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Description

Detailed map of the Indian Peninsula, published following the Treaty negotiated by the Marquis of Wellesley in 1799.

The map identifies the Treaty Districts (British in Red, Nizam in Orange, Mahrattas in Green and the Rajah of Mysore in Purple). The former Possession of the British in the Carnatic & the Circars are shown in broken red lines. The dominions of the Nabob of the Carnatic are shown in Yellow.

The map illustrates the treaty which resolved the conflict between the British and various Indian factions in 1798 and 1799. Richard Colley Wesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, was named Governor-General of India in 1797. The Marquess likely believed that the British should pursue the acquisition of a great empire in India to compensate for the loss of the American colonies and that this included supplanting French interests in the region. His rule in India began an era of enormous and rapid extension of British power.

Soon after his landing, in April 1798, he learned that an alliance was being negotiated between Tipu Sultan and the French. Wesley resolved to anticipate the action of the enemy, and ordered preparations for war. The first step was to effect the disbandment of the French troops entertained by the Nizam of Hyderabad. The invasion of Mysore followed in February 1799, ending with the capture of Seringapatam in May 1799, and the killing of Tipu Sultan, at which point, a treaty was negotiated (the subject matter of this map).

Both the commercial policy of Wellesley and his educational projects brought him into hostility with the court of directors, and he more than once tendered his resignation, which, however, public necessities led him to postpone till the autumn of 1805. He reached England just in time to see Pitt before his death. He had been created a Peer of Great Britain in 1797, and in 1799 became Marquess Wellesley in the Peerage of Ireland [note 1][6]. He formed an enormous collection of over 2,500 painted miniatures in the Company style of Indian natural history.

Rennell's maps are among the most important and influential works on India published in the second half of the 18th Century. James Rennell (1742 to 1830) was an English Geographer and Historian, and a pioneer in the study of Oceanography. Rennell began his career in the English navy. He first travelled to India in 1760. He soon mastered the theory and practice of marine surveying and briefly worked for the East India Company, in the Philippines, drawing several maps for James Dalrymple.

At the end of the Seven Years' War, he signed on with the East India Company. He came to the attention of Governor Vansittart, who wished to initiate a survey of the British territory in India. Rennell was appointed surveyor-general of the East India Company's dominions in Bengal, with a commission in the Bengal Engineers in 1763. His survey of Bengal commenced in 1764, and for the next 13 years he surveyed vast amounts of British India, earning the nickname of the Father of Indian Geography. His career in the field ended when he was wounded in Bhutan.