIENCES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
PONDICHERRY UNIVERSITY
PONDICHERRY- 605014
March-2016
Dr. K. VENUGOPAL REDDY
Associate Professor,
Department of History
School of Social Sciences and International Studies
Pondicherry University
Pondicherry- 605014.

CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE ANGLO-MYSORE WAR OF 1767-1769: A
STUDY OF THE MILITARY CAMPAIGNS OF HAIDAR ALI, submitted to the
Pondicherry University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in History, is a record of original research work done by Mr. Krishna
Kumar Panjaje during the period of his study 2013-2016 in the Department of History,
Pondicherry University, under my supervision and guidance and that the thesis has not formed
the basis for the award of any Degree/Diploma/Associateship/Fellowship or any other similar
titles before.

Place: Pondicherry Dr. K. Venugopal Reddy
Date: Research Supervisor
Krishna Kumar Panjaje
Ph.D. Student
Department of History
School of Social Sciences and International Studies
Pondicherry University
Pondicherry – 605014

DECLARATION
I hereby declare that the thesis entitled THE ANGLO-MYSORE WAR OF 1767-1769: A
STUDY OF THE MILITARY CAMPAIGNS OF HAIDAR ALI, submitted to the
Pondicherry University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy in History, is a record of original research work done by me under
the supervision and guidance of Dr. K. Venugopal Reddy, during the period of my study
2013-2016 in the Department of History, Pondicherry University, and that the thesis has
not formed the basis for the award of any Degree/Diploma/Associateship/Fellowship or
any other similar titles before.

Place: Pondicherry
Date: Krishna Kumar Panjaje
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It gives me immense pleasure and pride to duly acknowledge the many people who have helped
me in my endeavour of completing this research study. First of all, it is with extreme gratitude that
I express my heartfelt thanks to my research supervisor and mentor, Dr. K. Venugopal Reddy,
Associate Professor, Department of History, Pondicherry University. His complete encouragement
and guidance, which included perusing the text, helped me throughout the uncertain days of my
research work. It is mainly due to his unstinting support that the research study has been completed.
I also express my sincere thanks to my Doctoral Committee members Prof. G. Chandrika,
Department of History, and Prof. B. Krishnamoorthy, Department of Politics and International
Studies, who gave valuable suggestions and advice about the research work which enabled me to
make progress.
I am also very grateful to Prof. Venkata Raghotham, Head of the Department of History,
Pondicherry University for his useful suggestions and support which played a large part in the
successful completion of this research work.
I would like to thank the faculty members of the Department of History, Prof. K. Rajan, Dr. N.
Chandramouli and Dr. Paokholal Haokip for reposing their faith in me and giving me
encouragement during the period of research which benefitted me greatly. I also thank the staff of
the Department, Mr. Kaliaperumal, Mr. Bhaskaran and Mr. Manohar for the assistance they gave
me during the period of my study.
I would like to express my thanks to the staff of the various institutions which I have visited during
the course of my research work and thus helped me increase my knowledge. These include
National Archives of India at New Delhi; Karnataka State Archives and the Mythic Society at
Bangalore; the University of Mysore at Mysore; the Tamil Nadu State Archives and the
Connemara Library, Chennai; and the French Institute of Pondicherry in Pondicherry and Ananda
Rangapillai Library at Pondicherry University.
I would also like to express my sincere thanks and heartfelt affection to various friends and
colleagues at Pondicherry University as they were a constant source of support and encouragement
during the duration of my research work. Among them, I would like to personally thank Kale
Sanjay Sakharam for his help. I would also like to thank Bithin Thakur, A. Suresh, Ashish Kumar
Singh, Manjeet Bhatia, A. Kannan, Manoj Mohalik, Jay Singh Yadav, Nalini Kanta Rana, D.
Kanagarathinam, Rohini Krishnan, Ajeet Azad, Harindra Prasad Rav, Rajneesh Mishra, Sainath
Ganshetwar and several others whom I got to know intimately and were pillars of support during
the period of my research work.
Last, but not least, I would like to express my deeply felt gratitude to my family members whose
support and encouragement enabled me to complete my research study. These include my father,
Sri P. Ishwara Bhat; my mother, Smt. Sharada I. Bhat; and my sister Sowmya P. Bhat.
This research study is dedicated to all the aforementioned people and many others who stood
solidly like a rock behind me during the entire course of my study. Their constant support and
encouragement enabled me to successfully complete the research work.

Krishna Kumar Panjaje
CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS i-ii
CHAPTERS Page Nos.
I. INTRODUCTION 1-26
II. PRELUDE TO THE WAR: HAIDAR ALI’S
RELATIONS WITH CONTEMPORARY POWERS
UP TO 1767 27-79
III. THE OPENING PHASE OF THE WAR: THE MARATHAS,
THE NIZAM AND THE MADRAS ARMY
ATTACK MYSORE 80-143
IV. THE MIDDLE PHASE OF THE WAR: DIPLOMATIC
INITIATIVES, THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE NIZAM
AND THE RENEWED BRITISH OFFENSIVE
AGAINST MYSORE 144-199
V. THE CLOSING PHASE OF THE WAR: PEACE
NEGOTIATIONS, RESUMPTION OF HOSTILITIES
AND THE TREATY OF MADRAS 200-220
VI. CONCLUSION 221-233
APPENDIX 234-247
GLOSSARY 248-250
BIBLIOGRAPHY 251-259
LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS
1. Map of India during the eighteenth century, page 2.
2. Map showing the political situation in peninsular India during the First Anglo-Mysore
War, page 28.
3. Map showing the major theatres of the war of 1767-1769, page 28.
4. Portrait of Haidar Ali, page 33.
5. Plaque in the fort of Budikote commemorating the birthplace of Haidar Ali, page 33.
6. The fort of Devanahalli, page 37.
7. The fort of Dindigul, page 37.
8. The fort of Srirangapatna, page 42.
9. Map of Srirangapatna, page 42.
10. Portrait of Krishnaraja Wodeyar II, page 55.
11. Portrait of Nanjaraja Wodeyar, page 55.
12. Portrait of Peshwa Madhava Rao I, page 55.
13. Portrait of Tipu Sultan as a young man, page 55.
14. Portrait of Nizam Ali Khan Asaf Jah II, page 62.
15. Portrait of Mohammad Ali Khan Walajah, page 62.
16. Portrait of Sir Robert Palk, page 62.
17. Forge-welded cannon used in the Mysore Army, page 70.
18. Weapons on display at the Dariya Daulat Bagh in Srirangapatna, page 70.
19. Rocket handler in the Mysore army, page 71.
20. Rockets used by the Mysore army, page 71.
21. Swivel gun used by the Mysore army, page 71.
22. A Topass family from Java, page 74.
23. Illustration of a Bargir horseman, page 74.
24. Illustration of the soldiers of the Madras army in the 1750s, page 78.
25. The Brown Bess flintlock musket, page 79.
26. The 9-pounder cannon used by the British army, page 79.
27. The fort of Rayadurga, page 86.
28. The fort of Madhugiri, page 86.
29. The fort of Sira, page 87.
i
30. Historical portrait of the fort of Bangalore, page 87.
31. Map showing the events from January to July 1767, page 88.
32. Historical portrait of the fort of Krishnagiri, page 120.
33. Bayonet charge by the British army, page 120.
34. Historical portrait of Fort Saint George, page 126.
35. Map of Fort Saint George, page 126.
36. Map showing the events from July to October 1767, page 127.
37. Map showing the events from November to December 1767, page 143.
38. The fort of Mangalore in 1783, page 152.
39. A ghurab ship used by the Bombay marine, page 152.
40. A gallivat ship used by the Maratha navy in 1700s, page 152.
41. Troops of the the Bengal army in the 1780s, page 158.
42. The Madras army on the march with its supply train in tow, page 158.
43. Map showing the events from January to July 1768, page 159.
44. The fort of Attur, page 197.
45. The fort of Namakkal, page 197.
46. Artillery detachment of the British army, page 198.
47. Rocket attack by the Mysore troops against the British army, page 198.
48. Map showing the events from August to December 1768, page 199.
49. Map showing the events from January to April 1769, page 220.
ii
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION
“War is the father of all things” said the Greek philosopher Heraclitus in the 6th century BCE.
This statement has withstood the test of time. Any major change in the life of human beings -
be it political, social, economic or technological, often has its roots in a conflict between two
or more sides. The birth, death and rebirth of countries were forged in the crucible of war.
This has been true from the time of the Egyptians up to the 21st century. For example, the
conquests of Alexander opened up Asia to trade and travel by the Europeans, which led to the
exchange of knowledge and ideas between the East and the West.
Conflict and bloodshed have been inseparable aspects of human development. Since the
beginning of recorded history, there were very few timelines that had not witnessed warfare
of any kind. The casualty rates of the First and Second World Wars were unprecedented
compared to previous conflicts. The scale of the devastation caused the emergence of peace
movements the world over, calling for abolition of war and of weapons of mass destruction.
In these contexts, it is important to study armed conflict in order to identify the causes and
effects, which may help to pre-empt similar patterns of events in the future. As the
philosopher George Santayana said in his book Reason in Common Sense (1905), “Those
who cannot remember the past are doomed to repeat it.”
Military history is a relatively new branch in the field of major historiographies. Though the
descriptions and focal aspects of war and strategy are evident in ancient literatures such as the
Iliad of Homer and the Mahabharata of Vyasa, the study of war as a discipline of historical
relevance and significance did not emerge till the nineteenth century. Though many works of
literature such as Sun Tzu’s Art of War in the Chinese language and Kautilya’s Arthashastra
in the Sanskrit language describe warfare in great detail, it was only after the Napoleonic
wars that the world started to study the causes, courses and consequences of conflicts
objectively. Works like Carl von Clausewitz’s On War (1832) and Alfred Thayer Mahan’s
The Influence of Sea Power upon History (1890) sparked an interest in the general public
about military affairs and encouraged the study of the techniques of war as a scientific
endeavour in the discipline of history. However, it was only in the aftermath of the major
conflicts of the 20th century that military history came of age. Works of historians like A.J.P.
Taylor’s The Origins of the Second World War (1961), John Keegan’s A History of Warfare
(1993), Martin Gilbert’s The First World War (1994) and Geoffrey Parker’s Military
1 | P age
Above: India in the eighteenth century. Source: C.A. Bayly, The New Cambridge
History of India, Bengal: The British Bridgehead, Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, p. 17.
2 | P age