The appointed Political Agent looked after only one territory, that of the princely state of Cutch, which had a surface of 19,725 square kilometres (7,616 sq mi), not including the Rann of Kutch.

[2] The agency was formed in 1819 when Cutch State became a British protectorate.

[3] Captain James MacMurdo was first appointed Political Agent, as Collector and Resident of Cutch.

He worked from his office at Anjar[4] while the capital of Cutch State was located away at Bhuj.

The progressive prosperity of Cutch was devastated by the famine of 1899-1900,[3] which was felt everywhere with extreme severity; between 1891 and 1901 the population of the state of Cutch decreased from 558,415 inhabitants in 1891 to 488,022 in 1901, owing to the famine.