The Treaty of Mangalore
By A. P. Das Gupta
Summary
This piece examines the Treaty of Mangalore signed on 11 March 1784, which ended the Second Mysore War. It analyses the dispute between Warren Hastings, who advocated fighting until Mysore sued for peace, and Lord Macartney, who sought a negotiated settlement. The article reviews correspondence and official minutes to evaluate whether Macartney’s eagerness for peace compromised British interests. It concludes that, given depleted finances and military exhaustion, the treaty’s terms were pragmatic and comparable to those Hastings later obtained from the Marathas. The piece reassesses criticisms that branded the treaty a disgrace and notes that it temporarily secured peace but failed to solve underlying tensions.
Conclusion
While Macartney’s negotiations deviated from Hastings’s policy of total victory, the treaty he concluded was a sensible compromise given the Madras government’s precarious position. It bought time and avoided further bloodshed, though it did not resolve the power struggle between Mysore and the Company.