Biography

Baker was appointed a lieutenant by Lord Dartmouth on 14 Nov. 1688; on 12 Oct, 1691 he was advanced to be captain of the Mary

HMS Mary

Fifteen ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Mary: was a Cinque Ports ship in service in 1350. was a ship in service from 1400 and given away in 1423. was a ship in service from 1413 and lost in 1426. was a Royalist ketch in 1648. She was captured by the Parliamentarians in 1649 and not...

 galley, and during the war then raging with France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 successively commanded the Newcastle

HMS Newcastle

Eight ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Newcastle, after the English city of Newcastle upon Tyne:*HMS Newcastle was a 50-gun fourth-rate ship launched in 1653. She was rebuilt in 1692 and wrecked in 1703....

, the Falmouth

HMS Falmouth

Nine ships of the Royal Navy have borne the name HMS Falmouth, after the town of Falmouth:* HMS Falmouth was a 30-gun ship, formerly the Dutch Rotterdam...

, and the Medway

HMS Medway

Eight ships and a shore establishment of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Medway, after the River Medway., a 60-gun fourth rate launched in 1693, rebuilt in 1718 and hulked in 1740. She was beached in 1748 and a sheer hulk and was broken up in 1749., a 60-gun fourth rate launched in 1755. She...

, for the greater part of the time in the Mediterranean, but without any opportunity of especial distinction. Early in 1701 he was appointed to the Pembroke

HMS Pembroke

Nine ships and a number of shore establishments of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Pembroke.-Ships: was a 28-gun ship launched in 1655 and lost in a collision off Portland in 1667. was a 32-gun fifth rate launched in 1690, captured by the French in 1694 and subsequently wrecked. was a 60-gun...

, and a year later to the Monmouth

HMS Monmouth

Seven ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Monmouth, after the Welsh town; the name also recognises James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, the "Black Duke":*HMS Monmouth was an 8-gun yacht launched in 1666 and sold in 1698....

 of seventy guns, in which he continued for nearly six years, serving in the grand fleet under Sir George Rooke or Sir Clowdisley Shovell, at Cadiz

Cádiz

Cadiz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the homonymous province, one of eight which make up the autonomous community of Andalusia....

 and Vigo

Vigo

Vigo is a city and municipality in north-west Spain, in Galicia, situated on the ria of the same name on the Atlantic Ocean.-Population:...

 in 1702, at Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

 and Malaga

Málaga

Málaga is a city and a municipality in the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Spain. With a population of 568,507 in 2010, it is the second most populous city of Andalusia and the sixth largest in Spain. This is the southernmost large city in Europe...

 in 1704, at Barcelona

Barcelona

Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

 in 1705, and Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

 in 1707.

He returned to England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 with the squadron of which so many of the ships were lost amongst the Scilly Islands on 22 Oct. 1707 [see Shovell, Sir Clowdisley], and, having arrived at the Nore

Nore

The Nore is a sandbank at the mouth of the Thames Estuary, England. It marks the point where the River Thames meets the North Sea, roughly halfway between Havengore Creek in Essex and Warden Point in Kent....

, was ordered to relit and keep the men on board with a view to their being sent to other ships. Baker remonstrated; he thought their case was hard, and that they ought to be allowed to go home. 'Most of them,' he wrote, on 3 Nov., 'have been with me in this ship for almost six years, and many have followed me from ship to ship for several years before.' It does not appear that any good came of the application, which the admiralty probably considered a bit of maudlin and absurd sentimentality.

On 26 Jan. 1707-8 he was promoted to be rear-admiral of the white, and commanded in the second post under Sir George Byng on the coast of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. He afterwards conducted the daughter of the emperor, the betrothed queen of Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, from Holland to Spithead

Spithead

Spithead is an area of the Solent and a roadstead off Gilkicker Point in Hampshire, England. It is protected from all winds, except those from the southeast...

, and with Sir George Byng escorted her to Lisbon

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...

. On 12 Nov. 1709 he was advanced to be vice-admiral of the blue, and hoisted his flag in the Stirling Castle

HMS Stirling Castle

A number of ships of the Royal Navy have been named HMS Stirling Castle after Stirling Castle in Scotland, including:...

 as second in command in the Mediterranean under Sir John Norris and afterwards Sir John Jennings.

Towards the end of 1711 he was detached by Jennings to Lisbon and the Azores

Azores

The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the...

, to protect the Portuguese, East India

East India

East India is a region of India consisting of the states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Orissa. The states of Orissa and West Bengal share some cultural and linguistic characteristics with Bangladesh and with the state of Assam. Together with Bangladesh, West Bengal formed the...

, and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

 trade, especially from Duguay-Trouin

Duguay-Trouin

Duguay-Trouin can refer to:*René Duguay-Trouin: René Trouin, Sieur du Gué , French privateer, admiral and Commander in the Order of Saint-Louis...

 and Cassard. In, the course of a cruise from Lisbon in February 1711-2 he drove a large Spanish ship ashore near Cape St. Mary's

Cape St. Mary's

The headland of Cape St. Mary's is located at the southern tip of the south-western arm of the Avalon Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador.Cape St...

, but the weather was rough, and before he could approach, the wreck was gutted and destroyed by the Portuguese. Afterwards he captured a richly laden French ship for Martinique

Martinique

Martinique is an island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, with a land area of . Like Guadeloupe, it is an overseas region of France, consisting of a single overseas department. To the northwest lies Dominica, to the south St Lucia, and to the southeast Barbados...

, and returned to Lisbon by the beginning of March. At the Azores he remained till the following September, and having intelligence that the Brazil fleet was near, he put to sea on the 11th, and escorted it to the Tagus

Tagus

The Tagus is the longest river on the Iberian Peninsula. It is long, in Spain, along the border between Portugal and Spain and in Portugal, where it empties into the Atlantic Ocean at Lisbon. It drains an area of . The Tagus is highly utilized for most of its course...

.

He returned to England at the peace, and soon after the accession of George I

George I of Great Britain

George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....

 was again sent out to the Mediterranean in command of a squadron to negotiate with or restrain the corsairs of North Africa

North Africa

North Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...

, He concluded a treaty with Tripoli

Tripoli

Tripoli is the capital and largest city in Libya. It is also known as Western Tripoli , to distinguish it from Tripoli, Lebanon. It is affectionately called The Mermaid of the Mediterranean , describing its turquoise waters and its whitewashed buildings. Tripoli is a Greek name that means "Three...

 and Tunis

Tunis

Tunis is the capital of both the Tunisian Republic and the Tunis Governorate. It is Tunisia's largest city, with a population of 728,453 as of 2004; the greater metropolitan area holds some 2,412,500 inhabitants....

, and inflicted punishment on some of the Sallee cruisers. He had just been relieved by Rear-admiral Charles Cornwall, when he died at Port Mahon, 10 Nov. 1716.

A monument to his memory has been erected in Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

, for, though his is not one of the great historic names of the navy, he was, in the words of his epitaph, 'a brave, judicious, and experienced officer, a sincere friend, and a true lover of his country.' His nephew, Hercules Baker, a captain in the navy, and who was serving in the Mediterranean at the time of the vice-admiral's death, became, in 1736, treasurer of Greenwich Hospital

Greenwich Hospital

Greenwich Hospital can refer to:*Greenwich Hospital , USA*Greenwich Hospital , UK...

, and held that office till his death in 1744.