British Intervention in the Mysore and Maratha Power Struggle

The 18th century in India was not only a story of Indian powers versus the British, but also of Indian powers versus each other.
While the British were steadily expanding their influence, many regional powers — Mysore, the Marathas, the Nizam of Hyderabad, the Carnatic rulers — were locked in their own rivalries for territorial expansion and revenue control.

The Indian Interstate Rivalries

These rivalries had deep political and economic roots:

• Marathas vs Nizam –
  • Baji Rao I (Peshwa) defeated the Nizam twice — in 1728 and 1739.
  • Balaji Baji Rao crushed the Nizam at Udgir (1760).
• Marathas vs Mysore –
  • Madhav Rao I defeated both the Nizam and Haidar Ali of Mysore, forcing them to pay tribute.
  • But after Madhav Rao’s death, Haidar Ali regained lost territories by defeating the Marathas.

How This Benefited the British

The constant conflict and mistrust among Indian states gave the British the perfect opportunity to intervene.

Whenever one Indian power fought the British, another often allied with the British for temporary advantage:

• The Marathas and the Nizam joined the British against Mysore.
• The Nizam cooperated with the British against the Marathas.

This “divide and assist” pattern meant that the British rarely faced a united Indian front.

The British Quest for Commercial Dominance

While the British justified their wars in political and moral terms, their real motive was economic.

• The British government, facing financial pressures at home, supported a more aggressive expansionist policy to protect and grow the East India Company’s commercial interests.
• The volatile political situation in India — full of shifting alliances — provided a fertile ground for intervention.

Why Mysore Was a Priority Target

The British fought four Anglo-Mysore Wars before finally defeating the kingdom. Mysore’s importance was both strategic and commercial:

1. Control of Malabar Coast Trade – Haidar Ali and Tipu Sultan controlled key ports, affecting British maritime commerce.
2. Threat to Madras – Mysore’s military strength was a direct danger to the Company’s most important southern settlement.
3. French Connection – Mysore’s alliance with the French alarmed the British during a period when Anglo-French rivalry was intense.
4. Cotton Trade Factor – After 1784, cotton exports from Gujarat to China via Bombay increased sharply. Mysore’s control over nearby territories could disrupt this lucrative trade, prompting the British to secure their position.

British Justifications for Conquest

To legitimise their expansion in the eyes of both Indians and Parliament, the British presented themselves as restorers of justice rather than aggressors:

• Claimed many contemporary Indian rulers were oppressive usurpers who had seized power illegitimately.
• Argued that replacing them would restore rightful dynasties and secure the people’s “religious and civil rights.”
• In Mysore’s case, the British said they were acting to restore the Hindu Wodeyar dynasty, which Haidar Ali had displaced.