1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Sawantwari

SAWANTWARI, or Savantvadi, a native state of Bombay, India. Area, 925 sq. m. Pop. (1901) 217,732, showing an increase of 13% during the preceding decade. The surface is broken and rugged, interspersed with densely-wooded hills; in the valleys are gardens and groves of cocoa-nut and betel-nut palms. Sawantwari has no considerable rivers; the chief streams are the Karli on the north and the Terakhol on the south, both navigable for small craft. The climate is humid and relaxing, with an average annual rainfall of 150 in. The estimated revenue is £28,000. The chief, whose title is sar desai, is a Mahratta of the Bhonsla family, who traces back his descent to the 16th century. There are special manufactures of ornaments carved out of bison-horn, painted and inlaid lacquer-work, and gold and silver embroidery. The town of Sawantwari, or Vadi, is picturesquely situated on the bank of a large lake, 17 m. E. of the seaport of Vengurla. Pop. (1901) 10,213.

Before the establishment of Portuguese power Sawantwari was the highway of a great traffic between the coast and the interior; but during the 16th and 17th centuries trade suffered much from the rivalry of the Portuguese, and in the disturbances of the 18th century it almost entirely disappeared. In consequence of piracy, the whole coast-line (including the port of Vengurla) was ceded to the British in 1812.