Baroda State
Baroda State was kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later princely state in present-day Gujarat, ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India in 1949. With the city of Baroda (Vadodara) as its capital, during the British Raj its relations with the British were managed by the Baroda Residency. The revenue of the state in 1901 was Rs. 13,661,000.[1] Baroda formally acceded to the Dominion of India, on 1 May 1949, before which an interim government was formed in the state.[2]
State of Baroda
State Within the Maratha Confederacy (1721–1805)
Protectorate of the East India Company (1805–1857)
Princely State of the British Raj (1857–1947)
State of the Dominion of India (1947–1949)
1721
1949
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In late 18th century, the Baroda state established a Naval set up at Billimora, a port about 40 miles south of Surat, known as Bunder Billimora Suba Armor. Here a fleet of 50 vessels was stationed, which included mostly sails, cargo vessels for trading and military vessels to secure the sea from Portuguese, Dutch and French.[6]
When political alignments changed, after the Second Anglo-Maratha war, a joint expedition of British and Barodan state troops under Colonel Walker, then resident of Baroda, approached Kathiawad in 1808, and eventually obtained bonds from the chiefs of Okha-mandal and from the maritime states of Kathiawad renouncing piracy. Then in 1813, the Barodan government acquired the parganah of Kodinar (in present Junagadh district), where at port of Velan a small fleet of four frigates with 12-pounder guns on each for the protection of the trade between Bombay and Sindh was established. These four armed vessels were named Anandprasad, Sarsuba, Anamat Vart and Anne Maria, which was purchased from the Shah of Iran, and was known as 'Shah Kai Khusru' until then.[6]
List of Diwans of Baroda:[26]