Describe the struggle of Marathas and Mysore with the British.

The conflicts between the Marathas, Mysore and the British was a direct result of the ‘divide and rule’ policy followed by the British East India Company. The Marathas had been established as a powerful race in the 18^th Century whose importance reduced with their loss in the 1761 Battle of Panipat. But they still possessed the power to stop the Britishers from ruling all over the country which was a major obstacle for the British rulers. In the case of Mysore, the British wanted the riches of the Mysore Kingdom as well as the lands for expansion over the Indian domain. This resulted in a series of wars called the Anglo-Maratha wars and the Anglo-Mysore wars.

The Anglo–Maratha Wars were three wars fought between the Maratha Empire and the British East India Company.

• The First Anglo Maratha War - When the Peshwa Madhavrao passed away in 1772 and was succeeded by his brother Narayan Rao, their uncle Raghunath Rao wanted to be the Peshwa and signed the Treaty of Surat with the Britishers on March 6^th, 1775. According to the treaty, he was to cede Surat, Salsette and Bassein in return for British help to secure for himself the post of Peshwa. This ultimately led to the first Anglo-Maratha War which occurred in between 1775 – 1782 and in which the English lost to the Marathas. The war was concluded by the Treaty of Vadgaon on 29th January 1799. The Britishers had to recognize Madhu Rao II as the Peshwa along with handing over any conquests, Raghunath Rao was given the Pune Darbar and retired on an allowance while Salsette and some other islands were retained by the British.

• The Second Anglo Maratha War – The rivalry between the Maratha leaders and Lord Wellesly’s imperialist fueled this war from 1802 to 1805. Owing to the rivalries, the Marathas could not band together against the English leading to their downfall. The Treaty of Deogaon was signed on 17^th December, 1803 by Bhonsle when he lost the battle of Amargaon against the English. The Treaty of Surji – Arjungaon was signed on December 30^th, 1803 between the then Maratha chief Daulat Rao Sindhia and the British after he lost to them in the Battle of Assaye and Battle of Laswari (September -November, 1803) . The British moved on to hostilities against Yashwantrao Holkar on 6^th April, 1804. The result of this was inconclusive but resulted in the Treaty of Rajghat. Through this treaty, Holkar was forced to relinquish his rights over the northern region of the Chambal river and was not allowed any interference in the matters of the Rajputana.

• The Third Anglo Maratha War – This was the decisive conflict between the Marathas and the English. The Peshwa lost his influence with the defeats of Bhonsle at Sitabardi and Holkar at Mahidpur. The Peshwa was eventually captured and placed on a small estate at Bithur, near Kanpur under the terms of the treaty signed on 18th June, 1818 where he died in 1852. British victories were swift, resulting in the breakup of the Maratha Empire and the loss of Maratha independence.

The Anglo– Mysore Wars were a progression of wars fought in over the last three decades of the 18th century between the Kingdom of Mysore on the one hand, and the British East India Company (represented chiefly by the Madras Presidency), and Maratha Confederacy and the Nizam of Hyderabad on the other. Hyder Ali and his successor Tipu Sultan battled a war on four fronts with the British assaulting from the west, south and east, while the Marathas and the Nizam's powers assaulted from the north.

• First Anglo – Mysore War – Hyder Ali gained a measure of success in this war fought between 1767 -69 when he almost captured Madras. The Nizam of Hyderabad was influenced by the English to go against Hyder Ali but he changed sides and supported Hyder Ali which was temporary. Once the Nizam signed a treaty with the English in February 1768, Hyder Ali had to contend with a British Bombay army attacking on the west and a Madras army attacking from the northeast. But Madras Government sued for peace on Hyder Ali’s attack which resulted in the Treaty of Madras and the end of the first war in 1769.

• Second Anglo – Mysore War – This was a savage war which occurred in the period between 1780 -84. Tipu Sultan defeated Baillie and Braithwaite at the Battles of Pollilur in Sept. 1780, and at Kumbakonam in Feb. 1782 respectively. Both of them were taken as prisoners to Seringapatam. This war saw the rise of Sir Eyre Coote, the British commander who defeated Hyder Ali at the Battle of Porto Novo and Arni. Following his father's death Tipu continued the war which finally ended on 11th March 1784 with the Treaty of Mangalore. The Treaty of Gajendragad in April 1787 ended the conflict between Mysore and the Marathas.

• Third Anglo – Mysore War – This war between 1790-92 lasted three years and was a resounding defeat for Mysore. Tipu Sultan allied with France and invaded the neighbouring Travancore in1789 which had British allegiance. The British forces commanded by Governor- General Cornwallis ended the war in 1792 with the siege of Seringapatam and the Treaty of Seringapatam was signed. Tipu Sultan had to hand over half of his kingdom to Britain and her allies because of the treaty.

• Fourth Anglo – Mysore War – In the Fourth War, the British had a definitive triumph in the Battle of Srirangapatna (1799) and Tipu Sultan was killed during the battle. Britain took indirect control of Mysore, restoring the Wodeyar Dynasty to the Mysore throne (with a British commissioner to advise him on all issues). The rest of the territories under the Kingdom of Mysore was divided between the British, the Nizam and the Marathas. The Wodeyars continued to rule Mysore until its annexation to the Union of India in 1947.