Battle of Tellicherry

Background. In December 1789, after five years of diplomatic wrangling over the Treaty of Mangalore, Tipu Sultan declared war on the British East India Company and its allies in Southern India. Both sides relied on sea supply: the British operated from Bombay and Madras, later stationing forces at Tellicherry inside Mysore territory, while Mysorean forces were supplied through Mangalore by French ships.

French Support and the British Blockade. France had allied with Tipu's father Hyder Ali in the previous war, and despite instability from the French Revolution kept ships supplying equipment to Mysore. Commodore William Cornwallis, the British naval commander in the region, stationed a frigate squadron at Tellicherry to blockade Mangalore. The French warned they would not submit to searches, but Strachan and Cornwallis vowed to enforce the blockade regardless of consequences.

Opposing Forces. The French maintained a coastal squadron led by Commodore Saint-Félix, consisting of two frigates based at Mahé, a small French port about seven miles south of Tellicherry. When a French convoy sailed from Mahé towards Mangalore in November 1791, Cornwallis dispatched Strachan with Phoenix and Perseverance to stop and inspect the ships for military supplies.