Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio
Speaker 1: and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Minky. Listener discretion is advised.
Speaker 1: Let's imagine for a moment that you're spending an afternoon
Speaker 1: in London, and why not let's make it one of
Speaker 1: those perfect days at the beginning of winter, right when
Speaker 1: it starts to snow, but the snow is still new
Speaker 1: and white and hasn't gone muddy brown in the streets yet.
Speaker 1: You look at your watch or i suppose your phone,
Speaker 1: and do you see that you have a few hours
Speaker 1: before you're scheduled to meet a friend in a pub
Speaker 1: where you'll sit by a fireplace drinking mold wine, and
Speaker 1: so to kill the time before your perfect English evening,
Speaker 1: and to lessen the chill just starting in your toes,
Speaker 1: you dip through the beautiful ornate stone entrance way to
Speaker 1: the Victoria and Albert Museum on Cromwell Road. The Vienna
Speaker 1: Museum has an eclectic but gorgeous permanent collection, showcasing objects
Speaker 1: from across centuries. One exhibit has theatrical costumes from decades
Speaker 1: of shows. There are robes in McLellan ware performing Shakespeare.
Speaker 1: An original puppet from the London production of war Horse.
Speaker 1: One room is dedicated exclusively to cartoons or designs for
Speaker 1: tapestries from the Renaissance master Raphael, but a slightly less
Speaker 1: showy room. If you turned left walking through the main
Speaker 1: hallway would bring you to room forty one, in which
Speaker 1: the museum houses its artifacts from South Asia, and in
Speaker 1: which you'd see what is, in my estimation, one of
Speaker 1: the most interesting single objects on display in the entire museum.
Speaker 1: In the center of room forty one, behind a protective
Speaker 1: glass wall, stands in artifa act called Tippoo's Tiger. It's
Speaker 1: a carved wooden tiger from the seventeen hundreds, almost life sized,
Speaker 1: nearly six ft long. The tiger is beautifully painted with
Speaker 1: patterned stripes in black and gold that look almost like Paisley.
Speaker 1: A hidden compartment on the side of the tiger reveals
Speaker 1: a small organ that's still playable with keys. Beneath the
Speaker 1: tiger is a second wooden figure. It's a man being
Speaker 1: mauled to death by the tiger. If you turn a
Speaker 1: crank on the figure, the man's arms move and he
Speaker 1: makes dying moans. He's identified by the museum as a European,
Speaker 1: but the intent was almost certainly that he was British.
Speaker 1: The automatone tiger was one of the prized possessions of
Speaker 1: the Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysor at the end
Speaker 1: of the eighteenth century. Tippoo Sultan, who fought against the
Speaker 1: encroaching power of the British East India Company during a
Speaker 1: series of Anglo Mysore Wars. Tippoo was one of the
Speaker 1: few Indian leaders to achieve decisive victories in battles against
Speaker 1: the British, and he became known as the Tiger of Mysore.
Speaker 1: His emblems were all tiger themed and stripes decorated many
Speaker 1: of his weapons and banners. That the wooden tiger, formerly
Speaker 1: belonging to the Tiger of Mysoor, now sits behind glass
Speaker 1: in a British museum, feet away from where they sell
Speaker 1: tea and SCons for a genteel picnic in the museum's
Speaker 1: courtyard seems to me something a little beyond irony, a
Speaker 1: metaphor for the impact of imperialism disguised behind civility and
Speaker 1: well maintained museum facilities. But before you begin raising the
Speaker 1: banner for Tippoo Sultan, he was also a complicated figure
Speaker 1: whose own legacy is currently be debated. In the present
Speaker 1: day Indian state of Carnatica. It would be easy to
Speaker 1: saunter through the Victoria and Albert Museum, note the interesting
Speaker 1: centuries old autonomouton, and continue walking along without fully understanding
Speaker 1: who the man was who had had the strange mechanical
Speaker 1: animal built. Neither fully hero nor fully villain. Tippoo Sultan
Speaker 1: is one of history's most enigmatic military leaders, the prince
Speaker 1: of a dying nation who roared before his ultimate defeat.
Speaker 1: I'm Dana Schwartz and this is noble blood. Tippoo Sultan
Speaker 1: was born on the first of December in seventeen fifty one,
Speaker 1: just six years before the East India Company would begin
Speaker 1: its company rule in India on behalf of the British Empire.
Speaker 1: He was born in Devon Holly, which is located to
Speaker 1: the north of present day Bangalore. He was the eldest
Speaker 1: son and ostensible heir to a man named hyder Ali.
Speaker 1: Though hyder Ali was a Muslim in a predominantly Hindu population,
Speaker 1: he rose to his position as the de facto ruler
Speaker 1: of the Kingdom of Mysor through his incredible tactical victories,
Speaker 1: ultimately through his military prowess, he overthrew the kingdom's Hindu
Speaker 1: leadership and became the sultan himself. Hyder was illiterate, and
Speaker 1: so it was important to him that his son and
Speaker 1: heir be given a princely education, first so that Tippoo
Speaker 1: would be able to eventually lead the Kingdom of Mysore confidently,
Speaker 1: but also so that he would be able to communicate
Speaker 1: effectively with the European allies, whose help he would need
Speaker 1: to push back the encroaching British powers. So from a
Speaker 1: young age, Tippoo was taught not just how to read,
Speaker 1: but also everything there was to know about military history
Speaker 1: and political strategy. By the time Tippoo was seventeen, his
Speaker 1: father trusted him with actual power. Tippoo became his father's
Speaker 1: right hand man, learning on the job about ruling and
Speaker 1: expanding kingdom and about fighting enemies domestic and foreign. Tippoo
Speaker 1: led forces into battle against the British during the conflict
Speaker 1: that's now known as the Second Anglo Mysore War, which
Speaker 1: began in seventeen eighty. It was during that conflict, when
Speaker 1: Tippoo was thirty one years old, that his father died,
Speaker 1: and so Tippoo became the Sultan of the Kingdom of Mysore.
Speaker 1: There would ultimately be four Anglo Miso Wars within a
Speaker 1: period of a few decades. At the end of the
Speaker 1: seventeen hundreds. The second would be Tippoo's most resounding victory.
Speaker 1: Aided by French allies, Tippoo successfully invaded and raided a
Speaker 1: camp held by British powers, ultimately ending the conflict with
Speaker 1: a treaty that seated no land to the British. During
Speaker 1: the Battle of paul Lore in seventy Tippoo shocked the
Speaker 1: East India Company by using rockets against them that were
Speaker 1: more advanced than the British had ever seen. Now, I
Speaker 1: am quite literally not a rocket scientist, but my understanding
Speaker 1: is that in Layman's terms, these new rockets, rather than
Speaker 1: use paper tubing to hold the propellant, used iron casings,
Speaker 1: which made them able to fly further and higher and
Speaker 1: fly with more force. These rockets, which were all tipped
Speaker 1: with a spear, were slightly less accurate than earlier, more
Speaker 1: rudimentary rockets, but fired in a large group, they completely
Speaker 1: overwhelmed the British. Using his rockets, Tippoo won the battle
Speaker 1: and helped end the second Anglo Mysore War. In France,
Speaker 1: Louis the sixteen recognized Tippoo as an important ally, and
Speaker 1: the two were in frequent communication, with Tippoo sending representatives
Speaker 1: and dignitaries to French court at Versailles. It was also
Speaker 1: during this period that the legend of Tippoo as the
Speaker 1: Tiger of Mysor began to take hold. According to the
Speaker 1: story that was frequently told, retold, and perhaps ultimately fictionalized,
Speaker 1: Tippoo was hunting in a forest with a French friend
Speaker 1: of his when they came upon a tiger stand very still.
Speaker 1: Tippoo warned his friend, and for a few moments, both
Speaker 1: he and the frenchman stood in terrified silence, waiting to
Speaker 1: see if the tiger would lose interest and stroll away.
Speaker 1: It didn't. The tiger pounced on the frenchman, killing him instantly.
Speaker 1: Tippoo reached for his gun, which found that it was
Speaker 1: jammed and wouldn't fire, which put Tippoo in a very
Speaker 1: vulnerable bull position. When the tiger turned its attention toward him,
Speaker 1: the tiger lunged tip who was able to fight the
Speaker 1: animal off and pull a dagger from somewhere on his belt,
Speaker 1: which he used to stab and kill the tiger. From
Speaker 1: that time on, Tippoo used the motif of the tiger
Speaker 1: in almost all of his personal regalia. He was truly
Speaker 1: the Tiger of Mysore, not just because of his military prowess,
Speaker 1: but because of the way he shaped and modernized the kingdom.
Speaker 1: During his reign, Tippoo introduced new coinage, a new calendar,
Speaker 1: and seven new government departments. He continued to advance and
Speaker 1: develop rocket technology, and he worked closely with French engineers
Speaker 1: to build one of his most unique possessions, the wooden
Speaker 1: automaton tiger pouncing on a European soldier. This symbolism doesn't
Speaker 1: require much of an explanation, but Europeans weren't Tippoo's only enemies. Mysore,
Speaker 1: in the south of India, was a comparatively smaller power
Speaker 1: on the Indian subcontinent, and one of their largest threats
Speaker 1: was from the Maratha Empire. One of Tippoo's most important
Speaker 1: military victories was the defeat of the Marathas in seventeen
Speaker 1: eighty seven, but they would continue to be formidable rivals,
Speaker 1: especially during what would be known as the Third Anglo
Speaker 1: Mysore War beginning in seventeen eighty nine. Now, if you're
Speaker 1: a long time listener of this podcast, you might be
Speaker 1: aware of something that was happening in France in seventeen
Speaker 1: eighty nine, a little revolution that might have slightly distracted
Speaker 1: the political powers that be from honoring alliances with foreign allies.
Speaker 1: The New French Republic actually debated how they would tell
Speaker 1: Tippoo that his friend Louis the sixteenth wouldn't actually be
Speaker 1: answering his letters anymore. And so for the Third Anglo
Speaker 1: Mysore War, Tippoo went without French help. The British allied
Speaker 1: with the Marath Empire and roundly defeated Mysore in swallowing
Speaker 1: up half of Tippoo's kingdom in a single gulp. But
Speaker 1: things were about to get much much worse. To get
Speaker 1: into what happened during the Fourth Anglo Mysore War, first
Speaker 1: we have to discuss a bit of propaganda that still
Speaker 1: persists today, a story that's still fully in place in
Speaker 1: multiple Wikipedia articles and has been echoed across the Internet
Speaker 1: without any independent verification. This is how the story goes.
Speaker 1: After the fall of the monarchy in France, the New
Speaker 1: French Republic decided that they would spread the good word
Speaker 1: of the doctrine of Republicanism to their ally, the Kingdom
Speaker 1: of Izor in Southern Asia, and so in sevente an
Speaker 1: emissary from France named Francois Rapot arrived and with Tippoo,
Speaker 1: Sultan and the French soldiers who are already stationed in
Speaker 1: Mysor collectively began the Jacobin Club of Mysoor. During the
Speaker 1: first ceremony, Tippoo announced that he would henceforth be known
Speaker 1: as Citizen Tippoo, and the crowd joyfully proclaimed that they
Speaker 1: hated all kings except him, even more sinister than Jacobins
Speaker 1: in India. For the British, Napoleon had just invaded Egypt.
Speaker 1: Clearly he was gearing up for a full scale invasion
Speaker 1: to push Britain out of Asia. The British decided that
Speaker 1: their only logical move would be a preemptive attack, so
Speaker 1: they launched a full invasion on all four sides of Mysore.
Speaker 1: With more than doubled the soldiers that Tippoo had at
Speaker 1: his command, the British invaded the capital city of Sarangapatam,
Speaker 1: killing Tippoo in the conflict. They would continue to annex
Speaker 1: most of the MisOr Kingdom, leaving just the pocket core
Speaker 1: of the kingdom to be ruled in name at least
Speaker 1: by the Hindu dynasty that had been overthrown by Tippoo's father.
Speaker 1: But here's the slightly sticky part. There's no evidence of
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan ever joining, let alone founding, a Jacobin Club.
Speaker 1: And yet the threat of the Jacobin Club a revolutionary
Speaker 1: cell within Asia was a central element of the East
Speaker 1: India Company's propaganda that permitted them to make a preemptive invasion.
Speaker 1: Francois Rapad, that's so called agent of the French Republic.
Speaker 1: He had absolutely no connection to the French government whatsoever.
Speaker 1: According to actual sources, he was a pirate whose ship
Speaker 1: ran aground, and then he claimed to be the emissary
Speaker 1: of the French so that he would be welcomed by
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan. The documents that the East India Company circulated
Speaker 1: before their invasion as their so called smoking gun of
Speaker 1: republicanism may very well have been forged. But even if
Speaker 1: they weren't, the actual documents themselves, detailing repelled speeches to
Speaker 1: local French soldiers, make no mention of the word Jacobin
Speaker 1: at all. The only time Jacobin appears is on the
Speaker 1: East India company's title page, which they added. Throughout this period,
Speaker 1: in England and the entire British Empire, Tippoo was vilified
Speaker 1: as a tyrant and a religious extremist in plays and cartoons.
Speaker 1: It's actually become a little complicated, at least in terms
Speaker 1: of my research trying to tease out exactly how religiously
Speaker 1: tolerant tip Who actually was. He was a Muslim leader
Speaker 1: in a predominantly Hindu territory. Some sources claim that he
Speaker 1: was a large secular ruler and they celebrate him, especially
Speaker 1: in the context of his anti imperialist victories, but other
Speaker 1: sources claim that he forced the local population to convert
Speaker 1: to Islam and imprisoned those who didn't, and that he
Speaker 1: destroyed local temples. There's currently a debate and controversy in
Speaker 1: the modern day Indian state of Karnatica as to how
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan should be taught in schools. I think, as
Speaker 1: with almost all historical figures, it's worth taking a nuanced
Speaker 1: approach to Tippoo Sultan and his accomplishments, such as they were.
Speaker 1: He built up local infrastructure and mysore, building roads, developing
Speaker 1: the silk industry, formalizing the government's departments and introducing a
Speaker 1: coinage system. He valiantly fought off British imperialism for decades.
Speaker 1: But also he was almost certainly cruel and or bigoted
Speaker 1: in the places that many of the effective rulers in
Speaker 1: the eighteenth century were when it came to religion. I
Speaker 1: don't think he was a saint or a monster. I
Speaker 1: think the adage that history is told by the victors
Speaker 1: is certainly true, and in this case the victors were
Speaker 1: the British and the formerly ruling Hindu dynasty, and so
Speaker 1: a lot of contemporary writing about Tippoo Sultan needs to
Speaker 1: be taken with a grain of salt. On May fourth
Speaker 1: sev during the fourth and final Anglo mice Or War,
Speaker 1: Tippoo Sultan was killed by an unknown British soldier while
Speaker 1: he was defending the capital city of Sri Ranabatana from
Speaker 1: the British troops who had breached the walls. Tippoo's French
Speaker 1: advisers had urged him to leave the city, to escape
Speaker 1: through secret passageways, and to live to fight another day
Speaker 1: defending other forts, but Tippoo Sultan would not abandon his capital.
Speaker 1: When the raid was over and the smoke lifted, the
Speaker 1: British found Tippoo's body among his soldiers. The British raided
Speaker 1: the fort, pillaging Tippoo's palace and taking his treasures for themselves.
Speaker 1: General Cornwallis himself claimed a ring and a dagger, among
Speaker 1: other effects that eventually made their way to the British
Speaker 1: Museum in London. The British would meant a coin celebrating
Speaker 1: their victory, a lion pouncing on a tiger meant to
Speaker 1: represent their empire defeating the mighty Tippoo Sultan hero to
Speaker 1: some enemy, to others, tiger to all. That's the story
Speaker 1: of Tippoo, Sultan and Mysor. But keep listening after a
Speaker 1: brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about
Speaker 1: what happened to his personal effects. It's a present day
Speaker 1: question as to whether or not the British Museum should
Speaker 1: be able to house the artifacts that were, in effect
Speaker 1: trophies that they claimed from their imperialistic invasions all over
Speaker 1: the world. Some people argue that treasures like the Parthenon
Speaker 1: marbles that were removed by the Earl of Elgin should
Speaker 1: actually be displayed in the country in which they were discovered.
Speaker 1: When it came to those particular sculptures, known colloquially as
Speaker 1: the Elgin Marbles. UNESCO actually offered to help mediate the
Speaker 1: dispute between Greece and the British Museum, although the British
Speaker 1: Museum actually declined, arguing that UNESCO is meant to only
Speaker 1: mediate between countries. Their perspective, I'm sure, is that they've
Speaker 1: been dutiful custodians and that the display of artifacts from
Speaker 1: all all over the world, visible together in one central hub,
Speaker 1: is an important and powerful educational tool. But Tippoo Sultan's
Speaker 1: artifacts would eventually return to their homeland. In two thousand four,
Speaker 1: the Indian billionaire VJ. Malia purchased the sword Tippoo used
Speaker 1: in his final battle and Tippoo's personal ring from the
Speaker 1: British Museum and brought them back to India, he believed
Speaker 1: their rightful home. One quick note before we leave, and
Speaker 1: as I'm sure you're tired of me talking about, I
Speaker 1: wrote a book. It's called Anatomy, a Love Story, and
Speaker 1: it's a novel that comes out January. If you wanted
Speaker 1: to pre order a copy, that would mean the world
Speaker 1: to me. If you're a fan of spooky, slightly macabre stories,
Speaker 1: you're absolutely going to love it. I put everything that
Speaker 1: I love in a Noble Blood story and everything I've
Speaker 1: learned researching that period of history into this book. If
Speaker 1: you want a signed copy, they're doing them through book Soup,
Speaker 1: and I'll also be sending signed book plates and pins
Speaker 1: through the website, where I also sell Noble Blood merch.
Speaker 1: Df t b A dot Com. D f t b
Speaker 1: a dot Com is where there's a variety of Noble
Speaker 1: Blood merch for you to enjoy, and eventually, I hope
Speaker 1: books of Anatomy a Love Story. And finally, we have
Speaker 1: just begun a series on the Patreon called Rain on Me,
Speaker 1: where I'm joined by one of my closest friends, Karamadanqua,
Speaker 1: and we go through the beautiful disaster that is the
Speaker 1: c W show Rain about Mary, Queen of scott So
Speaker 1: if you're interested in watching along with us and hearing
Speaker 1: our takes on that truly disastrous, but beautiful and sort
Speaker 1: of amazing show, subscribe on the Patreon now. As always,
Speaker 1: thank you so much for listening and the best support
Speaker 1: anyone could give this show is just continuing to listen
Speaker 1: and be with me as we you know, keep learning
Speaker 1: and growing. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart
Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. The show
Speaker 1: is written and hosted by Dana Schwartz. Executive producers include
Speaker 1: Aaron Manky, Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. The show is
Speaker 1: produced by rema Ill Kali and Trevor Young. Noble Blood
Speaker 1: is on social media at Noble Blood Tales, and you
Speaker 1: can learn more about the show over at Noble blood
Speaker 1: Tales dot com. For more podcasts from I Heart Radio,
Speaker 1: visit the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows. M