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This article examines the interaction between British colonial officials and indigenous military labour markets during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. When faced with a severe foreign threat the Company did not totally opt for fiscal-military methods of mobilization as is argued in the conventional historiography, but instead resorted to a policy of supporting warrior groups and local dealers who could service the Company's military requirements. The British patronised a variety of military service groups rather than forcibly subordinated them to their control. War resulted in the diffusion of resources to non-state actors who organised the means of violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]