Siege of Seringapatam - [May 4, 1799] This Day in History

04 May 1799

Siege of Seringapatam

What happened?

Tipu Sultan

The Fourth Anglo-Mysore War came to an end with the Siege of Seringapatam in which Tipu Sultan was killed on 4 May 1799.

Siege of Seringapatam

• The Third Anglo-Mysore War came to an end with the Treaty of Seringapatam in 1792. Seringapatam is the anglicised name of Srirangapatnam, the place which served as Tipu’s de facto capital.
• As per this treaty, Tipu Sultan, the de-facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore ceded half his kingdom to the British which included the areas of Malabar, Coorg, Baramahal and Dindigul. He also had to pay a huge war indemnity and place two of his sons as surety with the British until he paid the amount.
• This treaty, however, did not bring peace between the British and Mysore.
• Tipu Sultan refused to accept Lord Wellesley’s Subsidiary Alliance and also began aligning with the French, which the British saw as a threat.
• The British had aligned with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad. The Mysore Kingdom was attacked from all four sides by these combined forces in 1799.
• They marched on to Srirangapatnam and besieged the city. Tipu Sultan’s advance was stopped at the Battle of Seedaseer on 6 March 1799.
• On 2 May, the Siege of Seringapatam or the Battle of Seringapatam ensued at the Seringapatam Fort in which Tipu’s men were outnumbered. He had about 30000 men while the other party had about 50000 troops.
• During the war, Tipu used Mysorean rockets which shook the British troops. The British were led by General George Harris.
• Despite valiant fighting, Tipu’s army could not hold the Fort and the siege came to an end when Tipu himself was shot and killed. The British secured a decisive victory.
• After the war, Tipu’s territories were divided between Hyderabad and the British.
• The region around Mysore and Srirangapatnam was restored to the Wodeyar dynasty, the rightful rulers of the Kingdom of Mysore.
• Mysore then entered into a Subsidiary Alliance with the British.

Also on this day

1767: Birth of saint-composer and one of the greatest composers of Carnatic music, Saint Tyagaraja.

See previous ‘This Day in History’ here.

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