The Last Effort and Fall of Tippoo Sultan

Circa 1800

Later hand-coloured stipple engraving on paper

Print size: 16.25 x 18 in (41 x 46 cm)
Sheet size: 17 x 19 in (43 x 48.5 cm)
With mount: 22.5 x 24.4 in (57.3 x 62.2 cm)

Published by Augsburg Academy Print Supply.

Below the title, the deep strip of text in English and French divided by a large ornamental cartouche, reads: "The wounded Sultaun retired under the gateway of the inner fort, his horse having sunk under him, his people raised him up and placed him on his palankeen from which, on the appearance of some European soldiers, he with difficulty removed himself, grasped his sword and nearly exhausted from loss of blood, wounded one of them above the knee who attempted to seize his sword belt, and who shot the Sultaun thro the head when he instantly expired."

This dramatic and intense scenario depicts Tipu Sultan and his supporters being forced to retreat in front of the oncoming enemy. It resembles a moment in time captured in real life.

In a sense, Tipu's downfall and death marked a turning point in Mysore's history toward the present. But just as no love tale is complete without a tremendous tragedy or a heartbreak, no significance is complete without the mention of plots and betrayals. There are two noteworthy events that should be recognized and discussed from Indian history. The betrayal of Mir Jafar in 1757 cleared the path for the East India Company to establish British rule in India, and the betrayal of Mir Sadiq in 1799 at the fourth Battle of Mysore served as the final catalyst for the confirmation and consolidation of foreign rule.

In 1799, three armies marched into Mysore: two British, one of which included Arthur Wellesley, and one from Bombay. During the Fourth Mysore War, they besieged Srirangapatna, the capital. While Tipu Sultan's army numbered barely 30,000, the British East India Company had around 26,000 soldiers, of whom about 4,000 were Europeans and the remainder were Indians. With the active assistance of his own chief minister, Mir Sadiq, Tipu Sultan was "martyred" by the British soldiers on May 4, 1799, the last day of fighting after a 32-day siege of his castle. Tipu Sultan was offered a "disgraceful" compromise or surrender by the British before to his "martyrdom," but he turned them down, saying, “Single day life of a tiger is far better than that of 100 years of a jackal”, hence, the name: Tiger of Mysore.

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NON-EXPORTABLE

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