40 WAR WITH MYSORE. 



CHAPTER II. 



War with Mysore. 



Formation of (he Kingdom of Mysore — Influence of the Ministers Deoraj 

 nncl Nunjeraj — Hyder— His Parentage— His early Destlllltipn— Begins 

 to distinguish himself— Mode in winch he forms a Body of Adherents 

 — Commands at Dindigul — His power augmented— Violence of Nun- 

 jeraj, who is reduced to Distress— Hyder relieves and then supplants 

 him— His own Danger— Extricates himself, and becomes complete 

 Blaster of Mysore— Conquest of Hednore — Invasion by the Mahrattas 

 — Conquest of Calicut — The English join a Confederacy against him 

 — The Mahrattas make Peace — Nizam joins Hyder against the Eng- 

 lish — They invade the Carnatlc — Threaten Madras— Battle of Trino- 

 malee— Nizam quits the Alliance— Invasion Of Mysore— Successes of 

 Hyder — He overruns the Carnalic— Again threatens Madras — Con- 

 clusion of Peace — Another great Inroad of the Mahrattas— Hyder con- 

 cludes a Treaty with them, and makes further Conquests— His Resent- 

 ment against the English— Weak conduct of the Madras Government 

 — Hyder invades and desolates the Carnatic— Fate of Colonel Baillie's 

 Detachment — Sir Eyre Conte sent from Calcutta— He gains several 

 Advantages — Loss of Colonel Bralhwaite's Detachment — Negotiations 

 — Operations on the Western Coast— Death of Hyder — Tippoo suc- 

 ceeds — Dissensions in the Madras Government — Death of Sir Eyre 

 Coote — Peace between England and Franco — Bednore surrenders to 

 General Mathews — Retaken by the Sultan — Siege of Mangalore — Peace 

 with Tippoo. 



In the general breaking-up of the Mogul empire and its 

 great viceroyalties, India was reduced almost to a state of 

 anarchy. Any bold adventurer who could summon round 

 him the warlike and predatory bands with which that 

 region abounded, might aspire to rule over extensive dis- 

 tricts, several of which wew entitled to the rank of king- 

 doms. Among such communilies a conspicuous place was 

 held by Mysore, the territory of which forms one of the 

 most remarkable of those elevated tablelands that diversify 

 the southern provinces. It extends more than half-way 

 from sea to sea, closely approaching the Malabar coast on 

 one side, and on the other reaching to the border, of the 

 Carnatic. A circuit of lofty hills, forming a barrier round 

 the country, raise its general surface to the height of almost 

 3000 feet ; a happy circumstance, which secures for it a 



