princely states of Kathiawar were brought under the British protectorate by 1820, but the first treaty with the British was made from Kathiawar between Vira Wala (Kathi Ruler) of Jetpur and Colonel Walker at Baroda on 26 October 1803. Literary comment The state of the region in the early nineteenth century is shown in Letitia Elizabeth Landon's poetical illustration, "Scene in Kattiawar", to an engraving of a painting by Clarkson Frederick Stanfield. Political history Before Indian independence in 1947, most of Kathiawar was divided into numerous princely states that were ruled by local potentates who acknowledged British suzerainty in return for local sovereignty. These states comprised the Kathiawar Agency. The rest of the peninsula, primarily in the east along the Gulf of Cambay, were districts ruled directly by the British as part of British India's Bombay Presidency, which included part of the peninsula. After Indian independence, the states of Kathiawar acceded to India under the Instrument of Accession. In 1947, Junagadh's Muslim ruler acceded his territory to Pakistan. The predominantly Hindu population rebelled, and while the prince fled to Pakistan, a referendum was conducted that merged the kingdom into the Indian Union. The former princely states of Kathiawar were grouped into the new province of Saurashtra, which became the state of Saurashtra in 1950. In 1956, Saurashtra was merged into Bombay State, and in 1960, Bombay state was divided along linguistic lines into the new states of Gujarat (including Kathiawar) and Maharashtra. Diu was under Portuguese rule until it was occupied by Indian troops by 1961. It integrated into India as part of the union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu in 1962. Major cities The major cities of Kathiawar are Rajkot in the center of the peninsula, Jamnagar on the Gulf of Kutch, Bhavnagar on the Gulf of Khambhat, Surendranagar and the historic city Wadhwan in the central portion of Gujarat, Porbandar on the west coast, and the historic city of Junagadh in the South. Diu, an island town formerly part of Portuguese India and now part of the Indian union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, lies off the south coast of Kathiawar. The city of Somnath and its temple are also located on the south coast. Districts in Kathiawad Region Amreli Botad Bhavnagar Devbhoomi Dwarka Gir Somnath Jamnagar Junagadh Morbi Porbandar Rajkot Surendranagar Geography and ecosystem The natural vegetation on most of the