4. The Revolutionary War spread to India
In 1779 troops of the British East India Company seized the French held port of Mahe in India. France’s ally in the subcontinent, the Kingdom of Mysore led by Hyder Ali, commenced open warfare against the company in early 1780. The majority of the troops deployed by the British were those of the East India Company, but beginning in 1780 additional troops of the British army, and supporting troops from the German principality of Hanover were sent to India. Both the British and French navies conducted operations along the coast of India and against each other. The early campaigns by Hyder Ali and his son, Tipu Sultan, had considerable success against the company troops.
England could ill afford the loss of its colonial possessions in both India and North America, and campaigns against Hyder Ali became critical in the eyes of Parliament and the King. The war in India also enjoyed considerable public support, unlike the war in America, which was seen by many as morally unsupportable by the time the French intervened militarily. In 1781 the colonial wars expanded further when the Dutch entered the conflict. Hyder Ali died of cancer in 1782, and the war continued under his heir, Tipu Sultan. By the end of the conflict the British had recovered most of the territory lost in the early campaigns, and though French involvement was curtailed following news of the Treaty of Paris, ending the American Revolutionary War, fighting continued in India for another year.