When Tipu Sultan sought French aid...

By K.R.N. Swamy

By the end of the 18th century, in India, the English East India Company was fast developing as the empire building arm of the British Government. But it found its aims being thwarted by the famous Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore. Knowing the rivalry of the French and the British, Tipu Sultan decided to use the French to bolster himself against the British. French officers were recruited for training the Mysore army. In 1779, Tipu’s father Hyder Ali had protected the French settlement of Mahe in the west coast of India from being overrun by the British. A few years after becoming the Sultan of Mysore, Tipu decided to strengthen his friendship with the French. He sent two of his trusted courtiers to France via the French colony of Mauritius as his ambassadors bearing letters from him to King Louis XVI of France. But King Louis, who met the envoys in Paris, was not interested in the friendship of an oriental monarch thousands of miles away from metropolitan France and the emissaries of Tipu returned without any concrete gains.

Soon the French Revolution of 1792 removed the king from the throne and the French Revolutionary Council known as the Directory was too concerned with the internal affairs of France to pay much attention to their Indian ally. But when Napoleon Bonaparte became the first Consul of France, he urged the Directory to cultivate friendly relations with Tipu Sultan. He had sent many flattering letters to Tipu Sultan, whom he always addressed as "The most mangnificent Sultan, our Greatest friend, Tippoo Sahib." Finally in 1796, the Directory of the French Government decided to take some steps to help their Indian ally. In December that year, a French ship arrived in Mangalore carrying in it Francois Ripaud, who was to advise Tipu about the nature of French help that would be forthcoming. French records do not speak highly of this adventurer Ripaud and even Tipu Sultan’s personal letters do not throw much light on this Frenchman. Indeed, when later Lord Mornington, the English East India Company’s Governor-General in India complained to Tipu that he was harbouring hostile Frenchmen in his court, the Sultan diplomatically remarked that Ripaud had drifted to Mangalore in a ship during a storm at sea. "I am having no discussions with him at all,"wrote Tipu to Mornington. "In fact my sincere wish is that the French, who are of crooked disposition and are enemies of mankind, may be ever depressed and ruined."

Tipu’s conversations with Ripaud made him feel that there was no immediate chance of a French army coming to help him in India. Instead his next best chance was to try to recruit some French soldiers, who might be willing to serve under his flag. Further Ripaud assured him that in the Indian Ocean isle of Mauritius, then under French Rule (known as Isle of France), there were quite a number of Frenchmen ready to take up arms against the British. Accordingly when Ripaud left India in January, 1797, by ship, he took with him two of Tipu’s trusted courtiers, Abdul Rahim and Mahomet Bismillah, designated as "Ambassadors of the Sultan of Mysore."

The two ambassadors were to negotiate with the French Governor of Mauritius, details for enlisting French gunners and officers for serving under Tipu’s flag. At the same time Tipu knew that all his steps were being closely watched by the British and the ambassadors were strictly advised not to show themselves to the public at Mauritius, among whom British spies were sure to be present. The ship reached Port Louis, the capital of Mauritius safely and General Malartic, the French Governor of the isle, was informed that the two ambassadors were in the ship lying in the harbour and that they wanted a secret audience with him. The Governor was surprised at this request. What would the French Directory say, if they heard that General Malartic did not accord the usual honours to the ambassadors of then most magnificent Sultan of Mysore. As such he organised a spectacular welcome for the two envoys. When the cavalcade arrived at the ship to escort them to the Governor’s Palace, the envoys were surprised. They pleaded in vain with the French that the Sultan had asked them to keep their visit a secret. But the French were adamant and the envoys were escorted in all ceremony to the Governor’s Palace. General Malartic cordially welcomed them and discussion began as to how France could help the Sultan against the British. Tipu’s estimate of the required number of French reinforcement was very high. He wanted a French force of 30,000 cavalry, 40,000 soldiers and 100 guns and mortars!

The Governor was frankly sceptical about the chances of France helping with such a large force. Instead he told the ambassadors, that had they arrived four months earlier, he would have helped in raising a force of 1,000 soldiers from the French forces stationed in Mauritius. But now, it was the season for the troops to take their annual leave and all of them had left for France. The maximum he said he could do was to actively help the envoys in recruiting a force from the Frenchmen living in Mauritius. Accordingly posters were placed in all villages of Mauritius, informing the public that Frenchmen willing to serve the Sultan of Mysore, the ally of France, were to see the ambassadors. The contract drawn between the Governor of Mauritius and the emissaries of Tipu Sultan makes interesting reading. The French soldiers were to be paid Rs 600 a month instead of the usual Rs 150 and at the end of the contract period any Frenchman serving the Sultan was to be free to return to France. Tipu Sultan on his part agreed to treat the French mercenaries with all considerations "except with European liquor, which we do not have." But despite this panopoly, the final figure of volunteers to serve under the Sultan was a mere 150, led by one Citizen Chapuy. But the Governor assured the ambassadors that the 150 soldiers were really the forerunners of thousands of Frenchmen, who would be soon flocking to the Sultan’s standards.

The welcome, this band of Frenchmen received at Srirangapatnam, the Sultan’s capital, was a spectacular one, A salute of 2,000 cannon, 500 and rockets at Srirangapatnam was ordered. When the volunteers led by Citizen Chapuy reached him, Tipu Sultan himself put on a red cap-symbol of the French Revolution and called himself Citizen Tipu. He allowed them to plant a "Tree of Liberty" in the palace courtyard and all the Frenchmen in the Mysore army were allowed to display the tricolor of France in their uniform beside the Mysore insignia.

The news of this recruitment soon reached the British in India. On June 18, 1798, Lord Macartney, the Governor of the Cape Colony in South Africa, sent to Lord Mornington, the Governor-General of India, a copy of the Mauritius poster. Two days later, the Governor -General wrote to the Governors of Madras and Bombay, enclosing copies of the document and asked them to prepare for war.

Meanwhile in England, panic seized the Directors of the East India Company and in a secret session of the Board of Directors, they sent a communication urging Lord Mornington to defeat Tipu Sultan and sanctioned Rs 5 lakh for the war.

Tipu’s attempt to delay the British by diplomatic negotiations did not succeed and the battle of Srirangapatnam on May 4 1799, ended in Tipu Sultan being killed.

His territories were added to the British empire. As for Citizen Chapuy and his 150 Frenchmen, who were to have been the forerunners of an invincible host and from whose counsel and ability too much had been hoped for, their tricolor flags and cap of liberty buttons were not seen in the war. They had locked themselves in a dungeon. With them went the captured tricolors and the French hopes of an Indian Empire.