BHA UNAGAR STATE
93
72° 18' E., with an area of 2,860 square miles. It is bounded on
the north by Rānpur, Ahmadabād District, and the Panchal ; on the
east by the Gulf of Cambay and the Dhandhuka tāluha of Ahmadābād ;
on the south by the Arabian Sea; and on the west by Sorath and
Hālār.
The country has a very varied aspect, being in some parts a mere
salt flat, in others a rich plain of black soil, while portions of the Sihor
range and the hills in the Kundla subdivision lend
a mountainous appearance to other parts. . The prin- physical
cipal ranges of hills are those of Sihor, Khokra, Und, aspects.
the Bābriādhar, and the outlying hills of the G!r on the western border,
the highest hill being Mitiāla (over r,ooo feet). They are all volcanic,
and consist of trap and basalt, piercing, and in some places elevating,
a course of sandy limestone. In places laterite of good quality for
building and a conglomerate abounding in fossils are found. The
principal rivers are the Shetrunji, Bagad, and Mālan, the waters of
which are used for irrigation. The State contains a fine artificial
lake about 5 miles in circumference near the capital, formed by an
embankment across the bed of the Gadechi river. The climate on
the sea-coast is good, but hot and dry inland. The annual rainfall
averages 25 inches.
The Gohel Rājputs, to which tribe the chief of Bhaunagar belongs,
are said to have settled in the country about the year 126o under
Sajakji, from whose three sons-Rānoji, Saranji, and
Shāhji-are descended respectively the chiefs of History.
Bhaunagar, Lāthi, and Pālitāna. The Vala State also is an offshoot
from Bhaunagar. The town of Bhaunagar was founded in 1723 by Bhau-
singhji, grandfather of Wakhat Singh, who succeeded to the chiefship
in 1772. Bhausinghji, his son Rawal Akherājji, and his grandson
Wakhat Singh, took pains to improve the trade of their country and to
destroy the pirates who infested the neighbouring seas. An intimate con-
nexionwasthus formed between Bhaunagar and the Bombay Government.
In 1759 the British acquired the right to a fourth share in the customs
of the port of Bhaunagar from the Sid! of Surat, to whom it had been
granted by Bhausinghji as the price of protection from the Nawāb
of Cambay. In 1771 Rāwal Akherājji assisted the Bombay Govern-
ment in reducing Talāja and Mahuva, which were occupied by piratical
Kolls. After the conquest of Talāja, the fort was offered to Akherājji
by the Bombay Government; but he refused to accept it, and it was in
consequence made over to the Nawāb of Cambay. Wakhat Singh,
however, after his accession, dispossessed the Nawab of the fort, which,
under an engagement arranged by the British Government in 1773,
he was allowed to retain on paying a sum of Rs. 75,ooo. The boun-
daries of the Bhaunagar State were largely increased by various other
|
![[Digital South Asia Library]](/graphics/thirdlevel.gif)
