Biography of Tipu Sultan, the Tiger of Mysore

Tipu Sultan (November 20, 1750–May 4, 1799) is remembered by many in India and Pakistan as a heroic freedom fighter and warrior-king. He was the last ruler in India strong enough to dictate terms to the British East India Company. Known as the Tiger of Mysore, he fought long and hard, although ultimately unsuccessfully, to preserve his countrys independence. Fast Facts: Tipu Sultan Known For:  He is remembered in India and Pakistan as a warrior-king who fought brilliantly for his countrys independence from Britain.Also Known As:  Fath Ali, Tiger of MysoreBorn:  November 20, 1750 in Mysore, IndiaParents: Hyder Ali and Fatima Fakhr-un-NisaDied:  May 4, 1799 in Seringapatam, Mysore, IndiaEducation: Extensive tutoringSpouse(s): Many wives, including Sindh Sahiba  Children: Unnamed sons, two of whom were held hostage by the BritishNotable Quote: To live like a lion for a day is far better than to live for a hundred years like a jackal. Early Life Tipu Sultan was born on November 20, 1750, to military officer Hyder Ali of the Kingdom of Mysore and his wife, Fatima Fakhr-un-Nisa. They named him Fath Ali but also called him Tipu Sultan after a local Muslim saint, Tipu Mastan Aulia. His father Hyder Ali was an able soldier and won such a complete victory against an invading force of Marathas in 1758 that Mysore was able to absorb the Marathan homelands. As a result, Hyder Ali became the commander-in-chief of Mysores army, later the Sultan, and by 1761 he was the outright ruler of the kingdom. While his father rose to fame and prominence, young Tipu Sultan was receiving an education from the finest tutors available. He studied such subjects as riding, swordsmanship, shooting, Koranic studies, Islamic jurisprudence, and languages such as Urdu, Persian, and Arabic. Tipu Sultan also studied military strategy and tactics under French officers from an early age, since his father was allied with the French in southern India. In 1766 when Tipu Sultan was just 15 years old, he got the chance to apply his military training in battle for the first time when he accompanied his father on an invasion of Malabar. The youngster took charge of a force of 2,000-3,000 and cleverly managed to capture the Malabar chiefs family, which had taken refuge in a fort under heavy guard. Fearful for his family, the chief surrendered, and other local leaders soon followed his example. Hyder Ali was so proud of his son that he gave him command of 500 cavalries and assigned him to rule five districts within Mysore. It was the start of an illustrious military career for the young man. First Anglo-Mysore War During the mid-18th century, the British East India Company sought to expand its control of southern India by playing local kingdoms and principalities off one another and off the French. In 1767, the British formed a coalition with the Nizam and the Marathas, and together they attacked Mysore. Hyder Ali managed to make a separate peace with the Marathas, and then in June he sent his 17-year-old son Tipu Sultan to negotiate with the Nizam. The young diplomat arrived in the Nizam camp with gifts that included cash, jewels, 10 horses, and five trained elephants. In just one week, Tipu charmed the ruler of the Nizam into switching sides and joining the Mysorean fight against the British. Tipu Sultan then led a cavalry raid on Madras (now Chennai) itself, but his father suffered a defeat by the British at Tiruvannamalai and had to call his son back. Hyder Ali decided to take the unusual step of continuing to fight during the monsoon rains, and together with Tipu he captured two British forts. The Mysorean army was besieging a third fort when British reinforcements arrived. Tipu and his cavalry held off the British long enough to allow Hyder Alis troops to retreat in good order. Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan then went on a tear up the coast, capturing forts and British-held cities. The Mysoreans were threatening to dislodge the British from their key east coast port of Madras when the British sued for peace in March 1769. After this humiliating defeat, the British had to sign a 1769 peace agreement with Hyder Ali called the Treaty of Madras. Both sides agreed to return to their pre-war boundaries and to come to each others aid in case of attack by any other power. Under the circumstances, the British East India Company got off easy, but it still would not honor the treaty terms. Interwar Period In 1771, the Marathas attacked Mysore with an army perhaps as large as 30,000 men. Hyder Ali called upon the British to honor their duty of aid under the Treaty of Madras, but the British East India Company refused to send any troops to assist him. Tipu Sultan played a key role as Mysore fought off the Marathas, but the young commander and his father never trusted the British again. Later that decade, Britain and France came to blows over the 1776 rebellion (the American Revolution) in Britains North American colonies; France, of course, supported the rebels. In retaliation, and to draw off French support from America, Britain had decided to push the French entirely out of India. In 1778, it began to capture key French holdings in India such as Pondicherry, on the southeastern coast. The following year, the British grabbed the French-occupied port of Mahe on the Mysorean coast, prompting Hyder Ali to declare war. Second Anglo-Mysore War The Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784), began when Hyder Ali led an army of 90,000 in an attack on the Carnatic, which was allied with Britain. The British governor at Madras decided to send the bulk of his army under Sir Hector Munro against the Mysoreans, and also called for a second British force under Colonel William Baillie to leave Guntur and meet up with the main force. Hyder got word of this and sent Tipu Sultan with 10,000 troops to intercept Baillie. In September 1780, Tipu and his 10,000 cavalry and infantry soldiers surrounded Baillies combined British East India Company and Indian force and inflicted on them the worst defeat the British had suffered in India. Most of the 4,000 Anglo-Indian troops surrendered and were taken prisoner, while 336 were killed. Colonel Munro refused to march to Baillies aid, for fear of losing the heavy guns and other material he had stored. By the time he finally set out, it was too late. Hyder Ali did not realize just how disorganized the British force was. Had he attacked Madras itself at that time, he likely could have taken the British base. However, he only sent Tipu Sultan and some cavalry to harass Munros retreating columns. The Mysoreans did capture all of the British stores and baggage and killed or wounded about 500 troops, but they did not attempt to seize Madras. The Second Anglo-Mysore War settled down into a series of sieges. The next significant event was Tipus February 18, 1782 defeat of East India Company troops under Colonel Braithwaite at Tanjore. Braithwaite was completely surprised by Tipu and his French ally General Lallà ©e and after 26 hours of fighting, the British and their Indian sepoys surrendered. Later, British propaganda said Tipu would have had them all massacred if the French hadnt interceded, but that is almost certainly false—none of the company troops were harmed after they surrendered. Tipu Takes the Throne While the Second Anglo-Mysore War was still raging, the 60-year-old Hyder Ali developed a serious carbuncle. His condition deteriorated throughout the fall and early winter of 1782, and he died on December 7. Tipu Sultan assumed the title of Sultan and took his fathers throne on December 29, 1782. The British hoped that this transition of power would be less than peaceful so that they would have an advantage in the ongoing war. However, Tipus smooth transition and immediate acceptance by the army thwarted them. In addition, British officers had failed to secure enough rice during the harvest, and some of their sepoys were literally starving to death. They were in no condition to launch an attack against the new sultan during the height of the monsoon season. Settlement Terms The Second Anglo-Mysore War went on until early 1784, but Tipu Sultan maintained the upper hand throughout most of that time. Finally, on March 11, 1784, the British East India Company formally capitulated with the signing of the Treaty of Mangalore. Under the terms of the treaty, the two sides once again returned to the status quo in terms of territory. Tipu Sultan agreed to release all of the British and Indian prisoners of war he had captured. Tipu Sultan the Ruler Despite two victories over the British, Tipu Sultan realized that the British East India Company remained a serious threat to his independent kingdom. He funded continuous military advances, including further development of the famous Mysore rockets—iron tubes that could fire missiles up to two kilometers, terrifying British troops and their allies. Tipu also built roads, created a new form of coinage, and encouraged silk production for international trade. He was particularly fascinated and delighted with new technologies and had always been an avid student of science and mathematics. A devout Muslim, Tipu was tolerant of his majority-Hindu subjects faith. Framed as a warrior-king and dubbed the Tiger of Mysore, Tipu Sultan proved an able ruler in times of relative peace as well. Third Anglo-Mysore War Tipu Sultan had to face the British for a third time between 1789 and 1792. This time, Mysore would receive no aid from its usual ally France, which was in the throes of the French Revolution. The British were led on this occasion by Lord Cornwallis, one of the major British commanders during the American Revolution. Unfortunately for Tipu Sultan and his people, the British had more attention and resources to invest in southern India this time around. Although the war lasted for several years, unlike past engagements, the British gained more ground than they gave. At the end of the war, after the British besieged Tipus capital city of Seringapatam, the Mysorean leader had to capitulate. In the 1793 Treaty of Seringapatam, the British and their allies, the Maratha Empire, took half of the territory of Mysore. The British also demanded that Tipu turn over two of his sons, ages 7 and 11, as hostages to ensure that the Mysorean ruler would pay war indemnities. Cornwallis held the boys captive to ensure that their father would comply with the treaty terms. Tipu quickly paid the ransom and recovered his children. Nonetheless, it was a shocking reversal for the Tiger of Mysore. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War In 1798, a French general named Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt. Unbeknownst to his superiors in the Revolutionary government in Paris, Bonaparte planned to use Egypt as a stepping-stone from which to invade India by land (through the Middle East, Persia, and Afghanistan), and wrest it from the British. With that in mind, the man who would be emperor sought an alliance with Tipu Sultan, Britains staunchest foe in southern India. This alliance was not to be, however, for several reasons. Napoleons invasion of Egypt was a military disaster. Sadly, his would-be ally, Tipu Sultan, also suffered a terrible defeat. By 1798, the British had had sufficient time to recover from the Third Anglo-Mysore War. They also had a new commander of British forces at Madras, Richard Wellesley, Earl of Mornington, who was committed to a policy of aggression and aggrandizement. Although the British had taken half of his country and a large sum of money, Tipu Sultan meanwhile had rebuilt significantly and Mysore was once more a prosperous place. The British East India Company knew that Mysore was the only thing standing between it and total domination of India. A British-led coalition of nearly 50,000 troops marched toward Tipu Sultans capital city of Seringapatam in February 1799. This was no typical colonial army of a handful of European officers and a rabble of ill-trained local recruits; this army was made up of the best and brightest from all of the British East India Companys client states. Its single goal was the destruction of Mysore. Although the British sought to enclose Mysore state in a giant pincher movement, Tipu Sultan was able to sally out and stage a surprise attack early in March that nearly destroyed one of the British contingents before reinforcements showed up. Throughout the spring, the British pressed closer and closer to the Mysorean capital. Tipu wrote to the British commander Wellesley, trying to arrange for a peace  agreement, but Wellesley deliberately offered completely unacceptable terms. His mission was to destroy Tipu Sultan, not to negotiate with him. Death At the beginning of May 1799, the British and their allies surrounded Seringapatam, the capital of Mysore. Tipu Sultan had just 30,000 defenders matched against 50,000 attackers. On May 4, the British broke through the city walls. Tipu Sultan rushed to the breach and was killed defending his city. After the battle, his body was discovered beneath a pile of defenders. Seringapatam was overrun. Legacy With Tipu Sultans death, Mysore became another princely state under the jurisdiction of the British Raj. His sons were sent into exile, and a different family became puppet rulers of Mysore under the British. In fact, Tipu Sultans family was reduced to poverty as a deliberate policy and was only restored to princely status in 2009. Tipu Sultan fought long and hard, although ultimately unsuccessfully, to preserve his countrys independence. Today, Tipu is remembered by many in India and Pakistan as a brilliant freedom fighter and as an able peacetime ruler. Sources Britains Greatest Foes: Tipu Sultan. National Army Museum, Feb. 2013.Carter, Mia Barbara Harlow. Archives of Empire: Volume I. From the East India Company to the Suez Canal. Duke University Press, 2003.The First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-1769), GKBasic, July 15, 2012.Hasan, Mohibbul. History of Tipu Sultan. Aakar Books, 2005.