Sir Samuel Baker

Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. Valentine Baker, the paternal grandfather of Samuel White Baker, was a noted citizen of Bristol. Following the example of his father and grandfather, he entered the Royal Navy as a youth; but he subsequently abandoned this career, in order to take the independent com mand of a privateer. Born in 1737, he lived in the stirring times that witnessed, among other notable events, the Seven Years' War, the conquest of India, and the War of American Independence. It was during the last-named period, so dis astrous for the prestige and colonial success Of our country, that Captain Valentine Baker chiefly distinguished himself. Having taken-out 'letters of marque,' he equipped the Caesar, a sloop of 18 guns, which he fought in a very gallant action against a French frigate of 32 guns. This was in the year 1782, when Great Britain had been engaged for four years in a desperate maritime struggle against France, Spain and Holland; and was carrying-ou hostilities, not only in North America, against the Colonists, but also in the West Indies, in the English Channel, and in India.