Tipu Sultan of Mysore (b. 1750)
Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India and a pioneer of rocket artillery. He introduced a number of administrative innovations during his rule, including a new coinage system and calendar, and a new land revenue system which initiated the growth of the Mysore silk industry. He expanded the iron-cased Mysorean rockets and commissioned the military manual Fathul Mujahidin. He deployed the rockets against advances of British forces and their allies during the Anglo-Mysore Wars, including the Battle of Pollilur and Siege of Srirangapatna.Tipu Sultan and his father used their French-trained army in alliance with the French in their struggle with the British, and in Mysore's struggles with other surrounding powers, against the Marathas, Sira, and rulers of Malabar, Kodagu, Bednore, Carnatic, and Travancore. Tipu's father, Hyder Ali, rose to power and Tipu succeeded him as the ruler of Mysore upon his father's death in 1782. He won important victories against the British in the Second Anglo-Mysore War and negotiated the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore with them after his father died from cancer in December 1782 during the Second Anglo-Mysore War.
Tipu's conflicts with his neighbours included the Maratha–Mysore War which ended with the signing of the Treaty of Gajendragad. The treaty required that Tipu Sultan pay 4.8 million rupees as a one-time war cost to the Marathas, and an annual tribute of 1.2 million rupees in addition to returning all the territory captured by Hyder Ali.Tipu remained an implacable enemy of the British East India Company, sparking conflict with his attack on British-allied Travancore in 1789. In the Third Anglo-Mysore War, he was forced into the Treaty of Seringapatam, losing a number of previously conquered territories, including Malabar and Mangalore. He sent emissaries to foreign states, including the Ottoman Empire, Afghanistan, and France, in an attempt to rally opposition to the British.
In the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War, a combined force of British East India Company troops supported by the Marathas & the Nizam of Hyderabad defeated Tipu. He was killed on 4 May 1799 while defending his stronghold of Seringapatam.
1799May, 4
Tipu Sultan
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Events on 1799
- 9Jan
William Pitt the Younger
British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger introduces an income tax of two shillings to the pound to raise funds for Great Britain's war effort in the Napoleonic Wars. - 4May
Battle of Seringapatam
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War: The Battle of Seringapatam: The siege of Seringapatam ends when the city is invaded and Tipu Sultan killed by the besieging British army, under the command of General George Harris. - 27May
Battle of Winterthur (1799)
War of the Second Coalition: Austrian forces defeat the French at Winterthur, Switzerland. - 25Jul
Battle of Abukir (1799)
At Abu Qir in Egypt, Napoleon I of France defeats 10,000 Ottomans under Mustafa Pasha. - 19Sep
Battle of Bergen (1799)
French Revolutionary Wars: French-Dutch victory against the Russians and British in the Battle of Bergen.