Mysore’s Resistance To The Company

The English were confident of their military strength after their success in Bengal. They concluded a treaty with the Nizam of Hyderabad (1766) persuading him to give them the Northern Circars (region) in lieu of which they said they would protect the Nizam from Haidar Ali. Haidar already had territorial disputes with the Nawab of Arcot and differences with the Marathas.
The Nizam, the Marathas, and the English allied together against Haidar Ali. Haidar Ali with his diplomatic skill turned the Nizam into an ally and paid the Marathas to turn them neutral.
The war concluded with the Treaty of Madras which provided for the exchange of prisoners and mutual restitution of conquests. Haidar Ali was promised the help of the English in case he was attacked by any other power.

Haidar Ali accused the English of breach of faith and nonobservance of the Treaty of Madras when in 1771 he was attacked by the Marathas, and the English failed to come to his aid. Haidar Ali’s friendship with the French caused even more concern to the English. They, therefore, tried to capture Mahe which Haidar considered a direct challenge to his authority.
Haidar forged an anti-English alliance with the Marathas and the Nizam but the English detached both the Marathas and the Nizam from Haidar’s side.
Haidar faced the English boldly only to suffer a defeat at Porto Novo in November 1781 but he regrouped his forces and defeated the English and captured their commander.
The war was carried on by Tipu Sultan after the death of Haidar in 1782.
Fed up with an inconclusive war, both sides opted for peace, negotiating the Treaty of Mangalore (March, 1784) under which each party gave back the territories it had taken from the other.

In April 1790, Tipu declared war against Travancore for the restoration of his rights and the English, siding with Travancore, attacked Tipu.
With support from Nizam and Marathas, Tipu was defeated. Under the Treaty of Seringapatam, nearly half of the Mysore’s territory was taken over by the victors. Besides, war damage of three crore rupees was also taken from Tipu.

Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799):

Lord Wellesley, an imperialist to the core was concerned about Tipu’s growing friendship with the French and aimed at annihilating Tipu’s independent existence or force him to submission through the system of Subsidiary Alliance.
The war began on April 17, 1799 and ended on May 4, 1799 with the fall of Seringapatam. The English was again helped by the Marathas and the Nizam.
The new state of Mysore was handed over to the old Hindu dynasty (Wodeyars) under a minor ruler Krishnaraja III, who accepted the subsidiary alliance.