Anglo-Indian- History Guide for Class 8
Information about Anglo-Indian War
Title | Anglo-Indian War |
Class | Class 8 |
Subject | Class 8 History |
Topics Covered |
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There are total three wars in Anglo-Indian War:
(i) Anglo-Mysore Wars
(ii) Anglo-Maratha Wars
(iii) Anglo-Sikh Wars
Let us study each of them one by one.
Anglo-Mysore Wars
After the death of the Raja of Mysore of the Wodeyar dynasty in 1760, Hyder Ali became the ruler of Mysore. He extended his territories over Bednore, Sundre, Sera, Canara and Guti, and also subjugated some parts of south India. At this time, Warren Hasting faced stiff resistance from the Marathas in the north and Hyder Ali in Mysore.
First Anglo-Mysore War (1767-69)
Hyder Ali gained some success even against the British and almost captured Madras.In 1767, the Nizam, the Marathas and the English made a Triple Alliance against Hyder Ali of Mysore as they were jealous of his increasing power. But Hyder Ali beat the English at their own game by making peace with the Marathas and luring the Nizam with territorial gains. He attacked Arcot. The British were shocked as they incurred heavy losses. They had to sign a treaty of peace and mutual help with Ryder Ali.
Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780-84)
In 1780, the English wanted to attack the French at Mahe, situated on the west coast of Mysore. L, 11Yder All did not permit it. Therefore, the English declared war against Hyder Ali and his alliance with the Nizam and the Marathas. Hyder All captured Arcot by defeating the English army. The British broke the alliance. Inspite of that, Hyder All gave a crushing defeat to the British. Hyder All died but his son, Tipu Sultan, continued to fight against the British. The battle concluded after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784 when both the parties decided to restore each other's conquered territories and set the prisoners free.
Third Anglo-Mysore War (1789-92)
Tipu Sultan, allied with the French and invaded the nearby state of Travancore in 1789, which was a British ally. The British were already looking for an excuse to crush Tipu's power. Hence, a war started between the two, resulting in the defeat of Mysore.
- The war ended after the siege of Srirangapattnam in 1792. Tipu was forced to sign the Treaty of Srirangapattanam.
Mysore had to handover half of its territory to the British along with Tipu's two sons as war hostages. Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1799) When Lord Wellesley became the Governor-General of India in 1798, Tipu Sultan's alliance with the French was seen as a threat to the East India Company. As a result, Mysore was attacked from all four sides. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas launched an invasion from the north and the British attacked from south, east and west.
- The British won a decisive victory at Srirangapattanam in 1799. Tipu was killed during the defence of the city.
Much of the remaining Mysorean territory was annexed by the British, the Nizam and the Marathas. The remaining core, around Mysore and Srirangapattanam, was restored to the Indian prince belonging to the Wodeyar dynasty who ruled till 1947.
Anglo-Maratha Wars
The internal problems of the Marathas and the growing ambition of the English saw the conflict of interests between the British and the Marathas during the period between 1775 to 1818.
First Anglo-Maratha War (1775-82)
British wanted to sign an alliance with aspiring Peshwa, Raghunath Rao against Madhav Rao II. The Maratha chieftains backed Madhav Rao. The British provided 2,500 men to Raghunath. He gave Salsette and Bassein to the English along with a part of revenue from Broach and Surat districts. The two sides signed the Treaty of Salbai (1782). It gave the British 20 years of peace with the Marathas.
Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803-05)
In 1801, there was a conflict among the Marathas over Peshwaship. Peshwa Baji Rao II entered the Subsidiary Alliance with the British and got the British protection against Jaswant Rao Holkar. The British troops drove Holkar out. Peshwa Baji Rao signed a treaty with the British. It was opposed by Maratha chieftains — the Sindia and the Bhosale. This resulted in the Second Anglo-Maratha War in 1803. The Maratha chiefs failed to unify and were defeated by the well-equipped and disciplined British army. The Bhosales and Sindias were forced to sign treaties with the British and handover large territories.
Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817-18)
Peshwa Baji Rao II did not like his subordinate position under the British. He tried to unite the Maratha chiefs against the British but failed. He was forced to surrender. The British abolished the Position of Peshwa and Marathas were limited to the small kingdom of Satara. This was the end of the mighty Maratha power. Between 1814 to 1826, the British had to fight many wars against Gurkhas in the North and the Burmese in the North-East. The British signed peace treaties with them.
Anglo-Sikh Wars
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845-46)
During this period, the Sikh power was growing in the North-West region of Punjab. The British made a peace treaty with Maharaja Ranjit Singh to check his growing power. After his death, there was a lot of infighting amongst Sikhs. The Sikhs had built up a strong army against the British and Afghan aggressions. When the British attacked, the united forces of Punjab—Hindu, Muslim and Sikh, faced the huge British army bravely. But Prime Minister Lal Singh and Commander Tej Singh turned traitors and the Punjab army was defeated. They were forced to sign the Treaty of Lahore. The British occupied Jullander Doab and handed Jammu and Kashmir to Raja Gulab Singh Dogra.
Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848-49)
The British wanted a complete control of Punjab by ending the Sikh Kingdom. The immediate cause of this war was the exile of Lal Singh on charges of conspiracy. Lord Dalhousie, the greatest annexationist, attacked Punjab and made it a part of British India in 1849. The British started consolidating their power by limiting the powers of the Indian princes and building a stronger army in India.