Published By: Sayan Paul

When Tipu Sultan Almost Aligned with the French - and History Nearly Changed

Let's understand how Tipu Sultan’s outreach to French revolutionaries shook colonial nerves.

During the 18th century, while much of India reeled under the tightening grip of the British East India Company, Tipu Sultan, the ruler of Mysore, had no intention of becoming another princely puppet. He understood that defeating the British would require more than swords and cannons. More than anything else, it would require global allies. And so, as Europe found itself convulsed by revolution, Tipu turned his attention to France. At that time, revolutionary France was challenging old empires and monarchies, and, most importantly, waging its own battles against Britain. And to Tipu, this made them natural partners. He sent envoys to build that connection, and floated the idea of a joint military front. 

This was a bold calculation which, had it succeeded, might have dramatically altered the subcontinent’s future. A Mysore strengthened by French support could have stalled (or at least complicated) Britain’s imperial march. Historians still debate how close Tipu actually came to sealing that alliance, but what’s clear is that he was one of the few Indian rulers thinking globally while fighting locally.

In this story, let's understand his strategy and why this alliance never materialized.

The Warrior King Tipu Sultan

Tipu Sultan inherited the throne from his father, Hyder Ali, in 1782 at a moment of growing tension with the British. But unlike many Indian rulers of the time, Tipu was not content to play defense. He sought to modernize his army and forge strategic partnerships overseas. A believer in technological innovation, he famously deployed iron-cased rockets years before European armies developed anything similar. His battlefield strategies unnerved the British, who saw in him a rare combination of martial skill and diplomatic ambition. As historian Kate Brittlebank wrote, “Tipu was not only a military leader, but a sovereign determined to rewrite the rules of imperial engagement."

To France, still smarting from its losses in the Seven Years’ War and eager to regain its foothold in India, Tipu seemed a valuable ally. The British viewed him with suspicion and alarm. Because, to them, he represented a real and immediate threat to their expanding dominion in the subcontinent.

The French Connection

Tipu’s interest in France wasn’t new. His father had already begun courting the French when he protected the port of Mahé in 1779, defying British pressure. Tipu built on that relationship with calculated determination. In 1786, he sent a letter to King Louis XVI, formally requesting military assistance (engineers, artillery experts, and soldiers). By 1788, his commitment was unmistakable, and the embassy to Versailles was meant to seal the deal.

Though the French court welcomed his emissaries with ceremony, the support Tipu sought never materialized. Louis XVI was preoccupied with growing unrest at home. The revolution was looming. However, behind the pleasantries, officials offered little more than polite encouragement.

(Credit: E P Unny) 

David Charpentier de Cossigny, then governor of French India, dismissed the Mysorean delegation in a dispatch as overly proud and unrealistic. And while later, in 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte would send a friendly note to Tipu pledging solidarity, the sentiment didn’t translate into meaningful action. France had neither the stability nor the reach to follow through.

Tipu’s Global Search for Allies

The lack of a firm French alliance didn’t stop Tipu. He cast his net wide, sending diplomatic missions to the Ottoman Empire, Persia, and the Arabian Peninsula. His effort was unrelenting and sometimes bordering on desperate, which, according to historian Irfan Habib, was “diplomacy at full stretch”.

In 1797, Tipu struck up an arrangement with François Ripaud, a French privateer who arrived in Mangalore with grand tales and empty pockets. Tipu promised land and resources for a joint campaign against the British. 

(Credit: Timurid-Mughal Archives) 

Meanwhile, his forces were being reorganized along European lines. French engineers were already helping to train his army. His rockets (primitive by today’s standards but terrifyingly effective) were now paired with improved artillery and battlefield tactics influenced by the West. Still, none of it would matter without a reliable ally. And France, increasingly caught in the chaos of its own revolution, had neither the appetite nor the capacity for overseas military commitments.

The Collapse of a Dream

Several forces conspired to kill the alliance before it truly began. The French Revolution, beginning in 1789, transformed France’s priorities. King Louis XVI, to whom Tipu had addressed his letters, was executed by 1793. The monarchy he had tried to partner with no longer existed.

Even when Napoleon rose to power and briefly entertained the idea of aiding Tipu through a campaign via Egypt, it came too late. The British had tightened their grip. The Royal Navy defeated French forces at sea, cutting off any real chance of intervention in southern India. Tipu’s timing had also alienated potential allies at home. His aggressive move against Travancore in 1789 (then a British ally) sparked the Third Anglo-Mysore War. Britain responded by forming a formidable coalition with the Marathas and the Nizam of Hyderabad, both wary of Tipu’s growing power. The war ended with Tipu surrendering half his territory and his sons taken hostage.

When he made one final call for French support in 1798, he received just 150 volunteers. 

The Road Not Taken

Speculation is risky in history but tempting. What if France had committed troops and ships in 1788, responding with full force to Tipu’s appeal? Combined with Tipu’s advanced weaponry and knowledge of the terrain, a Franco-Mysorean victory over the British might have upended the colonial timeline.

Historian Narasingha Sil suggests such a victory could have “delayed British dominance for a generation or more”. Other regional powers might have been emboldened to resist, leading to a more fractured and contested colonial presence.

But others are more cautious. Tipu’s style had already alarmed his neighbors. Kate Brittlebank notes that even a strong military victory may not have translated into long-term gains without broader domestic alliances. And the very traits that made Tipu a charismatic and relentless leader may also have hindered his political longevity.  

The Debates

Tipu Sultan remains one of the most debated figures in Indian history. For some, he is a symbol of resistance, and more precisely, a sovereign who refused to bow to the British and sought modern alliances on his own terms. For others, his absolutist tendencies and religious zeal raise uncomfortable questions. Historians like Mohibbul Hasan call his outreach to France visionary, a rare case of an Indian ruler pursuing global diplomacy. Others, like Sil, regard it as desperate and unrealistic, and a gamble on unreliable partners at the worst possible time.

(Credit: Timurid-Mughal Archives) 

However, there’s no doubt about his impact. His innovations in military science, particularly his rocket technology, would later influence the British, who reverse-engineered his designs for use in European wars. His resistance and the spectacle of his fall became part of the larger narrative that fueled Indian nationalism decades later.

Tipu's tiger-emblazoned armor now rests in a British museum, far from the battlefields of Mysore. But his vision of a sovereign India, free from British rule and allied with the world, remains one of the great “what-ifs” of colonial history.