Treaty of Madras
Encyclopedia
The Treaty of Madras was a peace agreement signed in 1769 between Mysore
and the British East India Company
which brought an end to the First Anglo-Mysore War
. Fighting had broken out in 1767 and the forces of Hyder Ali
had come close to capturing Madras at one point.
The Treaty contained a clause requiring the British to assist Hyder Ali if he was attacked by his neighbours. Hyder felt this agreement was broken when he didn't receive any help when Mysore went to war with the Marathas
in 1771. Bad faith arising from the broken clause may have been a reason behind the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Mysore War
a decade later.
Kingdom of Mysore
The Kingdom of Mysore was a kingdom of southern India, traditionally believed to have been founded in 1399 in the vicinity of the modern city of Mysore. The kingdom, which was ruled by the Wodeyar family, initially served as a vassal state of the Vijayanagara Empire...
and the British East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
which brought an end to the First Anglo-Mysore War
First Anglo-Mysore War
The First Anglo-Mysore War was a war in India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company. The war was instigated in part by the machinations of Asaf Jah II, the Nizam of Hyderabad, who sought to divert the company's resources from attempts to gain control of the Northern...
. Fighting had broken out in 1767 and the forces of Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali
Hyder Ali was the de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore in southern India. Born Hyder Naik, he distinguished himself militarily, eventually drawing the attention of Mysore's rulers...
had come close to capturing Madras at one point.
The Treaty contained a clause requiring the British to assist Hyder Ali if he was attacked by his neighbours. Hyder felt this agreement was broken when he didn't receive any help when Mysore went to war with the Marathas
Maratha Empire
The Maratha Empire or the Maratha Confederacy was an Indian imperial power that existed from 1674 to 1818. At its peak, the empire covered much of South Asia, encompassing a territory of over 2.8 million km²....
in 1771. Bad faith arising from the broken clause may have been a reason behind the outbreak of the Second Anglo-Mysore War
Second Anglo-Mysore War
The Second Anglo-Mysore War was a conflict in Mughal India between the Sultanate of Mysore and the British East India Company. At the time, Mysore was a key French ally in India, and the Franco-British conflict raging on account of the American Revolutionary War helped spark Anglo-Mysorean...
a decade later.