In 1780 , he befriended the French and made peace with the Marathas and the Nizam .
By 1779 , Haider Ali had captured parts of modern Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south , extending the Kingdom 's area to about 80,000 mi2 ( 205,000 km2 ) .
In 1780 , Haider Ali befriended the French and made peace with the Marathas and the Nizam .
By 1779 , Haider Ali had captured parts of modern Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the south , extending the Kingdom 's area to about 80,000 mi2 ( 205,000 km2 ) .