Mysorean Invasions

• The second half of the 18th century was a

critical period in the history of South India.
Mysore under Haider Ali and Tippu Sultan
resisted the growth of the British power in
India.
• Mysore kingdom originally belonged to
Vijayanagar, but after the break up of
Vijayanagar empire, it passed to the Wodeyar
dynasty.
• This dynasty had a series of weak and
inefficient rulers. Taking advantage of it, Haider
seized power in 1761.
 HAIDER ALI’S CONQUEST
• The main factor which facilitated the conquest
was the lack of unity and co-operation among
the rulers of Kerala.
• The expansionist policies of Zamorin led to a
series of conflicts between Calicut and the
neighbouring principalities. It created conditions
favourable for the Mysorean intervention.
• The rivalry between Kolathiri and Ali Raja of
Kannur was also a favourable factor.
• Along with this the European powers carried on
intrigues with the local powers to further their
trade interests.
• Haider Ali saw this situation as a unique
opportunity to interfere in Kerala politics and
promote his own expansionist aims.
• Haider also wanted to get access to the French
settlement Mahe in order to ensure a steady
supply of arms from the west.
• Haider Ali invaded Malabar thrice, first as Faujdar of
Mysore, then as ruler of Mysore twice.
• First Invasion:
• His first intervention took place in the Palakkad region
in 1756. When Zamorin annexed Naduvattam
belonging to the Palakkad Raja, the Raja sought the
help of Haider who was then the Faujdar of Dindigal.
• Haider conquered Palakkad in 1758
• The Zamorin was forced to withdraw and to pay an
indemnity to Haider.
 Second Invasion
• When Haider became the ruler of Mysore in
1761,he turned to Malabar in order to get the
promised indemnity from the Zamorin and to
have an access to Mahe.
• Haider also had the intention to teach a lesson
to the Raja of Thiruvithamkur who declined his
support earlier.
• Haider conquered the Bednore Kingdom in
1763. It brought him to the borders of Kerala.
• In 1764 Haider obtained a pledge of neutrality
from the English in the event of a conflict
between Mysore and Kerala powers.
• In 1766, he marched to Noth Kerala and
occupied kingdoms of Chirakkal, Kottayam,
Kadathanad and entered Calicut. The Zamorin
sent his family members to Ponnani, blew up
his palace and committed self-immolation
• Valluvanad and Palakkad were also conquered
by Haider.
• Haider was now the supreme master of
Calicut. Madanna, an experienced revenue
collector in Mysore was appointed as Civil
Governor of the newly conquered Malabar
province with headquarters at Calicut.
• Haider Ali attempted to capture Travancore in
1767 but failed.
• He also crushed a rebellion in Malabar- but
had to return to Mysore to fight against the
British. (First Anglo Mysore War 1767- 1769)
• Haider Ali's army suffered a defeat in the
hands of Kottayam Nairs in Northern Malabar.
In the following year the Mysore forces
retreated from Malabar to Coimbatore, and
crushed the uprising, and commanded to
build the strategic Palakkad Fort.
• Most of Nair kings got their kingdoms back
through meaningful negotiations with the king
of Mysore. A couple of years later, Kolathunad
was also given to Kolathiri by some
negotiations.
 Third Invasion (1773)
• Haider started his third invasion of Kerala following
his conquest of Coorg. A Mysore army under
Srinivasa Rao and Syed Sahib reached Kerala
through the Tamarassery pass in December 1773.
• The Kerala chiefs offered no resistance and
Mysorean authority was re-established in Malabar.
• From 1774 onwards, Haider Ali appears to have
established his direct administration in south
Malabar on a permanent basis and in the north
the rulers became his tributaries.
• Srinivasa Rao was appointed as Civil Governor and
Sirdar Khan as Commander-in-chief.
• After occupying Malabar, Hyder's eye fell on the
southern kingdoms of Cochin and Travancore.
• Haider Ali asked the rulers of Cochin and of
Travancore to pay tribute as vassal states.
• The Raja of Cochin agreed to pay the amount and
accepted Mysore's superiority.
• The King of Travancore (Dharma Raja), who was under
the protection of the East India Company, refused to
pay the tribute. He started the construction of
Nedumkotta Fort (Travancore Lines) along the
northern border of Travancore as a defence against
the Mysorean army.
• It was built in the Chalakkudy taluq of Thrissur district
with the request, support and permission of the
• Haider decided to attack Travancore. For that
purpose he first invaded Cochin even though
Cochin had already accepted Mysore's
superiority.
• He reached till the northern border of
Travancore. The Travancore army resisted
Haider's invasion. In these battles, Travancore
was helped by the English and the Dutch.
• In 1776 the Mysorean army captured
Chavakkad and Thrissur.
• The refusal of the Dutch to open a passage to
Haider through their territories to invade
Thiruvithamkur resulted in a conflict.
• The Dutch were defeated and had to
surrender Pappinivattam and Chettuvai.
• Second Anglo Mysore war (1780-1784) broke
out at this time. Haider had to face failures in
this war.
• There were numerous battles in the Malabar
region between the Mysorean army and the
British.
• Mysore lost many of these battles. In the
battle of Tiroorangadi, more than 400
Mysorean soldiers were killed.
• The local Rajas took this opportunity to
recover their dominions.
• Mysorean authority came to be restricted to
Palakkad only.
• Haider sent his son Tippu to restore his authority in
Kerala. But Haider passed away in 1782 before Tippu
could achieve any decisive result in Kerala. Tippu had to
leave Kerala to occupy his father’s throne.
• Immediately after Tippu’s departure, the English captured
the Palakkad fort in November 1783.
• But Tippu returned to Kerala soon and reconquered the
whole of south Malabar upto the Kotta river. But Tippu
could not advance further northwards due to opposition
from the English at Thalassery.
• Nevertheless, by the treaty of Mangalore of 1784, which
concluded the Second Anglo Mysore War, both the
English and Tippu agreed to return the captured
territories to each other.
• Thus Mysorean authority over Kerala was recognised.
• King of Cochin accepted Tippu’s supremacy and paid him an
annual tribute.
• Travancore was the only part of Kerala that was not under
the purview of the Kingdom of Mysore.
• Tippu was attracted to the vast wealth of Travancore.
• Travancore had given political asylum to many people of
Malabar and Cochin from Mysorean invasion. This was also a
reason for Tippu's attack.
• Initially, Tippu tried to attack Travancore with the help of
Cochin. Even though Cochin was a tributary state of Mysore,
the Raja of Cochin did not side with Tipu.
• In December 1789, Tippu attacked Nedumkotta Fort. In the
battle of Nedumkotta, Tipu suffered huge setbacks.
• In 1789 the English, the Nizam and the
Marathas formed a coalition against Tippu
Sultan. It led to the third Anglo-Mysore War
(1790-1792)
• Tippu retreated to Mysore to defend his
capital.
• Tippu was defeated and had to sign the Treaty
of Srirangapatam (1792).
• According to this treaty, Malabar was ceded to
the British.
• This freed the Kerala coast from the menace
of the Mysore Sultans for ever.
• Fourth Anglo-Mysore war (1798-1799) was
started by Governor-General Lord Mornington
(later Wellesley) on the plea that Tippu was
receiving help from France. British troops
stormed Seringapatam in May 1799. Tippu
died in the fighting in 1799 and his troops
were defeated.
• In 1800 Malabar was made a District under
Madras Presidency.
• In 1799, the British captured the French
settlement at Mahe. The French were the
allies of Mysore.
 The Impact of Mysorean Invasion

• The Mysorean conquest of Kerala produced important

political, economic, social and cultural results.
• Redistribution of Land
• The feudal system of administration of Malabar was
replaced by a centralised system of government. The
Nairs and Naduvazhis of feudal Kerala lost their
prominent position.
• During the Mysorean invasion, many local Hindu
rulers and big landlords fled to Cochin and Travancore.
Their lands were occupied by the native Muslims.
• When the Nair landlords fled to Travancore and
Cochin, their land was redistributed.
• After the Treaty of Seringapatam, Malabar
came under the British rule. Only then the
Hindu landlords came back to Malabar.
• The lands occupied by the native Muslims
were returned to the Hindu landlords by the
British. The Muslims became the tenants of
the Hindu landlords.
• Thereafter, the Hindu landlords became the
supporters of the British and the Muslim
peasants became opposed to the British rule.
 s
• New Land Revenue System
• Tippu Sultan introduced a systematic and fair land revenue
system to ensure that taxes were collected efficiently
without burdening the farmers. This system was known as
"Jamabandi" system.
• Land tax was collected directly from the peasants. Until
then, the taxes were collected by the landlords who
demanded exorbitant money from the peasants.
• The new system of land revenue was based on the actual
produce of the land. Tippu imposed land revenue for all
types of lands. Assessment was made after a proper survey.
This raised the dignity of the tenant. Taxes were collected
in cash.
• The Jamabandi system lessened the tax burden on the
peasants.
• Communal Tensions
• Mysore army was mainly consisted of Muslim soldiers.
• When the Mysore army invaded Malabar, they were
assisted by the Muslim dynasty of Canannore.
• So the invasion of Mysore on Malabar was depicted as
invasion of the Muslims on the Hindus.
• There were numerous rebellions against the Mysore
army by the local Hindu Nair warriors. The native
Muslims supported the Mysore army.
• There were also allegations of forcible conversions and
destruction of temples by the Mysore army.
• All these events caused communal tensions in Malabar
which finally led to the 'Malabar Rebellion' of 1921.
 Economic Impact
• Tippu implemented many reforms in the field of agriculture.
Some of the agrarian reforms included giving annual loans to
farmers, fixing taxes on crop yields, fixing land ownership and
providing tax relief in case of disaster.
• This led to the decline of the zamindari system that existed in
Malabar for centuries. The revolution initiated by Tipu Sultan
in the agricultural land was strongly opposed by the natives of
Malabar.
• Tippu Sultan tried to experiment with foreign farming
systems. More attention was paid to wheat, barley, millets,
sugarcane and fruit crops.
• New laws were enacted to conserve forest resources and the
planting of good types of wood for shipbuilding was
encouraged.
• Tippu was concerned with planting trees and
beautifying the country by constructing
irrigation schemes and dams for agriculture.
• Trade in pepper, cardamom and sandalwood
became a government monopoly.
• Government godowns were opened in many
parts of North Kerala to collect these.
• Vadakara, Koyilandi, Kozhikode and Mayyazhi
were selected for this purpose. These goods
were stored in these godowns and sold to
foreign traders at a fixed price. This helped the
farmers to get fair price for their produce.
• Trade and industry flourished in Malabar during
the reign of Tippu Sultan. Tippu was the only
Indian ruler who understood that industrial
growth and trade development were necessary
for the country to have prosperity.
• Trading posts were opened to promote foreign
trade. Sultan also set up a trading company
selling shares to interested parties.
• An oyster hatchery was also established on the
Malabar coast. Divers were also imported from
Muscat for this purpose. This was the
beginning of industrialisation of Kerala
economy.
• Tipu Sultan is often regarded as the pioneer of
roads in Malabar.
• He opened a net work of roads connecting
different parts of Malabar.
• He took special interest in constructing wide
roads for the transportation of cannons.
Hence these roads came to be called ‘Cannon
Roads’.
• The Chaliyam- Chettuvai road came to be
called the ‘Tippu Sultan Road’
• Road construction led to the development of
internal transport and trade in Malabar
• A separate department was working for the
development of roads and canals in Malabar.
For the convenience of travellers, inns were
occasionally established on the main roads.
• A military college in Mangalore was appointed
to train the navy. This navy was at the fore in
arresting pirates.
• Two large weaving mills were established at
Kannur and Kasaragod to make clothes for
soldiers and to solve unemployment in Malabar.
• Factories for the manufacture of daily use
goods, a company for the procurement and
trading of forest products, a dyeing business,
and small-scale enterprises for the manufacture
of hats were also set up.
 Social Changes
• The Mysoreans also tried to introduce social changes
in Malabar.
• They gave a shock treatment to the traditional
Kerala society.
• Mysorean invasion led to the end of old social order
in Malabar. It ushered in a new era of social change.
• The upper castes lost their privileged status. Haider
and Tippu broke the myth of the racial superiority of
the upper classes and created a consciousness of
dignity and status among the lower classes.
• They showed little respect to old customs and
privileges.
• It also saw the emergence of a new middle class.
• Tippu Sultan asked the people of Malabar to stop
polyandry and the women to cover their breasts in
public places.
• The people of Malabar region viewed Tippu’s reforms
with suspicion and considered an unjust encroachment
on the caste system. They assumed that Tippu Sultan, a
Muslim, was carrying out conversion schemes.
• As a result the people of Malabar turned against him.
• Tippu's failure was that he could not convince them for
who’s good he was doing this.
• The Mysore army put up a strong defence against the
British who encroached on the country's sovereignty.
Therefore, Tippu became a bitter enemy of the
British.
• The British portrayed Tippu Sultan as a religious
fanatic and a temple destroyer in order to overthrow
Tippu who strongly resisted and to gain support for
their political conquest.
• But if we look at the facts, we can understand
that Tipu Sultan was very cautious in showing
respect and dignity to the people of other
religions. The temple in front of the Palakkad fort
is proof of this. Many Hindus worked in his army.
• The results of Tippu's social reforms are still
present in Kerala in the form of abolition of caste
supremacy, roads and progress in agriculture.