Mysorean rockets
Topic: Europeans in India and the Rise of Company Rule · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Mysorean rockets were war rockets used by the armies of Mysore under Haidar Ali and his son Tipu Sultan. They were used against the British in the Anglo-Mysore Wars in the late 18th century. The gunpowder was packed inside a tube made of iron, not paper or wood. This let the rockets fly farther and hit harder than most rockets of that time. They show that India had advanced military technology of its own.
Example
Tipu Sultan's rocket troops used them against Company forces. Some rockets were captured after the fall of Seringapatam in 1799 and taken to Britain. In the early 19th century, William Congreve developed the Congreve rocket in Britain, and the Mysore rockets influenced his design. The British later used Congreve rockets in their own wars.
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