CHAPTER-1 INTRODUCTION

1

CHAPTER – 1

INTRODUCTION

Technology and production in Pre-Modern Mysore is a serious attempt

to probe in to the level of technology that existed in the second half of the 18th

century in Mysore. In the late nineteenth century and in the 20th century,

serious debates had taken place involving British policy makers and the Indian

nationalist economic thinkers on the question of Indian backwardness, poverty

and lack of development. By the last decades of the nineteenth century,

Dadabhai Naoroji, the grand-old man of India had propounded the concept of

absolute poverty in India1. “He denounced the wretched, heart-rending, blood

boiling conditions in India. In 1895, he stated that the Indian is starving, he is

dying off at the slightest touch, living on in sufficient food”2

Romesh Chandra Dutt, Surendranath Banerjee, G.S. Iyer, Bipan

Chandrapal, Ranade, D.E. Waacha and host of others took up the question of

Indian poverty and backwardness, through their speeches and writings. A large

number of English and vernacular newspapers took up the question of

starvation and backwardness in India. Towards the close of the 19

th

1 Dadabhai Naoroji, Poverty and the Un-British Rule in India, p. 229.

century,

2 Dadabhai Naoroji, Speeches, Appendix A, p. 63.

2

the Indian National Congress moved several resolutions on the same question3.

The main focus was on the agricultural classes and on the breakdown of the

delicate balance between agriculture and manufacturing and the resultant flow

the artisan classes in to the rural areas, putting greater pressure on land and

agriculture. In the classic account of the Bengali newspaper Sulabh Dainik4,

the Indian has lost his vitality, he has lost his substance, his very life blood has

been sucked dry, and he is, economically speaking, no better than a bag of dry

bones. He is half fed and he is half-clad. According to the first ever

calculation of per capita income in India by Dadabhai Naoroji, it was Rs.20 per

head5 (3.4 billion rupees for a population of 170 millions). This dismally lower

per capita income and the campaign taken up by the Indian National Congress,

placed the British administrators on a tight corner. The economic experts of

the British government published a counter estimate of 27.72 rupees6 for a

population of 170 million with 5.25 billion rupees of estimated income.

According to Lord Curzon, in 1897-98, the per capita income of India was

Rs.30.717

One of the reasons for the absolute poverty in India, in the opinion of

Bipan Chandra was the disruption of the centuries old union between

agriculture and manufacturing industry

, instead of Rs.20 or Rs.27.72.

8

3 For details, see, Bipan Chandra, The Rise and Growth of Economic Nationalism in India, pp. 7-10.

.

4 As quoted by Bipan Chandra, Op. Cit.,, p. 10. 5 Naoroji, Poverty and the UnBritish Rule in India, p. 4. 6 Rao, An Essay on Indian National Income, pp. 16-22. 7 Lord Curzon, Speeches, Vol. I – IV (Calcutta, 1902, Vol. I, pp. 289-290). 8 Bipan Chandra, Rise and Growth… Op. Cit., p. 55.

3

The decline of traditional manufacturing and handicrafts in India is a

much talked about theme in modern India. The British writers tried to paint

India purely as an agricultural country which did not know anything other than

agriculture. People like Lord Curzon branded Indians as a nation trained only

in agriculture and that they would never practice anything other than

agriculture. But it was the same British imperialism, which converted India

into land of raw produce for the benefit of the manufacturers and operatives in

England9. R.C. Dutt argued that the displacement of Indian manufactures by

foreign products formed one of the saddest chapters of the history of British

India10

The official British position always centered around the argument that

India had nothing other than agriculture and as a nation, Indians were not fit for

any kind of manufacturing. However, the historical facts were to the country.

In the 17

.

th and the 18th centuries, India was a manufacturing country and its

exports included substantial volume of finished products such as textiles, silk,

calicoes etc. According to Vera Anstey, upto the 18th century, the economic

condition of India was relatively advanced, and Indian methods of production

and of industrial and commercial organization could stand in comparison with

those in vogue in any other part of the world11

Pre-British Indian Product

.

9 For a detailed discussion on the issue of decline of traditional manufacturing, see D.R. Gadgil, The Industrial Evolution of India in Recent Times, Chapter III & XII. 10 Dutt, England and India, p. 128. 11 Vera Anstey, The Economic Development of India, London, p. 5.

4

Right from the 14th century onwards India had undergone a process of

technological changes. The introduction of spinning wheel, cotton-carders bow

etc., were some of these innovations which had revolutionized cotton-textile

production in India. From the 14th to 18th century, India continued to sell not

only its traditional exports like pepper and spices, but also different varieties of

cotton clothes, silk, indigo and saltpeter. During 1638-3912

The statistics on the export of Indian goods to Europe by the English

East India Company show that in 1620, the total Indian exports by the EIC

stood at Rs.2½ lakhs. In 1628, it increased to Rs. 6 lakhs

, Surat alone

supplied 66,641 pieces of cotton clothes to London. It stood at 54,289 and

53,858 during 1639-40, and 1640-41 respectively. The supplies from East

Coast and Bengal forwarded in January 1639 were more diversified, though

Calicoe pre-dominated. During the same period around 84,000 pieces of

textiles (long clothes, salempores, muslin etc.) was exported.

13

12 W.H. Moreland, From Akbar to Aurangzeb, New Delhi, 1994, p. 129.

. During 1649-53,

the average exports stood at Rs. 3 lakhs and which further increased to Rs. 8

lakhs annually during 1658-60. According to Moreland, the Dutch trade

cannot be estimated on similar lines. However, from 1625 onwards, the Dutch

exports surpassed that of the English. According to Moreland, the Dutch

Reports and Journals are marked by the frequent success at the poverty and

insufficiency of their English competitors. On the other hand, the English

correspondence always showed their envy of the Dutch trading activities. The

English merchants complained of the Dutch, whose skill and prudence, backed

13 Ibid.

5

by immense resources, had given them an indisputable supremacy in the

Eastern trade. We find them competing vigorously with the English company’s

servants in India and Persia out bidding them for silk, indigo and piece goods14

It was in the 17

.

th century, that greater market for the Indian cotton-goods

could be found in Western Europe. It was during this period that the Indian

Calicoes began to be used to meet the European household needs – table –

cloths, bed-linen, napkins, towels and coloured or fancy goods as hangings or

for decorative purposes. During this period15 England did not produce much

linen unlike some of the other European countries. And therefore, the import

of Calico would not compete seriously with any home industry while, the sale

of Calicoes abroad brought money into the country. Therefore the import of

Calicoes from India was received with encouragement in Britain. Over the

years, the demand for Calico increased with remarkable rapidity. The shipment

of 1619 totalled about 14,000 pieces16 (each piece 12 to 18 yards in length).

The goods ordered in 1625 exceeded 2,00,000 pieces. By 1628, the actual

consignment exceeded 1,50,000 pieces or more or 1000 bales. In the

subsequent years, after the recovery from the Gujarat famines, the purchases

varied between 1,50,000 to 2,00,000 pieces17

The technique of dying yarn had centuries of history in India.

Benjamin

.

18

14 W.H. Moreland, From Akbar to Aurangzeb, New Delhi, 1994, p. 124.

Heyne described this process in detail in his account. However the

15 Ibid. 16 English Factory Rcords IV, 97, 158, V. 146. 17 Ibid. 18 Bendjamine Heyne, Tracts. P. 212.

6

Indian dyer was not willing to share their technical knowledge with others.

Heyne states, “though the methods of the Indian dyer are exceedingly tedious

and complicated and though they are utterly unable to explain the rationale of

their processes, yet the beauty of their colours cannot fail to be admired and

must inspire us with the opinion that a knowledge of their methods might

improve the processes of European dyers, and might enable them to make some

advantageous changes in their art”19

Certain other lines of industrial production in India had technologies that

were highly complicated and tested over the millennia. They also involved

strict observance in the use of components and the time for introducing them

into the process. That is why, despite the simple and primitive nature of their

equipment, Indian artisans frequently had results that surpassed similar

achievements in European industry

.

20

Benjamin Heyne gives an interesting description of how the dyes were

prepared and the methods used in applying them to the walls of the palaces of

the rulers of Mysore-Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan. “The brilliancy of the colours

was achieved above all by means of thorough preparation of the dyes. The

initial mass consisted of five components mixed in the corresponding weight

proportions. Then as the mass was being heated, two other components and

then a third (linseed oil be heated to the boiling point)

.

21

19 Benjamine Heyne, Op. Cit., p. 212.

were added; the mass

so obtained was boiled for two hours on a low flame; in order to give the dye

20 V.I. Pavlov, Historical Premises of India’s Transition to Capitalism, Moscow, 1978, p. 115. 21 Ibid.

7

the necessary colour, more ingredients were added. Finally, before painting,

the wall was covered with a special substance and painted only after it was

thoroughly puttied.

As far as the technique of tanning was concerned, in Mysore there was a

special process. One day, the goat skins were dried in the sun, then for two

days they22 were soaked in river water and then placed for four days in a vat in

which, to a definite amount of water, they added half the same amount of the

“milk of wild cotton” and a handful of salt; for four more days the skins were

soaked in water and scraped clean of hair. Over the next two or three days, the

skins were dried in a cool place, whitened by means23 of special clay, soaked

twice again in solutions and only then, subjected to dyeing. Then a dye

consisting of three components added in the right proportion was prepared

under controlled heating. The dye was rubbed in to the processed skin which

was then placed in another solution for five or six days, with the skin taken out

of the vat every morning and washed thoroughly. The skin was finally24

22 Heyne, Op. Cit., pp. 88-89.

ready

only after another period of drying, when it assumed a dark-red colour and

became soft. Although the process was laborious, the final product was high

quality leather. Pavlov gives the opinion that because of the laborious process,

idling time and wastage of labour, the net profit for the producer was not

substantial.

23 Ibid. 24 V.I. Pavlov, Op. Cit., p. 116.

8

Some of the authorities like Buchanan and H. Colebrooke lament about

the absence of division of labour in the Indian handicrafts production. Sub-

division of labour was very unusual in India25. According to Colebrooke,

every manufacturers, every artisan working for his own account, conducts the

whole process of his art, from the formation of his tools to the sale of his

production26

The European observes always used the European yardstick for the

handicraft production. In the 17

.

th and 18th

Eighteenth century eastern India was famous for its production of

textiles. Bengal was famous for its production of Dacca muslins, which were

sold all over the world. According to the official statistics, in 1753, before the

battle of Plassey, the export of clothes from Dacca came to 2,850,000 Arcot

rupees

centuries, it was ideal that there was

no separation of capital investor and labourer. The artisan himself invested the

capital in production and he used his labour, and his family labours for the

production. His professional knowledge was essentially a caste based, family

based, heritage which was not shared with every one in the street. In fact, in

the weaving sector, where it was necessary, the division of labour in production

could be noticed, involving immediate family circles.

27. The parity between the pound, sterling and the Arcot rupee was 1

pound sterling = 8 Arcot Rupee in the middle of the 18th

25 H. Colebrooke, Remarks on the Husbandry and Internal Commerce of Bengal, London 1804, p. 48.

century. Dacca was a

great emporium of Asia. The British, French and the Dutch East India

26 Colebrooke, Op. Cit., pp. 48-49. 27 J.R. Taylor, A Sketch of the Topography and Statistics of Dacca in Bengal, 1851, pp. 189-190.

9

Companies and the private European merchants carried away from Dacca

clothes worth Rs. 950,000. Aremenian merchants purchased goods worth

Rs.5,00,000 for Iran and Arab countries. And the Persian merchants alone

carried goods worth Rs.1,00,000. In 1753, the merchants trading on markets in

North India purchased in Dacca clothes worth Rs.5,55,000/-28. In addition to

this, the value of clothes earmarked for Delhi and to Murshidabad, the capital

of the Bengal Nawabs came to Rs.1,00,000 and Rs.1,00,000 respectively.

Along with this, the Indian merchants trading in Bengal took away clothes

worth Rs. 3,00,000. In fact, the House of Jagat Seth alone ordered29 clothes

worth Rs.1,50,000/-. It is also true that there was great degree of

diversification in textile production. It ranged from the finest muslins30 worn

by the inhabitants of the local chief’s Zenana to coarse clothes which went to

make the garments of the poor ryot. Taylor has named five towns of Bengal,

which had specialized on the manufacture of coarse cloth which was cheap31

In Bellary, in the Mysore Kingdom, there existed substantial cloth

manufacturing and the town catered not only for the local needs, but also for

export. Coarse cloth for the masses was made and sold at weekly fairs.

Clothes for mass consumption were produced in several other Mysore towns.

It is also important to mention that vigorous trade in clothes had started in

different regions of the Mysore kingdom and also in South India.

.

28 Ibid. 29 Ibid. 30 K. Dutta, Studies in the History of Bengal Subah, Part 1, Social and Economic, Calcutta, 1936, p. 425. 31 K. Dutta, Studies in the History of Bengal Subah, Part 1, Social and Economic, Calcutta, 1936, p. 425.

10

Merchants from Bellary, Adoni, Hubli, Guti and other places, situated

hundreds of miles32

Pavlov says that in the 18

away from Bangalore maintained permanent agents in that

city. These merchants sold cotton, coarse yarn, blankets, wheat etc. In

exchange, Bangalore supplied dyed cotton clothes. It was reported that

altogether 1500 cotton cart loads of cotton 50 cart loads of cotton yarn and 230

cart loads of raw silk arrived at Bangalore every year.

th Century33

In the 18

, there were indications of small

local markets merging into a general market of consumer goods for one large

region like Mysore or Bengal. These markets indicated that the consumption

level of the general masses had substantially increased.

th century India, in many areas, merchant capital was essentially

engaged in purchasing the products, instead of investing in production. In the

18th

A fact indeed which might appear altogether wonderful, if it were not at

the same time observed that the greater part of this body of people (spinner and

weavers) is composed of women belonging to the families of husbandmen or

manufacturers, and who could not otherwise be more usefully employed at

least during the hot and rainy seasons of the year. 300,000 weavers, masters

century Bengal 4,00,000 maunds of cotton were picked annually and after

ginning this left, 1,30,000 maunds of cotton fibre valued at 1.2 million rupees.

Another 6,00,000 rupees worth of cotton was imported from distant places like

Surat and Mirzapur. This huge mass of cotton was distributed among the

spinner in lots which kept them busy for a mouth.

32 Buchanan, A Journey, Vol. I, p. 40. 33 V.I. Pavlov, Historical Premises…., p. 132.

11

and journey men produced 3 million pieces of cloth a year, which cost 28

million rupees, including 1.5 million rupees worth of silk cloth, the price of the

yarn needed was not more than half that of the price of piece goods….34

From the aforesaid discussion, it is very clear that India was not a

poverty striken, backward country before the British take over. India was a

leading manufacturing country for the 16

The above statement was by Grant who had keenly observed the work of

weavers and the spinners.

th, 17th century standards. By the time

the English and the Dutch started their commercial activities in India, unlike

that of the Portuguese days, they were in need of Indian finished goods,

particularly textiles of multiple varieties saltpeter, silk, calicoes, indigo. The

sheer volume of export indicated the existence of a robust manufacturing sector

in India. These evidences which we get from the 16th – 17th century sources,

disproves the 19th

In fact, the developments in the 18

century notions of the British that India was traditionally an

agricultural country and that the Indians were not fit for any kind of

manufacturing.

th century Mysore kingdom were not a

mere continuation of the 17th

According to Ashok Sen

century situation, but something beyond it. The

Mysore kingdom was more like a modern state of Europe.

35

34 Ibid.

, the system of state-craft that Tipu strived to

evolve and administer that the political economy of his dominions could act as

35 Ashok Sen, A Pre-British Economic Formation in India of the Late 18th Century: Tipu Sultan’s Mysore, in Barun De (ed.) Perspectives in Social Sciences, I, Oxford, 1977.

12

the effective base of a decisive challenge to British power. Tipu had a great

desire to profit by western science and western political philosophy.

He was fully aware of what was happening in contemporary France. He

provided the moral, physical and financial support for the French soldiers who

founded the Jacobin club in Srirangapatna. The occasion was the fifth year of

the formation of the French Republic in 1797. He ordered36

Even a conservative British historian P.E. Robert

a salute of two

thousand three hundred canons, five hundred rockets and all the musketry to

celebrate the occasion. The celebration was concluded with his inspiring

speech.

37

According to Ashok Sen, the modern economic advancement and

progress in Europe commenced only after the rise of the Renaissance

Monarchies

states that Tipu

standards out as one of the greatest of our adversaries.

38 in Europe, under whom the modern nation states emerged. H.R.

Trevor-Roper39

36 Ibid.

states that Europe under the Renaissance Monarchies in the

sixteenth century witnessed the excited discovery of world upon world,

adventure upon adventure, the progressive enlargement of sensitivity and

show… Expansion, extension – these are its essential characteristics”.

Capitalism in Europe made its first appearance in the spheres of commerce,

company promoting and the money market under some of these monarchies,

37 P.E. Roberts, India under Wellesley, London, 1929, p. 57. 38 Ashok Sen, Op. Cit.., p. 50. 39 H.R. Trevor-Roper, The General Crisis of the 17th Century in Trever Ashton (ed.) Crisis in Europe,

1560-1660, London, 1970, p. 68.

13

cities and towns emerged free of the feudal nexus. Trade, crafts and guilds

developed in these urban areas, promising enormous potentialities for

economic expansion and capital accumulation. Under ideal monarchies we

come across an autonomous sphere of economic activity without any religious

and political restrictions. While the Spanish monarchy failed in promoting such

developments, England, Holland and France Expanded substantially under their

monarchies.

Therefore, the making of a strong political system in the 18th

A Brief History

century

Mysore under Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan certainly contributed to the rise of

the same economic and social forces in the eighteenth century Mysore.

Haidar Ali gained defacto control over Mysore in 1761 AD. He was

responsible for transforming Mysore from a small principality of the southern

of present Karnataka into a vast Kingdom of South India, with territories

outside the Karnataka region. At the dawn of the 18th century the Mughal

imperial authority was on the decline. The Nawabs of Bengal and Awadh had

control over better resources than the imperial Mughals. The major political

forces of South India in the 18th century were, Mysore, the Nizam of

Hyderabad, the Mahratta confederacy and the English East India Company.

The French were, in fact, on the decline. In 1780/84 A.D. during the second

Anglo-Mysore War, several Paleygars of the Carnatic region openly defied the

14

British authority and supported Haidar Ali40. Subsequently the Madras

authorities took firm measures to counter the challenge posed by Haidar Ali

and the Paleygars. The English East India Company took firm steps to41

weaken and cripple the Paleygars. During the span of four years, between

1795 to 1799, the English East India Company occupied several Palayams of

these local potentates42. In fact, in the Manapparai, Dindugal region several

chiefs were expelled from their respective districts. By the close of the 18th

century, the Paleygars were reduced to a mere relic of the past and they

completely lost their resources for any meaningful resistance43

In the Carnatic region, a local chieftain like Dindigal Paleygar

Virupakshi was a diplomat – an expert in forming leagues against the British

. After the

suppression of the Princes and the Paleygars the British power was on the

ascendency. However, during 1763 to 1799, the major political force against

the British in South India was the Mysore Kingdom under Haidar Ali and Tipu

Sultan.

44.

In the year 1792, the English had started its trading and political activities at

Dindigal after capturing it from Mysore. The peasantry in the area was bitter

against the British for their excessive land taxation cashing on this anti-British

feeling. Gopala45

40 General Report to Madras Council Vol. 2, p. 74.

Nayak formed Leagues along with Paleygar of Manapparai,

Yadul Nayak of Delli and with some minor chieftains. Armed supporters from

41 Ibid. 42 Lord Hobart, 4th March 1795, Political Despatches to England, Vol. 2, pp. 338-340. 43 Madras Council, 29 Nov. 1799, Revenue Conultations, Vol. 99, pp. 3249-56 44 Proceedings of the Board of Revenue (PBOR), April 1799. 45 PBOR, 21 January 1799, Vol. 217, p. 594.

15

Manapparai Kallarnadu, Coimbatore46 and Salem joined together. Tipu Sultan

responded to this call. During the same period, a bitter foe of the British,

Kerala Varma Prince of the Kottayathu family of Malabar constituted the

Malabar-Coimbatore league. The leaders of the Malabar-Coimbatore League47

Tipu Sultan provided the leadership for these anti-British formations

during the close of the 18

also turned towards Tipu for help.

th

The dreadful adversary of the British, Tipu Sultan was the illustrious son

of an illustrious father, Haidar Ali. Haidar Ali was a great soldier, well-known

in the art of military strategy, diplomacy and field maneuvers. Haidar Ali had

ruled over the destiny of Mysore with unbridled autocracy for two decades and

added several features to his cap. In his military

century. But these efforts did not succeed in the

end, because Tipu himself faced martyrdom shortly.

48

In the second Anglo-Mysore war, with the co-operation of the Nizam

and the Mahrattas he had routed the British army under Col. Baillie and created

a shock for the British establishment in India. It was then that he started

engagements against the

British, he could inflict heavy blows to the British and even the British

presence in Madras was in great danger. He had entered Madras and dictated a

humiliating treaty to the British on the termination of the First Anglo-Mysore

war in 1769. Even the British presence in the South was under threat.

46PBOR, `5 April 1799 , Vol. 225, pp. 3349-52. 47 Military Consultations, Madras Council, 6 Aug. 1799, Vol. 256, p. 5114. 48 H.L. Gupta, Tipu Sultan – A Distinguished Martyr for Freedom Souvenir, Seminar on Tipu Sultan, Sept. 1989, Mysore University.

16

building up a strong navy with his own resources, to counter the British49

Tipu took over the reins of administration in 1782, after the death of

Haidar Ali, while the war was still in progress. Tipu Sultan sat on the seat of

power in the midst of a war and continued to be on the war-front till his death

in 1799. Thus, his 17 years of administrative career was spent on waging wars,

repairing damages caused by the wars and making preparations for the

approaching wars. Tipu successfully completed the second Anglo-Mysore war

and forced the British to agree to a friendly treaty at Mangalore. This Treaty

was not an unequal treaty to any one. But

.

From such a Father, Tipu Sultan had inherited personal valour of the highest

kind undying adventurous spirit, skill in warfare and art of administration.

50

Subsequent to the Treaty of Mangalore the entire attention of Tipu was

centered around consolidating his power, mustering his military and financial

resources and to develop international contacts with the European and Asian

powers to gain their support against the British 1780, Haidar Ali had attempted

a confederation of the Marathas, the Nizam and the French against the English.

This confederation did not have any lasting gain, because of its internal

suspicion and disunity. Tipu however made a serious effort to revive this

alliance against the British, but with limited success. Tipu Sultan went a step

it was psychologically disturbing

for the British general who was supposed to be a war veteran. Governor

General Warren Hastings considered the treaty as a humiliating pacification.

49 Ibid., p. 34, 50 Ibid.

17

ahead and designed an alliance of the French, the Mahrattas, the Nizam, the

Afghans and the Ottoman Turks.

Tipu desired the Sultan of Turkey to join his crusade against the British.

He sent his first embassy to Constantinople51 in 1784. A second embassy was

sent in 1785 under Gulam Ali Khan, Lutf Ali Baig, Shah Nuraullah and

Muhammad Haniff. Here, the main attention of Tipu’s embassy was to

conclude a political and military treaty with the Turkish Sultan. Tipu had

written a detailed letter to Sultan Abdul Hamid, explaining the political

situation and the British expansion in India. The fourth article of the proposed

treaty related to the military operation between Mysore and Turkey52. The

Treaty stated emphatically that “… whatever forces the Sultan of Turkey is

prepared to dispatch through the ships Tipu engages to bear all their

expenses”53

Another major power outside India which Tipu approached for military

alliance was Afghanistan. Afghanistan ruled at that time by Zaman Shah the

grandson of well-known Ahmed Shah Abdali

. Although the envoys were treated with great courtesy by Sultan

Abdul Hamid, the issue of military help was evaded because, Turkey itself was

engaged in resisting the southern expansion of Russia with British help.

54

51 Hikmet Bayur, Mysore Sultan’s Tipu Ile Osmanli Padshah Series I, Document 2.

. When Zaman Shah occupied

the throne and planned an invasion of Northern India, Tipu sent two

ambassadors, Mir Habibullah and Muhammad Reza to Kabul to discuss a

52 Ibid. 53 Hukum Naroah (Mutaffariqath) R.L.S.B. Ms. No. 1677. F. 11-B 54 Alexander Beatson, A View of the War with Tipu Sultan, London, 1792, p. 188.

18

possible Mysore-Afghan alliance55. In his reply to Tipu had expressed his

desire for his Indian invasion. Zaman Shah, in fact, did march upto Lahore, but

made a hasty retreat, due to strong British resistance56

However, Tipu’s major diplomatic ventures were with the French. It is

therefore necessary to look at the Mysore-French relations in detail.

and diplomatic

maneuvering.

MYSORE-FRENCH RELATIONS

The relationship between the kingdom of Mysore and the kingdom of

France is a very important area of historical importance. If these contacts

started during the days of Haidar Ali and continued throughout the period of

Tipu Sultan had become mutually fruitful, the 18th and 19th

In fact, the war of Austrian succession (1740-1748) and the Seven

Years; War (1756-1763) had the potential to have its deeper impact spread to

North America and India simultaneously. The Treaty of Aix-La-Chappalle

(1748) was a serious setback for France that in the French language there is

even a saying (“Faire La guerre pour Le Foi de prusse”)

century history of

the Indian sub-continent would have been different.

57

55 R.M. Martin, Despatches, Minutes, Correspondence of the Marquis of Wellesley, Vol. V, No.XV.

. “To wage war for

the king of Pussia”. France entered the Austrian succession war without any

clear purpose, but to humiliate the House of Austria. But by the treaty of Aix-

La-Chappelle (1748) , France did not get any advantage. The only beneficiary

was the ruler of Prussia. The Seven Years War ended with major disasters for

56 Ibid., XXV and XVII. 57 Lafont, “French Military Intervention in India” in Tipu Sultan and his Age, p. 65.

19

the French. By the Treaty of Paris (1763), they lost Canada to England, ceded

Eastern Louisiana to Spain as a compensation for the loss of Florida, which

Spain ceded to England. At the same time they lost their influence on India58.

They could only get back five tiny possessions, including Chandranagore and

Pondicherry59

The final outcome of the Treaty of Paris was that the British had

virtually eliminated the French in India. At the same time, England also

became the virtual master of North America, a huge space with a strong

English population in 13 colonies with access to the Pacific and the Atlantic

oceans.

.

Well-known economic historian Om Prakash in his work European

Commercial Enterprise in Pre-Colonial India, states that after the success of

the British in the Battle of Plassey, seventy five ships loaded with silver went

down the Hughly from Murshidabad to Calcutta, where they were received

triumphantly60

According to Om Prakash, “Bengal revenues provided an indirect

subsidy to the British exchequer”. For the next quarter century, till 1784,

England stopped sending silver to India for its Indian trade. Bengal revenues

surpluses were spent both in the purchase of Bengal goods to be exported from

India, and in developing a formidable army, 115,000 strong (90% sepoys)

.

61

58 Berenger J and J. Meyer, La France Dans le Monde au Xviiie siècle, Paris, SEDES, 1993, pp. 159-238.

in

59 Ibid. 60 Om Prakash, Europan Commercial Enterprises in Pre-Colonial India (New Cambridge History of

India, 11, 5. 1998, pp. 268-336. 61 Ibid.

20

1782. That was one of the reasons for the gradual drain of silver from Northern

India in the late 18th and early 19th century. According to Lafont,62 the

supremacy in world politics depended on (a) Political power in England (b)

Space with harbours, (c) men and wood for the Navy in America and (d)

money in India. The Seven Years War ended, according to Choiseul63, with

France having no money, no resources, no navy, no army, no generals, and no

ministers. The debt was one billion invrelivres turnois (4 years of French

revenue) French agents were also sent to America to see things for themselves.

Pentlerroy (Beaulieu) made a survey of the eastern coast of USA in 1764 and

1766. Kalb is another agent who spent two years in America (1766-67),

sending reports on the political conditions of the country. Benjamin Franklin

was sent to France in 1776 as a representative of the American Congress and he

was working with two other colleagues as fictitious ambassadors of a non-

existing United States of America. The French Secret agents assured64 the

Americans that the French were not going back to America to reconquer or to

take revenue but only to assist the Americans to free themselves from English

bonds. A French Agent Bonvouloir who was earlier serving in India sent his

report to Versailles on the American situation in 177665

.

62 Lafont, Op. Cit., p. 65. 63 A Mortineu, Bussy et L’Inde Francaise, p. 368. 64 Lafout, Op. Cit., p. 69 65 Ibid.

21

There was consensus in North America in the 13 Colonies that they

should fight for their independence. Bonvouloir wrote thus: “The colonies

have 50,000 regular troops well clothed, well-armed, well-disciplined and well

commanded”. For two years the French provided indirect help.

The Americans wanted ships, money, arms and ammunition, men

(particularly engineers) and clothing. In 1777, five French ships sent by

Beaumarchais had delivered 164 guns, 41,000 cannon balls, 37,000 muskets

with 373,000 flints, 514,000 balls, 161,000 livres of powder, 11,0000 grendade,

20,000 livres of lead, 4,0000 tents, 3600 blankets, 8750 pairs of shoes and

4,000 dozen stocks. The battle of Saratogh was won by an American army

entirely equipped with French arms.

In 1776, Beaumarchais received one million livres from France. This

was on the 1 of June 1776 while the French Government advanced 3 million

livres to Benjamin Franklin. In 177766 two million livres were advanced to the

Deputes d’Amerique while Vergennes gave one million livres to help

Beaumarchais continue his operations. In June 1776 officers and military

engineers were allowed to go on leave for the unstated purpose of sailing to

America. La Fayatte took leave in June, Kalb along with67

15 other officers

sailed to America in November. Washington’s defeat at Long Island was due

to the total absence of engineers and naturally, the Americans were assisted

ably by these army engineers.

66 Ibid. 67 Ibid.

22

Mysore and India

On the Indian side, several powers, notably Mysore wanted French

intervention to make themselves free from the British influence. Initially, the

French wanted a formidable alliance of the Nizam, Mysore, Marathas,

Travancore and also Delhi. The question before the French Government was

first to assess whether there was possibility68

As in the case of America, in India also, it was decided to send special

agents to conduct enquiry and send reports. Palebot de Saint Lubin who was

initially in the army of Lally in 1757-62

of a comprehensive alliance in

India against the East India Company. And if any possibility existed, how a

French naval and military operation could take place in order to deal a decisive

blow to the English in the sub-continent. Information reached Paris from

various sources including those officers who served in India during the Seven

Years War. Along with these many French civilians, who were acquainted

with Indian politics, sent reports on the conditions of the Indian states and

suggestions for alliances with Mysore, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Delhi.

69 came back as an intelligence agent to

Mysore70 in 1766-1769 and returned to Pune in 1777. Lubin71

68 Sen, S.P. The French in India, pp. 194-210.

was active

during the early days of Haidar Ali’s rule. Another special agent was

Montigny who was in Surat, Agra, Hyderabad and Goa. In order to co-ordinate

the work of the intelligence agents, Governor of Chandranagore sent Visage

and other agents to Delhi.

69 Lafont, Ibid. 70 Sen, S.P. Op. Cit., pp. 180-194. 71 Ibid., pp. 194-210.

23

As they did in North America, the French decided to reinforce the Indian

states by sending volunteers, officers and engineers under civilian cover. They

even allowed the French soldiers to join the Indian princes under the pretence

of desertion. By 1770 an office headed by Marechal de Camp Baudoin was in

charge of these operations. Under this programme Col. Hugel and his Hussars

stayed in Mysore to provide military training and technical advice there.

In order to have any future military or naval operations it was necessary

to have upto date maps of the Indian coasts. Therefore, in 1777 Lafitte de

Braissler, a French Engineer sailed along with Admiral Tranjoly in his flagship

De Brilliant and prepared maps of Eastern coast of India, till Pegu, Ache,

Sumatra and Nicobar Islands. In 177872

However, on many occasions, the French civil and military leadership

failed to act on time. In 1778, Admiral Tronjoly arrived on the Indian waters

with a squadron of D’orves. This was an attemdpt to keep a balance of naval

strength between the French and the English. In February 1781, D’orves made

demonstration in the Coromandal coast, but did not come to the help of Haidar

Ali who wanted 800 gunners and marines to crush General Coote near

Cuddalore. The French Admiral D’orves even refused to blockade

he extensively mapped Malabar Coast.

The purpose was to improve the existing naval maps, so that the French could

keep a naval squadron in the Indian Ocean. This could be one with the

assistance of Mysore or other Indian rulers.

73

7272 Alexis Rinchenbak, Depot des Fortifications des colonies, Indes, CAOM, Aix-en-Provence, 1998.

Gen.

Coote by Sea, while Haidar Ali was attacking on land. Piveron de Morlat, who

73 Sen, S.P. Op. Cit., p. 223. A. Martineu, Bussy et L’Inde Francalse, pp. 327-442.

24

headed the negotiations with D’orver on behalf of Haidar Ali, was extremely

critical of him. It was a historic opportunity to eliminate the British power in

South India.

But the French Squadron leader stated that he had no orders for a

blockade. Haidar Ali knew very well that the French officers could take their

own decisions, if it was in the highest interest of the state. But D’orves was not

willing to act on at a critical juncture.

In the meanwhile preparations were going on in France to send a strong

squadron and an army to India. Bussy was to be the commander-in-chief of the

land and naval forces74. Bussy wanted 8000 troops and 10 million livres. He

was given 4000 troops from France and to set another 4000 from Mauritius. He

received 5 millions in cash and bonds for 5 millions drawn on the Dutch East

India Company. The king of France instructed Bussy that France had no

territorial ambition in India and that all the territories recaptured from the

British would be returned to their legitimate rulers75

74 Ibid., The French in India, p. 307.

. Since Bussy was expected

any time at Hede France and was supposed to follow up the first French

military detachment to India with all his forces, the French officer Butchmin,

who had only a small army under his command was instructed not to fight the

British before the arrival of Bussy and his army of 8,000. Dutchmein was put

in-charge to negotiate and draft a Treaty with Haidar Ali for military alliance

with Mysore. But these efforts did not succeed immediately because the Wakil

75 “Journal de board du Bailli de Suffren dansl’Inde 1781-84 Paris 1888 reprinted at Renness, 1995.

25

(Lawyer)76 of Haidar Ali posted t the French camp, was infact working for the

English. The French Admiral Suffren was77 in the meanwhile chasing the

English Navy near Ceylon and fought a major action at Providien on 12 April

178278

The naval actions of Suffren had tremendous impact on Haidar Ali.

Therefore suffren decided to come back to the commercial coast and Nabob

Haidar Ali agreed to the meeting which took place at Cadalore from 26

. However on 30 April at Batticoala (Ceylon) he received ministerial

orders to return to ille de France and wait for Bussy. He however decided to

disobey, the order because it was suicidal to leave the Indian waters when the

British army was still around. Other French officials, Piveron de Merlat and

Moissac had informed him that only his naval victories would help in

preventing a break up in the Mysore-French relations.

th to 29th

July 1782. According to the available information, the men were greatly

impressed with each other. On 28th July de Launay, Commissioner General of

Bussy had arrived at Cuddalore. He informed about Bussy’s arrival at Hede

France. He also informed Haidar that Bussy would soon reach India with

reinforcements and he delivered a letter of Bussy which contained the

paragraph of Louis XVI’s instructions to Bussy. The French objectives79 were

read out in the Durbar in the presence of the representatives and Wakils of the

Indian powers accredited to Haidar Ali. On 1st Aug. 1782 Suffren’s forces

sailed from Cuddalore. On 26th

76 Ibid.

he landed his navy at Trincomale in Ceylon

77 Ibid., and S.P. Sen, Op. Cit., pp. 244-246. 78 Journal du Marquis de Bussy, pp. 56-59. 79 Ibid., p. 139

26

which captured the city. On September 3, 1782 Suffren had another battle with

the Royal Navy. Peynier had disembarked 1400 soldiers and arrived on 29th

July 178280. Unfortunately almost 1032 of them were critically ill due to an

epidemic. Bussy wrote that 448 of his soldiers and officers had died of the

epidemic. Bussy himself was sick for a couple of weeks. It was only by

December 1782. Bussy could reach India with 2275 sick soldiers. This was a

great disappointment for Bussy, because he wanted to command at least 10,000

soldiers. In Juy 1782, when Duchemin fell ill81, he gave command of the army

to Hoffelize. Hoffelize was informed by Piveron that Haidar Ali had great

respect for the French and he was waiting for Bussy for a joint operation

against the British. Hoffelize immediately offered all his assistance to Mysore.

Haidar immediately asked him to train his infantry according to the French

pattern. This training was not something new82

Haidar Ali had promised Suffren that he would wait for Busy near

Cuddalore. When Piveron left for Cuddalore he learnt of the disaster of the

battle of the Saints in which part of the French fleet was destroyed.

. Ever since Dupleix detached

some French military instructors to Haidar Ali, for more than a quarter century,

the training programme went on smoothly.

There was a second tragedy at Soulanges in April 1782, while bringing

4000 men in 4 ships of the line and several other transports to help Bussy and

Suffren. He also learnt about Bussy’s own illness. 80 Ibid. 81 Lafont, J.M. “Observations on the French Military Presence in the Indian States 1750-1849”, in K.S.

Mathew ed. Indo-French Relations, ICHR. 82 Monograph-2, Delhi, 1999, pp. 199-234.

27

It was here that they learnt about the epidemic and about Bussy’s own

difficulty in leaving the Ile de France. On the top of these tragedies, Haidar

himself fell ill seriously. There French physicians, Rousseau Rochard and

Noel (Surgeons of the French army) attended him. But Haidar was against

undergoing a surgery for his stomach ailment. And when he finally agreed, for

a surgery, it was too late. Nabob Haidar Ali died at 8.30am on 7th Dec. 1782.

The French officials under the leadership of Piveron took a historic decision to

keep the news of Haidar’s demise a top secret in order to prevent any coup

within the kingdom to capture power. Tipu was away in Malabar with his

army. Piveron assured the Mysore authorities that the French army was

backing Tipu without any reservation. The French moved their forces till Jinji

and stayed83

It was a difficult time for Tipu, because his territories in Malabar,

Mangalore and Bednur where captured by the British and he wanted to

recapture them with some possible support of the French, on 24, March 1783.

The French advised him to wait for the arrival of Bussy and his troops. In the

meanwhile he got communication from Mysore that the British were planning a

serious attack on Mysore. Hence, Tipu held a durbar on 3

there till the arrival of Tipu from Malabar on 28 Dec. 1782. Tipu

thanked the French profusely for their timely help.

rd

83 Ibid.

March 1783 at

Cuddalore with both the French and the Mysorean officials and announced his

decision to move out of the Coromandal Coast to Mysore. He prepared a list of

28

forces in 20 cities of Carnatic84 the very next day he started marching back to

Bangalore. He had taken back 600 French Soldiers with him. The French

officer Hoffelize had to defend Cuddalore with only 600 French officers and

soldiers. By March 1785

Tipu received a letter from Bussy on 24

Suffren had arrived at Porto Novo with 7 ships, 3

frigates and 123 transports. Bussy himself had landed with his forces,

including the sick woldiers. A 21 gun salute and a general discharge of

artillery was ordered by Tipu in his honour.

th March 1783. Tipu sent the

French official Piveron to Cuddalore to instruct him of his plans, which

included the recapture of Bednur, Mangalore and then destroy the Tellicherry

settlement of the British in Malabar and later undertake a joint French-Mysore

attack of Madras. Piveron and Bussy were kept informed about the progress

Tipu was making on the western front. On 7th April, the Franco-Mysorean

troops recaptured Bednur. On 3rd May Piveron left Bussy and reached

Mangalore on 22nd June. The British garrison in Mangalore was besieged. The

French engineers completed the trenches. In the meanwhile, Bussy could not

move out of Cuddalore, because Mir-Mohin-ud-din his deputy Commander on

the Coromandal Coast refused to provide him with transportation facilities.

Tipu Sultan condemned Mir-Mohin-ud- and ordered him to obey Bussy’s

orders86

84 Piveron, Memoire Sur I”inde

. In the meanwhile General Stuart commended the attack on the French

85 Ibid. 86 Lafont, Op. Cit., p. 87.

29

at Cuddalore, because he knew that the French had neither money, transport

nor reinforcements. But Stuart did not succeed in his attempt.

Under such a situation, Bussy could not do anything more than

remaining with his camp. He did not have sufficient troops under his control

and he was also short of funds. The five millions he had carried in cash from

France had almost exhausted and he was informed by the Dutch financiers of

Ceylone that they could not pay him the 5 million lives agreed upon with “less

assurances and results.” On 20th June Suffren fought his last battle against the

Royal navy, off Cuddalore. He could inflict severe blow on the British and the

English squadron retreated to Madras. Suffren87 landed reinforcements to

Bussy. In the meantime, news reached Suffren that 6 ships of line carryng the

legion of Luxenburg, an elite unit send for Indian requirements. The French

squadron prevented any help to come from tranquebar and Nagapatnam and the

Mysorean cavalry with Tipu’s insistence proved very active in cutting the rears

of the British. While Suffren and Bussy were planning a final offensive, the

news reached that the Paris Treaty88

The signing of the Treaty of Versailles in1783 had far reaching

consequences on Mysore and Tipu Sultan. Negotiations continued between the

French and the English for almost nine months and the Treaty was signed on

3

was about to be signed and that the

hostilities to be ceased at once.

rd

87 Piveron de Merlat, Memoire Sur I’Inde

September 1783. Even before the formal signing of the treaty, the Indian

powers allied to the English or to the French were given four months to join the

88 A Martineau, Bussy et I’Inde Erancaise, p. 377.

30

peace process. These powers were not to receive any military assistance from

either of the European powers. However, assistance could be provided in the

form of diplomatic effort to settle or negotiate on the existing disputes89

There were great opportunities during the period of both Haidar and

Tipu to completely destroy the British power in South India. However, despite

several decades of friendship neither the French nor Mysore could come to the

effective help of the other in crises. First, when Haidar Ali had almost crushed

Eyre Coote and Cuddalur, he needed the support of 800 French Soldiers and

engineers which never came to him. Similarly when the French

.

90 were about

to win a decisive battle against the British, Bussy was not given transporting

animals to pull their field and siege artillery by Mir Mohin-du-din Tipu;s

commander in the Carnatic. On the 1st of October 1783 Tipu Sultan wrote to

de Bussy91

89 Lafont, Op. Cit., p. 93.

. You write that you have received information and orders from the

courts of France and London that the Governor of Madras has received the

same information to decide to have peace with me and with Mohammad Ali

Khan and that you have the intention of sending Mr.Martin and Krishna Rao to

Madras to discuss with them and to meet my wakils there. You also write to

me that after all the problems here are resolved, you would recommend me to

the King of France and inform him of my attachment to the French nation.

You and Mr.Suffren ardently desire the well-being and prosperity of my

kingdom and you would be attached to me in my good fortunes as well as in

my misfortunes so long as the two kingdoms last. I am sure by now that

Mr.Appajiram and Srinivasa Rao (Tipu’s Wakhils) have reached Madras and

90 Ibid. 91 Tipu’s Letter to Bussy. 1st Oct 1783, Correspondence of the French during the reign of Hyder Ali

and Tipu Sultan 1781-1783 (ed.). Suman Venkatesh, KSA Bangalore, 1997.

31

you would do well to send Mr.Martin and Mr. Krishna Rao (French Wakhils)

as written by you so that we can discuss and agree on a peace arrangement with

the English.”

Tipu Sultan had great expectations of signing a defensive and offensive

alliance with the French to resist the English expansion in India. Tipu

requested for 10,000 French troops92

under his direct command with an

assurance of the entire expenditure by the Mysore Kingdom. The Mysore

embassy though received with great importance by Louis XVI in a public

audience on 3 Aug 1788, the emperor politely evaded the question of an

offensive and defensive alliance, because of its implications on the European

political situation, involving the French and the English.

Review of Works

The life and times of Tipu Sultan has been subjected to extreme levels of

criticism or deification. While some of the contemporary British writers

painted him black into a religious bigot and tyrant, we also come across another

group of writers who demonstrate untinted deification without substantial

material evidence. There are also important works of early 19th

Col. Wilks wrote his Historical sketches of the South India in an attempt

to trace the History of Mysore (London 1817). The book was authored in

1810, more than a decade after Tipu’s death. This book makes an attempt to

century which

provide factual information on the state of the economy, society, resources,

wages and manufacturing, with historical analysis of the previous decades.

92 Kirkpatrick, Letters of Tipu Sultan, No. 336, p. 370

32

trade the History of Mysore with greater emphasis on the details of the war

with the Nizam, the Mahrattas and the British ‘Wilks’ book, despite its literary

flair, remains a masterly piece of colonial bias93

Another work on Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan was written by Bowring

. Wilks’ perspective was

limited. Being a functionary of the colonial state as well as the beneficiary of

the colonial dispensation, Wilks could not look at the historical process of this

period in an objective and scientific manner.

94,

titled, Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan

The most controversial work is the Select Letters of Tipu Sultan

compiled and published by Kirk Patrick. The critics of Kirkpatrick including

C.K. Kareem, allege that he was involved in dexterous manipulation and

interpolation of letters written by Tipu Sultan. They also accuse him of

defective translation from Persian to English. Despite this criticism,

Kirkpatrick still continues to be one of the major sources for the study of Tipu

Sultan. Another important, work is the Narrative of the War with Tipu Sultan

(Rulers of India Series). This book was

written in1893. Bowring was the Commissioner of Mysore after Mark Cubbon.

The major drawback of Bowring is that he relied heavily on Col. Wilks. As an

author, Col.Wilks was his predecessor. But Bowring did not critically look at

his predecessors’ work. He did not subject it to any kind of textual criticism.

Bowring reproduced passages after passages from Wilks without expressing

doubt about its veracity.

93`Sebastian Joseph, “Writings on Tipu: A Historiographical Critique”, Proceedings, Seminar on National Integration with Special Reference to Tipu Sultan, Mysore, 1989, p. 56. 94 For details, see Col.Wilks, Mark, Historical Sketches of South India, Mysore, London, 1817.

33

which focused mainly on the third Anglo-Mysore War from June 1791 to

February 1792. Dirom mainly concentrated on the military aspects of the war,

without discussing the political and the diplomatic issues involved in that.

Fullerton wrote the well-known book, A View of the English Interests

in India. As the title of his publication indicates, he was a staunch loyalist

who made use of every95

Another important work is titled A View of the Origin and Conduct of

the War with Tipu Sultan (1800). This book was written by Alexander

Beatson. There are other works such as Melleson’s Seringapatam, the capital

of Tipu, MMDLT, the History of Hyder Shah and his son Tipu Sultan (1855)

and similar such works provide only either biased or partisan view of the life of

Tipu Sultan.

opportunity to serve the British cause. As a Colonel

of the East India Company army, he continued on his own way, the military

operations in Malabar, despite the signing of the Treaty of Mangalore. In fact,

he had disobeyed his own superiors to promote the British interests! No

wonder, he served the British interest through his biased writings.

Although there are several books by the British historians, which are

highly critical of Tipu, are a few writers of the 20th century who have gone

beyond the 19th century British writers in their unprintable calumny against

Tipu Sultan. One such book is I.M. Muthanna’s Tipu Sultan X-rayed96

95 Ibid.

. P.N.

Oak, who provided the “Scholarly Introduction” to the above book, argues that

96 Sebastian Joseph, Was Tipu a bigot? Review of the Book, Tipu Sultan X-rayed by I.M.Muthanna, Deccan Herald, Oct. 25, 1981.

34

the mutinees of the type of 1857 were engineered by the Indian Muslims to

recover the lost throne”. Here, we have a rare-tribe of patriotic historian, who

chuckles at the fact that the 1857 struggle got suppressed by the British.

Moved by the same spirit, Muthanna dedicates his book to those who came to

India, the British who were on their “self-ordained mission to build a vast

united India”. One of the primary intentions of I.M. Muthanna was to project

Tipu as a religious bigot. But we have vast sources which prove that Tipu was

in harmony with Hindu religious institutions including the Sringeri Mutt,

Guruvayoor temple and hundreds of other institutions. He had given land

grants and money grants to these institutions in Mysore and outside.

According to Nikhiles97

97 Nikhiles Guha, Research on Mysore History -18th and 19th Centuries. Proceedings, National

Seminar on Tipu Sultan, Mysore University, 1989.

Guha, Mohibbul Hasan and M.H. Gopal are the

two important names with emphasis on serious research into Mysore history.

They have come out with their works after sustained research over a long

period. Moibbul Hassan’s work, History of Tipu Sultan was published in

1951 (Calcuta). Hassan places major emphasis on diplomatic and military

history, since that was the major emphasis in those days. Although Mohibbul

Hassan had access to sources in India, London and Paris he did not make any

attempt to make a foray into the economic, history or the commercial history of

the period. Mohibbul Hassan also edited the diary of Tipu’s embassy to

Constantinople in 1786 entitled Waq-i-Manazil-i-Rum which was published

in 1968. The book provides a foray into the commercial relations and his grand

strategy for establishing trading centres in the Persian Gulf region Yemen,

35

Constantinople and other places. Despite this information n the commercial

activities, Hassan did not attempt to write anything seriously on commercial

relations or on the economic activities of Tipu Sultan.

M.H. Gopal was perhaps the first scholar to make serious emphasis on

the economic history of Mysore from the second half of the 18th century to the

first decades of the 19th century. His two works are important in this respect.

Tipu Sultan’s Mysore – An Economic Study (Bombay, 1971) focuses on the

revenue of the Kingdom of Mysore, commercial policy of Tipu Sultan, military

expenditure, financial administration and on general financial situations. M.H.

Gopal being basically an economist, his emphasis was purely on quantitative

study of the financial question98 and financial administration. M.H. Gopal does

not make any attempt to explain the specific colonial context, its expansion and

the nature of a war-turn economy pitted against colonial expansion. The same

emphases on the financial aspects are continued in the other volume on the first

three decades of the 19th century, viz., The Finances of the Mysore State,

1799-183199

Prof.B. Sheik Ali’s book, Brtish Relations with Haidar Ali (1963) is a

serious work based on archival research in India and abroad. The same author

has also brought out other works including the edited volume entitled Tipu

Sultan – A Great Martyr (Bangalore, 1993).

. M.H. Gopal does not make any attempt to study the implications

of the Treaty of 1799 and the resultant unequal financial relations between the

Princely Mysore State and the British Paramountcy.

98 M.H. Gopal, Tipu Sultan’s Mysore – An Economic Study (Bombay, 1971). 99 M.G. Gopal, The Finances of the Mysore State 1799-1831 (Mysore, 1960).

36

Nikhiles Guha’s work, Pre-British State System in South India –

Mysore 1761-1799) discusses among other things, land revenue,

administration, trade, manufacturing, army and the potentialities of

development.

Another important work is by Suman Venkatesh entitled The

Correspondence of the French during the Reign of Hyder Ali and Tipu

Sultan. The first volume contains letters from 1781 to 1783. Some of the

letters included in the book provide vital information on the commercial and

diplomatic relations.

Prof. Anirudh Ray has brought out a collection of Seminar papers under

the caption Tipu Sultan and His Age (Kolkata, 2002).

Confronting Colonialism – Resistance and Modernization under Haidar

Ali and Tipu Sultan edited by Irfan Habib was published by Tulika in 1999.

The volume includes not only the contemporary works but also some of the

contributions by earlier scholars.

Kate Brittle Bank’s work, Tipu Sultans Search for Legitimacy

(Oxford University Press, 1997) has taken uphither to untouched aspects of his

life and administration. The book mainly focuses its attention on (a) Tipu’s

path to legitimacy and (b) the expression and dialectic of power.

Sources

The sources on the history of the second half of the 18th century Mysore

is available in different languages such as English, French, Dutch, Persian and

Kannada. There are also a few records in Turkish, Mahratti, Malayalam and

37

Portuguese. The Portuguese records provide information on Haidar Ali’s

contacts with Portutuese at Goa, Turkish records at Constantinople (Istambul)

provide information on Tipu’s embassies to Constantinople. The Mahratta

sources mainly focus on Mysore-Mahratta relations and military engagements.

The Malayalam sources, though few, concentrates on Mysorean invasion of

Malabar. The Dutch sources in the Tamil Nadu Archives belonging to the 18th

The sources in Kannada, the Kadithas of Sringeri Mutt reveals that both

Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan had very cordial relationship with the Mutt and

they kept the religious heads in high esteem. In 1791, when the Marathas

under Parashuram Bhau invaded Mysore, they had damaged the Sringeri

temple and plundered its property. Even the idol of Saradamba was damaged.

The Swamiji of Sringeri Mutt informed Tipu about these raids and damages.

Tipu immediately wrote to the Swamiji about his deep regrets and ordered all

the possible assistance to the Mutt to restore the damaged properties of the

temple. He also provided financial assistance to the Mutt.

century, viz., official correspondence diaries, proceedings and reports provide

veritable information on Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan. The Dutch Record No.13

translated and edited by Galletti is very crucial to the understanding of the

period. The Dutch Record No.5 Historical account of Nawab Hyder Ali khan

edited by Rev. Fr. Groot Dutch Record No.2. Memoir written in the year 1781

by Adrian Moens, governor Batavia Council, Dutch Record No.11 Memoir of

Carper De Jones 1761 are important Dutch records.

38

The French records are available in the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.

Records are also available in other places such as Archives Nationales,

Ministere de La guerre and Ministere des Affaires Etraugeres. The Journal of

Bussy, historical documents on Tipu, Bellecombe’s letters to Piveran, the

Expedition of Suffren to India, Tipu’s correspondence with the French before

and after the French Revolution, Napoleon’s letter to Tipu are some of the

important documents. Similarly, the Archives of Fort Louis at Mauritius, has

letters of governor Cossigny to the French Governor at Pondicherry regarding

Tipu Sultan and his war efforts against the British and the possible French

assistance. A few letters of the colonial assembly to Tipu regarding the

French-Mysore relations belonging to the last decade of the 18th

English Records

century, the

list of French soldiers to Tipu’s army. A large number of other French records

throw light on not only Tipu’s relationship with the French but also on the trade

relations and the general political situation.

The English records pertaining to the second half of the 18th

The unpublished records of the National Archives include among other things

century are

available at various places such as the India Office Library, London, National

Archives, Delhi, Tamil Nadu Archives, Calicut Archives, Bombay Archives

and the Karnataka State Archives, Bangalore.

(a) Foreign and Home Department Records of1756-80 (Secret

consultations)

39

(b) Foreign and Political Consultations 1756-1780 Proceedings 1767

(Secret)

(c) Foreign and Political Select Committee Proceedings 1768 (January to

July)

(d) Foreign Miscellaneous Vol. 54, 1792-1793.

(e) Foreign Misc.S.No.92 Memoirs of the Northern Parghanas of Mysore

1800-1801 C. Machenzie, Capt of Engineers, March 1803.

(f) Foreign Misc. Memoirs of the Registers of Hoskote, Kolar, John

Warren, 1802.

(g) Foreign Misc. Report relating to the Mysore Survey. C. Mechenzie

1800.

(h) Foreign Dept. Secret correspondence 1788-89.

The unpublished Records of the Madras Record Office (Tamil Nadu

Archives) include

a) Cochin Commissioner’s Diaries, Vols. 2032, 2033 and 2034.

b) Factory Records (a)Diaries, (b) General

c) Madras Secret Consultations, Vol. V (1797), VI (1798), Vol. VIII

(1799).

d) Tellicherry Factory Records, Vol.

The Inam Registers of Calicut Archives in five folio volumes contain the

rent free lands given by Tipu Sultan to various temples, Satrams, Hindu

40

charitable institutions and Brahmin scholars in Kerala. It also gives a list of

land grant and money grants to both Hindu and Muslim institutions.

Among the published works of the National Archives, we have the India

House Correspondence Vol. II, 1757-59, Foreign and Secret series 1781-1786,

Vol.XV, Foreign and Secret Series Vol. XVII (1792-95). Malabar Joint

Commissioners Report 1792 and the Selections from the Oramis Manuscripts.

These records are helpful in looking at the political and diplomatic

developments involving Mysore and the British.

The Tamil Nadu Archives contains several published records of the

period under discussion. The Dutch Record No.5 is a Historical Account of

Nawab Haidar Ali Khan from 1763. The Dutch Record No.13 contains the

Memorandum on the Administration of the Malabar Coast by Dutch Governors

Gollenesse and Moens. This also includes a brief biography of Haidar Ali by

Moens the Dutch Governor.

The other important records are :

a) Baramahal Records Vol. I, II, III, IV, V, XI and

b) Tellicherry Consultations, Vol. I to XVIII, 1725-1752, 1766-1780.

There are also a series of other reports such as:

a) Report on the Southern Division of Malabar 1801 by John Wye.

b) Repdort on the Revenue Affairs of Malabar and Canara by William

Thackeray 1911.

c) The Despatches, Minutes and Correspondence of Marquis of

Wellesley ed. By Montgomery Martin.

d) Report on the provinces of Malabar and Canara by Sullivan 1841.

41

These records provide substantial information on the land revenue

administration during the period of Tipu Sultan in Malabar, Coimbatore and

other areas. Some of records, such as Tellicherry Diaries and Consultations,

Factory Recors etc., give us detailed information on the oceanic trade involving

the Malabar Coast, during the second half of the 18th

There are several official survey and study reports, travel accounts and

memoirs which are important for the present study. Among these, Francis

Hamilton Buchanan’s Journey from Madras Through Mysore, Canara and

Malabar, 3 Vols. (London 1807, James Forbes Oriental Memoirs, Vol. IV

(London, 1813), Tome Pires Summa Oriental Vol. 1 (London, 1944 edn),

R.H. Elliot Experiences of Planter in the Jungles of Mysore (London, 1874),

Benjamin Lewis Rice, Mysore Gazetteer, 2 Vols, 1876-78, Bangalore and

Abbe Dubois, Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies (London, 1924 edn)

are important works which throws light on the second half of the 18

century.

th

century.