The Cambridge History of India, Vol. I: Ancient India v1.c15.88

v1.c15.88

Westward of the alluvial plains of Gujarāt, and beyond the Gulf of Cambay, is the peninsula of Kāthiāwār, a low plateau, lower considerably than the Deccan, but clothed in part with similar sheets of fertile volcanic soil. Baroda has territory in Kāthiāwār, as has also the Presidency of Bombay, but in addition there are a multitude of petty chieftainships. North of Kāthiāwār is another smaller hill district, constituting the island of Cutch. The Rann of Cutch, a marshy area communicating with the sea, separates the island from the mainland. Apart from Travancore and Cochin in the far south, Kāthiāwār and Cutch are the only part of India where Feudal States come down to the coast. There are a few diminutive coastal settlements belonging to the French and Portuguese governments, but these are too insignificant to break the general rule that the shores of India are directly controlled by the British Raj. The largest of the foreign European settlements is at Goa on the west coast south of Bombay. Goa has a fine harbour but the Ghāts block the roads inland.