1
00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,279
Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio

2
00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,880
Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion is advised.

3
00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:16,960
Speaker 1: Let's imagine for a moment that you're spending an afternoon

4
00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:20,919
Speaker 1: in London, and why not let's make it one of

5
00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:24,520
Speaker 1: those perfect days at the beginning of winter, right when

6
00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,680
Speaker 1: it starts to snow, but the snow is still new

7
00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,120
Speaker 1: and white and hasn't gone muddy brown in the streets yet.

8
00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:34,320
Speaker 1: You look at your watch or i suppose your phone,

9
00:00:34,800 --> 00:00:36,720
Speaker 1: and do you see that you have a few hours

10
00:00:36,800 --> 00:00:39,680
Speaker 1: before you're scheduled to meet a friend in a pub

11
00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:44,000
Speaker 1: where you'll sit by a fireplace drinking mold wine, and

12
00:00:44,120 --> 00:00:47,560
Speaker 1: so to kill the time before your perfect English evening,

13
00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,720
Speaker 1: and to lessen the chill just starting in your toes,

14
00:00:51,360 --> 00:00:55,560
Speaker 1: you dip through the beautiful ornate stone entrance way to

15
00:00:55,680 --> 00:01:00,720
Speaker 1: the Victoria and Albert Museum on Cromwell Road. The Vienna

16
00:01:00,880 --> 00:01:06,360
Speaker 1: Museum has an eclectic but gorgeous permanent collection, showcasing objects

17
00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:11,840
Speaker 1: from across centuries. One exhibit has theatrical costumes from decades

18
00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:16,240
Speaker 1: of shows. There are robes in McLellan ware performing Shakespeare.

19
00:01:16,600 --> 00:01:19,760
Speaker 1: An original puppet from the London production of war Horse.

20
00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:25,320
Speaker 1: One room is dedicated exclusively to cartoons or designs for

21
00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:30,800
Speaker 1: tapestries from the Renaissance master Raphael, but a slightly less

22
00:01:30,880 --> 00:01:34,480
Speaker 1: showy room. If you turned left walking through the main

23
00:01:34,560 --> 00:01:38,319
Speaker 1: hallway would bring you to room forty one, in which

24
00:01:38,319 --> 00:01:42,400
Speaker 1: the museum houses its artifacts from South Asia, and in

25
00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:46,000
Speaker 1: which you'd see what is, in my estimation, one of

26
00:01:46,040 --> 00:01:53,920
Speaker 1: the most interesting single objects on display in the entire museum.

27
00:01:53,920 --> 00:01:57,480
Speaker 1: In the center of room forty one, behind a protective

28
00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:03,240
Speaker 1: glass wall, stands in artifa act called Tippoo's Tiger. It's

29
00:02:03,280 --> 00:02:08,400
Speaker 1: a carved wooden tiger from the seventeen hundreds, almost life sized,

30
00:02:08,880 --> 00:02:13,919
Speaker 1: nearly six ft long. The tiger is beautifully painted with

31
00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,839
Speaker 1: patterned stripes in black and gold that look almost like Paisley.

32
00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:22,919
Speaker 1: A hidden compartment on the side of the tiger reveals

33
00:02:22,960 --> 00:02:27,360
Speaker 1: a small organ that's still playable with keys. Beneath the

34
00:02:27,400 --> 00:02:32,320
Speaker 1: tiger is a second wooden figure. It's a man being

35
00:02:32,440 --> 00:02:35,680
Speaker 1: mauled to death by the tiger. If you turn a

36
00:02:35,760 --> 00:02:39,200
Speaker 1: crank on the figure, the man's arms move and he

37
00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:44,800
Speaker 1: makes dying moans. He's identified by the museum as a European,

38
00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:50,000
Speaker 1: but the intent was almost certainly that he was British.

39
00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,960
Speaker 1: The automatone tiger was one of the prized possessions of

40
00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,800
Speaker 1: the Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysor at the end

41
00:02:56,840 --> 00:03:01,120
Speaker 1: of the eighteenth century. Tippoo Sultan, who fought against the

42
00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:04,800
Speaker 1: encroaching power of the British East India Company during a

43
00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:09,440
Speaker 1: series of Anglo Mysore Wars. Tippoo was one of the

44
00:03:09,639 --> 00:03:14,280
Speaker 1: few Indian leaders to achieve decisive victories in battles against

45
00:03:14,360 --> 00:03:18,239
Speaker 1: the British, and he became known as the Tiger of Mysore.

46
00:03:19,000 --> 00:03:23,080
Speaker 1: His emblems were all tiger themed and stripes decorated many

47
00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,920
Speaker 1: of his weapons and banners. That the wooden tiger, formerly

48
00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:32,160
Speaker 1: belonging to the Tiger of Mysoor, now sits behind glass

49
00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:35,640
Speaker 1: in a British museum, feet away from where they sell

50
00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:38,960
Speaker 1: tea and SCons for a genteel picnic in the museum's

51
00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:44,240
Speaker 1: courtyard seems to me something a little beyond irony, a

52
00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:49,160
Speaker 1: metaphor for the impact of imperialism disguised behind civility and

53
00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:53,760
Speaker 1: well maintained museum facilities. But before you begin raising the

54
00:03:53,800 --> 00:03:57,680
Speaker 1: banner for Tippoo Sultan, he was also a complicated figure

55
00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:01,360
Speaker 1: whose own legacy is currently be debated. In the present

56
00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:05,360
Speaker 1: day Indian state of Carnatica. It would be easy to

57
00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:09,560
Speaker 1: saunter through the Victoria and Albert Museum, note the interesting

58
00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:15,400
Speaker 1: centuries old autonomouton, and continue walking along without fully understanding

59
00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:19,159
Speaker 1: who the man was who had had the strange mechanical

60
00:04:19,240 --> 00:04:24,840
Speaker 1: animal built. Neither fully hero nor fully villain. Tippoo Sultan

61
00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:29,160
Speaker 1: is one of history's most enigmatic military leaders, the prince

62
00:04:29,240 --> 00:04:33,240
Speaker 1: of a dying nation who roared before his ultimate defeat.

63
00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:45,679
Speaker 1: I'm Dana Schwartz and this is noble blood. Tippoo Sultan

64
00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:49,760
Speaker 1: was born on the first of December in seventeen fifty one,

65
00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:53,880
Speaker 1: just six years before the East India Company would begin

66
00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,640
Speaker 1: its company rule in India on behalf of the British Empire.

67
00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:01,000
Speaker 1: He was born in Devon Holly, which is located to

68
00:05:01,040 --> 00:05:04,400
Speaker 1: the north of present day Bangalore. He was the eldest

69
00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,279
Speaker 1: son and ostensible heir to a man named hyder Ali.

70
00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:12,960
Speaker 1: Though hyder Ali was a Muslim in a predominantly Hindu population,

71
00:05:13,440 --> 00:05:16,679
Speaker 1: he rose to his position as the de facto ruler

72
00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,840
Speaker 1: of the Kingdom of Mysor through his incredible tactical victories,

73
00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:26,400
Speaker 1: ultimately through his military prowess, he overthrew the kingdom's Hindu

74
00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:31,440
Speaker 1: leadership and became the sultan himself. Hyder was illiterate, and

75
00:05:31,480 --> 00:05:33,760
Speaker 1: so it was important to him that his son and

76
00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,920
Speaker 1: heir be given a princely education, first so that Tippoo

77
00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:41,280
Speaker 1: would be able to eventually lead the Kingdom of Mysore confidently,

78
00:05:41,839 --> 00:05:44,560
Speaker 1: but also so that he would be able to communicate

79
00:05:44,560 --> 00:05:48,040
Speaker 1: effectively with the European allies, whose help he would need

80
00:05:48,040 --> 00:05:52,039
Speaker 1: to push back the encroaching British powers. So from a

81
00:05:52,120 --> 00:05:55,119
Speaker 1: young age, Tippoo was taught not just how to read,

82
00:05:55,520 --> 00:05:59,640
Speaker 1: but also everything there was to know about military history

83
00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:04,920
Speaker 1: and political strategy. By the time Tippoo was seventeen, his

84
00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:09,480
Speaker 1: father trusted him with actual power. Tippoo became his father's

85
00:06:09,600 --> 00:06:13,479
Speaker 1: right hand man, learning on the job about ruling and

86
00:06:13,560 --> 00:06:19,320
Speaker 1: expanding kingdom and about fighting enemies domestic and foreign. Tippoo

87
00:06:19,440 --> 00:06:23,400
Speaker 1: led forces into battle against the British during the conflict

88
00:06:23,440 --> 00:06:27,120
Speaker 1: that's now known as the Second Anglo Mysore War, which

89
00:06:27,160 --> 00:06:31,440
Speaker 1: began in seventeen eighty. It was during that conflict, when

90
00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:34,800
Speaker 1: Tippoo was thirty one years old, that his father died,

91
00:06:35,240 --> 00:06:39,000
Speaker 1: and so Tippoo became the Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore.

92
00:06:41,400 --> 00:06:45,080
Speaker 1: There would ultimately be four Anglo Miso Wars within a

93
00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:47,640
Speaker 1: period of a few decades. At the end of the

94
00:06:47,680 --> 00:06:52,760
Speaker 1: seventeen hundreds. The second would be Tippoo's most resounding victory.

95
00:06:53,480 --> 00:06:58,040
Speaker 1: Aided by French allies, Tippoo successfully invaded and raided a

96
00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:02,320
Speaker 1: camp held by British powers, ultimately ending the conflict with

97
00:07:02,400 --> 00:07:06,760
Speaker 1: a treaty that seated no land to the British. During

98
00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:10,600
Speaker 1: the Battle of paul Lore in seventy Tippoo shocked the

99
00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,080
Speaker 1: East India Company by using rockets against them that were

100
00:07:14,120 --> 00:07:18,400
Speaker 1: more advanced than the British had ever seen. Now, I

101
00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:23,080
Speaker 1: am quite literally not a rocket scientist, but my understanding

102
00:07:23,200 --> 00:07:26,960
Speaker 1: is that in Layman's terms, these new rockets, rather than

103
00:07:27,080 --> 00:07:31,040
Speaker 1: use paper tubing to hold the propellant, used iron casings,

104
00:07:31,080 --> 00:07:34,720
Speaker 1: which made them able to fly further and higher and

105
00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:39,040
Speaker 1: fly with more force. These rockets, which were all tipped

106
00:07:39,080 --> 00:07:42,760
Speaker 1: with a spear, were slightly less accurate than earlier, more

107
00:07:42,880 --> 00:07:47,560
Speaker 1: rudimentary rockets, but fired in a large group, they completely

108
00:07:47,760 --> 00:07:52,120
Speaker 1: overwhelmed the British. Using his rockets, Tippoo won the battle

109
00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:59,640
Speaker 1: and helped end the second Anglo Mysore War. In France,

110
00:08:00,160 --> 00:08:04,400
Speaker 1: Louis the sixteen recognized Tippoo as an important ally, and

111
00:08:04,440 --> 00:08:08,760
Speaker 1: the two were in frequent communication, with Tippoo sending representatives

112
00:08:08,800 --> 00:08:12,720
Speaker 1: and dignitaries to French court at Versailles. It was also

113
00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,080
Speaker 1: during this period that the legend of Tippoo as the

114
00:08:16,160 --> 00:08:20,800
Speaker 1: Tiger of Mysor began to take hold. According to the

115
00:08:20,840 --> 00:08:26,640
Speaker 1: story that was frequently told, retold, and perhaps ultimately fictionalized,

116
00:08:27,200 --> 00:08:30,000
Speaker 1: Tippoo was hunting in a forest with a French friend

117
00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:34,439
Speaker 1: of his when they came upon a tiger stand very still.

118
00:08:34,840 --> 00:08:38,800
Speaker 1: Tippoo warned his friend, and for a few moments, both

119
00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:43,440
Speaker 1: he and the frenchman stood in terrified silence, waiting to

120
00:08:43,520 --> 00:08:47,199
Speaker 1: see if the tiger would lose interest and stroll away.

121
00:08:47,880 --> 00:08:52,800
Speaker 1: It didn't. The tiger pounced on the frenchman, killing him instantly.

122
00:08:53,480 --> 00:08:56,080
Speaker 1: Tippoo reached for his gun, which found that it was

123
00:08:56,200 --> 00:08:59,480
Speaker 1: jammed and wouldn't fire, which put Tippoo in a very

124
00:08:59,559 --> 00:09:04,439
Speaker 1: vulnerable bull position. When the tiger turned its attention toward him,

125
00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:08,040
Speaker 1: the tiger lunged tip who was able to fight the

126
00:09:08,120 --> 00:09:11,640
Speaker 1: animal off and pull a dagger from somewhere on his belt,

127
00:09:11,960 --> 00:09:17,920
Speaker 1: which he used to stab and kill the tiger. From

128
00:09:17,960 --> 00:09:21,160
Speaker 1: that time on, Tippoo used the motif of the tiger

129
00:09:21,440 --> 00:09:25,560
Speaker 1: in almost all of his personal regalia. He was truly

130
00:09:25,640 --> 00:09:29,840
Speaker 1: the Tiger of Mysore, not just because of his military prowess,

131
00:09:29,880 --> 00:09:33,960
Speaker 1: but because of the way he shaped and modernized the kingdom.

132
00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:38,000
Speaker 1: During his reign, Tippoo introduced new coinage, a new calendar,

133
00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:43,080
Speaker 1: and seven new government departments. He continued to advance and

134
00:09:43,120 --> 00:09:47,640
Speaker 1: develop rocket technology, and he worked closely with French engineers

135
00:09:47,760 --> 00:09:51,520
Speaker 1: to build one of his most unique possessions, the wooden

136
00:09:51,600 --> 00:09:57,920
Speaker 1: automaton tiger pouncing on a European soldier. This symbolism doesn't

137
00:09:58,000 --> 00:10:05,640
Speaker 1: require much of an explanation, but Europeans weren't Tippoo's only enemies. Mysore,

138
00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:09,400
Speaker 1: in the south of India, was a comparatively smaller power

139
00:10:09,600 --> 00:10:13,600
Speaker 1: on the Indian subcontinent, and one of their largest threats

140
00:10:13,960 --> 00:10:18,400
Speaker 1: was from the Maratha Empire. One of Tippoo's most important

141
00:10:18,440 --> 00:10:22,040
Speaker 1: military victories was the defeat of the Marathas in seventeen

142
00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:26,559
Speaker 1: eighty seven, but they would continue to be formidable rivals,

143
00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:30,320
Speaker 1: especially during what would be known as the Third Anglo

144
00:10:30,440 --> 00:10:35,880
Speaker 1: Mysore War beginning in seventeen eighty nine. Now, if you're

145
00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:39,160
Speaker 1: a long time listener of this podcast, you might be

146
00:10:39,200 --> 00:10:42,839
Speaker 1: aware of something that was happening in France in seventeen

147
00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:47,720
Speaker 1: eighty nine, a little revolution that might have slightly distracted

148
00:10:47,760 --> 00:10:52,240
Speaker 1: the political powers that be from honoring alliances with foreign allies.

149
00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,480
Speaker 1: The New French Republic actually debated how they would tell

150
00:10:56,520 --> 00:11:00,440
Speaker 1: Tippoo that his friend Louis the sixteenth wouldn't actually be

151
00:11:00,480 --> 00:11:05,000
Speaker 1: answering his letters anymore. And so for the Third Anglo

152
00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,720
Speaker 1: Mysore War, Tippoo went without French help. The British allied

153
00:11:09,760 --> 00:11:15,679
Speaker 1: with the Marath Empire and roundly defeated Mysore in swallowing

154
00:11:15,800 --> 00:11:20,080
Speaker 1: up half of Tippoo's kingdom in a single gulp. But

155
00:11:20,240 --> 00:11:25,520
Speaker 1: things were about to get much much worse. To get

156
00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:30,160
Speaker 1: into what happened during the Fourth Anglo Mysore War, first

157
00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:33,400
Speaker 1: we have to discuss a bit of propaganda that still

158
00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:37,600
Speaker 1: persists today, a story that's still fully in place in

159
00:11:37,720 --> 00:11:41,680
Speaker 1: multiple Wikipedia articles and has been echoed across the Internet

160
00:11:41,760 --> 00:11:46,000
Speaker 1: without any independent verification. This is how the story goes.

161
00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:52,160
Speaker 1: After the fall of the monarchy in France, the New

162
00:11:52,200 --> 00:11:55,800
Speaker 1: French Republic decided that they would spread the good word

163
00:11:55,920 --> 00:11:59,800
Speaker 1: of the doctrine of Republicanism to their ally, the Kingdom

164
00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:04,880
Speaker 1: of Izor in Southern Asia, and so in sevente an

165
00:12:04,920 --> 00:12:09,960
Speaker 1: emissary from France named Francois Rapot arrived and with Tippoo,

166
00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:13,160
Speaker 1: Sultan and the French soldiers who are already stationed in

167
00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:18,840
Speaker 1: Mysor collectively began the Jacobin Club of Mysoor. During the

168
00:12:18,920 --> 00:12:23,040
Speaker 1: first ceremony, Tippoo announced that he would henceforth be known

169
00:12:23,160 --> 00:12:27,640
Speaker 1: as Citizen Tippoo, and the crowd joyfully proclaimed that they

170
00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:33,120
Speaker 1: hated all kings except him, even more sinister than Jacobins

171
00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:37,360
Speaker 1: in India. For the British, Napoleon had just invaded Egypt.

172
00:12:38,120 --> 00:12:41,559
Speaker 1: Clearly he was gearing up for a full scale invasion

173
00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:46,080
Speaker 1: to push Britain out of Asia. The British decided that

174
00:12:46,120 --> 00:12:50,400
Speaker 1: their only logical move would be a preemptive attack, so

175
00:12:50,679 --> 00:12:54,680
Speaker 1: they launched a full invasion on all four sides of Mysore.

176
00:12:55,080 --> 00:12:57,880
Speaker 1: With more than doubled the soldiers that Tippoo had at

177
00:12:57,960 --> 00:13:02,520
Speaker 1: his command, the British invaded the capital city of Sarangapatam,

178
00:13:02,880 --> 00:13:06,680
Speaker 1: killing Tippoo in the conflict. They would continue to annex

179
00:13:06,840 --> 00:13:10,280
Speaker 1: most of the MisOr Kingdom, leaving just the pocket core

180
00:13:10,400 --> 00:13:13,199
Speaker 1: of the kingdom to be ruled in name at least

181
00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:17,240
Speaker 1: by the Hindu dynasty that had been overthrown by Tippoo's father.

182
00:13:18,760 --> 00:13:23,200
Speaker 1: But here's the slightly sticky part. There's no evidence of

183
00:13:23,280 --> 00:13:27,840
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan ever joining, let alone founding, a Jacobin Club.

184
00:13:28,520 --> 00:13:32,400
Speaker 1: And yet the threat of the Jacobin Club a revolutionary

185
00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:36,280
Speaker 1: cell within Asia was a central element of the East

186
00:13:36,280 --> 00:13:41,000
Speaker 1: India Company's propaganda that permitted them to make a preemptive invasion.

187
00:13:42,360 --> 00:13:46,319
Speaker 1: Francois Rapad, that's so called agent of the French Republic.

188
00:13:46,880 --> 00:13:50,800
Speaker 1: He had absolutely no connection to the French government whatsoever.

189
00:13:51,400 --> 00:13:54,840
Speaker 1: According to actual sources, he was a pirate whose ship

190
00:13:54,960 --> 00:13:57,479
Speaker 1: ran aground, and then he claimed to be the emissary

191
00:13:57,520 --> 00:13:59,880
Speaker 1: of the French so that he would be welcomed by

192
00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:05,360
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan. The documents that the East India Company circulated

193
00:14:05,440 --> 00:14:09,080
Speaker 1: before their invasion as their so called smoking gun of

194
00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:13,400
Speaker 1: republicanism may very well have been forged. But even if

195
00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:18,640
Speaker 1: they weren't, the actual documents themselves, detailing repelled speeches to

196
00:14:18,800 --> 00:14:22,600
Speaker 1: local French soldiers, make no mention of the word Jacobin

197
00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:26,600
Speaker 1: at all. The only time Jacobin appears is on the

198
00:14:26,640 --> 00:14:32,840
Speaker 1: East India company's title page, which they added. Throughout this period,

199
00:14:33,080 --> 00:14:37,600
Speaker 1: in England and the entire British Empire, Tippoo was vilified

200
00:14:37,640 --> 00:14:42,320
Speaker 1: as a tyrant and a religious extremist in plays and cartoons.

201
00:14:43,080 --> 00:14:46,480
Speaker 1: It's actually become a little complicated, at least in terms

202
00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:50,680
Speaker 1: of my research trying to tease out exactly how religiously

203
00:14:50,720 --> 00:14:54,960
Speaker 1: tolerant tip Who actually was. He was a Muslim leader

204
00:14:55,000 --> 00:14:59,080
Speaker 1: in a predominantly Hindu territory. Some sources claim that he

205
00:14:59,240 --> 00:15:03,280
Speaker 1: was a large secular ruler and they celebrate him, especially

206
00:15:03,280 --> 00:15:07,640
Speaker 1: in the context of his anti imperialist victories, but other

207
00:15:07,720 --> 00:15:11,480
Speaker 1: sources claim that he forced the local population to convert

208
00:15:11,560 --> 00:15:14,880
Speaker 1: to Islam and imprisoned those who didn't, and that he

209
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:20,360
Speaker 1: destroyed local temples. There's currently a debate and controversy in

210
00:15:20,400 --> 00:15:23,800
Speaker 1: the modern day Indian state of Karnatica as to how

211
00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:28,480
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan should be taught in schools. I think, as

212
00:15:28,560 --> 00:15:33,080
Speaker 1: with almost all historical figures, it's worth taking a nuanced

213
00:15:33,080 --> 00:15:36,800
Speaker 1: approach to Tippoo Sultan and his accomplishments, such as they were.

214
00:15:37,520 --> 00:15:42,520
Speaker 1: He built up local infrastructure and mysore, building roads, developing

215
00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:47,280
Speaker 1: the silk industry, formalizing the government's departments and introducing a

216
00:15:47,360 --> 00:15:52,680
Speaker 1: coinage system. He valiantly fought off British imperialism for decades.

217
00:15:53,280 --> 00:15:58,360
Speaker 1: But also he was almost certainly cruel and or bigoted

218
00:15:58,480 --> 00:16:01,600
Speaker 1: in the places that many of the effective rulers in

219
00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:05,800
Speaker 1: the eighteenth century were when it came to religion. I

220
00:16:05,880 --> 00:16:09,480
Speaker 1: don't think he was a saint or a monster. I

221
00:16:09,560 --> 00:16:12,440
Speaker 1: think the adage that history is told by the victors

222
00:16:12,720 --> 00:16:15,800
Speaker 1: is certainly true, and in this case the victors were

223
00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:20,320
Speaker 1: the British and the formerly ruling Hindu dynasty, and so

224
00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:24,360
Speaker 1: a lot of contemporary writing about Tippoo Sultan needs to

225
00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:29,240
Speaker 1: be taken with a grain of salt. On May fourth

226
00:16:29,440 --> 00:16:33,960
Speaker 1: sev during the fourth and final Anglo mice Or War,

227
00:16:34,360 --> 00:16:38,160
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan was killed by an unknown British soldier while

228
00:16:38,160 --> 00:16:42,080
Speaker 1: he was defending the capital city of Sri Ranabatana from

229
00:16:42,080 --> 00:16:46,400
Speaker 1: the British troops who had breached the walls. Tippoo's French

230
00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:50,320
Speaker 1: advisers had urged him to leave the city, to escape

231
00:16:50,360 --> 00:16:54,000
Speaker 1: through secret passageways, and to live to fight another day

232
00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:58,880
Speaker 1: defending other forts, but Tippoo Sultan would not abandon his capital.

233
00:17:00,240 --> 00:17:03,320
Speaker 1: When the raid was over and the smoke lifted, the

234
00:17:03,360 --> 00:17:08,240
Speaker 1: British found Tippoo's body among his soldiers. The British raided

235
00:17:08,280 --> 00:17:12,840
Speaker 1: the fort, pillaging Tippoo's palace and taking his treasures for themselves.

236
00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:17,639
Speaker 1: General Cornwallis himself claimed a ring and a dagger, among

237
00:17:17,680 --> 00:17:21,320
Speaker 1: other effects that eventually made their way to the British

238
00:17:21,440 --> 00:17:26,480
Speaker 1: Museum in London. The British would meant a coin celebrating

239
00:17:26,520 --> 00:17:30,560
Speaker 1: their victory, a lion pouncing on a tiger meant to

240
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:35,879
Speaker 1: represent their empire defeating the mighty Tippoo Sultan hero to

241
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:49,520
Speaker 1: some enemy, to others, tiger to all. That's the story

242
00:17:49,560 --> 00:17:52,879
Speaker 1: of Tippoo, Sultan and Mysor. But keep listening after a

243
00:17:52,960 --> 00:17:56,160
Speaker 1: brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about

244
00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:07,880
Speaker 1: what happened to his personal effects. It's a present day

245
00:18:08,000 --> 00:18:11,399
Speaker 1: question as to whether or not the British Museum should

246
00:18:11,400 --> 00:18:14,920
Speaker 1: be able to house the artifacts that were, in effect

247
00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:19,680
Speaker 1: trophies that they claimed from their imperialistic invasions all over

248
00:18:19,720 --> 00:18:24,240
Speaker 1: the world. Some people argue that treasures like the Parthenon

249
00:18:24,320 --> 00:18:27,800
Speaker 1: marbles that were removed by the Earl of Elgin should

250
00:18:27,800 --> 00:18:31,080
Speaker 1: actually be displayed in the country in which they were discovered.

251
00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:35,640
Speaker 1: When it came to those particular sculptures, known colloquially as

252
00:18:35,760 --> 00:18:40,399
Speaker 1: the Elgin Marbles. UNESCO actually offered to help mediate the

253
00:18:40,440 --> 00:18:45,040
Speaker 1: dispute between Greece and the British Museum, although the British

254
00:18:45,160 --> 00:18:49,480
Speaker 1: Museum actually declined, arguing that UNESCO is meant to only

255
00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:54,840
Speaker 1: mediate between countries. Their perspective, I'm sure, is that they've

256
00:18:54,920 --> 00:18:59,760
Speaker 1: been dutiful custodians and that the display of artifacts from

257
00:18:59,760 --> 00:19:04,040
Speaker 1: all all over the world, visible together in one central hub,

258
00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:09,840
Speaker 1: is an important and powerful educational tool. But Tippoo Sultan's

259
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:14,920
Speaker 1: artifacts would eventually return to their homeland. In two thousand four,

260
00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:19,640
Speaker 1: the Indian billionaire VJ. Malia purchased the sword Tippoo used

261
00:19:19,720 --> 00:19:23,159
Speaker 1: in his final battle and Tippoo's personal ring from the

262
00:19:23,160 --> 00:19:27,280
Speaker 1: British Museum and brought them back to India, he believed

263
00:19:27,600 --> 00:19:32,560
Speaker 1: their rightful home. One quick note before we leave, and

264
00:19:32,680 --> 00:19:35,840
Speaker 1: as I'm sure you're tired of me talking about, I

265
00:19:35,880 --> 00:19:38,760
Speaker 1: wrote a book. It's called Anatomy, a Love Story, and

266
00:19:38,800 --> 00:19:42,399
Speaker 1: it's a novel that comes out January. If you wanted

267
00:19:42,440 --> 00:19:44,560
Speaker 1: to pre order a copy, that would mean the world

268
00:19:44,600 --> 00:19:48,560
Speaker 1: to me. If you're a fan of spooky, slightly macabre stories,

269
00:19:48,840 --> 00:19:51,840
Speaker 1: you're absolutely going to love it. I put everything that

270
00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:54,600
Speaker 1: I love in a Noble Blood story and everything I've

271
00:19:54,680 --> 00:19:58,239
Speaker 1: learned researching that period of history into this book. If

272
00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:01,920
Speaker 1: you want a signed copy, they're doing them through book Soup,

273
00:20:02,240 --> 00:20:06,440
Speaker 1: and I'll also be sending signed book plates and pins

274
00:20:07,000 --> 00:20:09,800
Speaker 1: through the website, where I also sell Noble Blood merch.

275
00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:13,480
Speaker 1: Df t b A dot Com. D f t b

276
00:20:13,600 --> 00:20:16,639
Speaker 1: a dot Com is where there's a variety of Noble

277
00:20:16,680 --> 00:20:19,960
Speaker 1: Blood merch for you to enjoy, and eventually, I hope

278
00:20:20,119 --> 00:20:24,480
Speaker 1: books of Anatomy a Love Story. And finally, we have

279
00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,520
Speaker 1: just begun a series on the Patreon called Rain on Me,

280
00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:32,000
Speaker 1: where I'm joined by one of my closest friends, Karamadanqua,

281
00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:35,879
Speaker 1: and we go through the beautiful disaster that is the

282
00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:39,080
Speaker 1: c W show Rain about Mary, Queen of scott So

283
00:20:39,080 --> 00:20:41,760
Speaker 1: if you're interested in watching along with us and hearing

284
00:20:41,760 --> 00:20:46,160
Speaker 1: our takes on that truly disastrous, but beautiful and sort

285
00:20:46,200 --> 00:20:50,200
Speaker 1: of amazing show, subscribe on the Patreon now. As always,

286
00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,879
Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening and the best support

287
00:20:52,920 --> 00:20:56,080
Speaker 1: anyone could give this show is just continuing to listen

288
00:20:56,119 --> 00:20:58,200
Speaker 1: and be with me as we you know, keep learning

289
00:20:58,240 --> 00:21:07,600
Speaker 1: and growing. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart

290
00:21:07,680 --> 00:21:10,960
Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. The show

291
00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:15,040
Speaker 1: is written and hosted by Dana Schwartz. Executive producers include

292
00:21:15,040 --> 00:21:19,520
Speaker 1: Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. The show is

293
00:21:19,560 --> 00:21:23,560
Speaker 1: produced by rema Ill Kali and Trevor Young. Noble Blood

294
00:21:23,600 --> 00:21:26,399
Speaker 1: is on social media at Noble Blood Tales, and you

295
00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:28,639
Speaker 1: can learn more about the show over at Noble blood

296
00:21:28,680 --> 00:21:31,720
Speaker 1: Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,

297
00:21:32,080 --> 00:21:35,440
Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

298
00:21:35,480 --> 00:21:38,440
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. M