Aaron Eli Baker (1610–1683) of Bowhay in the parish of Exminster, near

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, was an English colonial agent of the

Honourable East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, who served as the first President of the

Madras Presidency The Madras Presidency or Madras Province, officially called the Presidency of Fort St. George until 1937, was an administrative subdivision (province) of British India and later the Dominion of India. At its greatest extent, the presidency i ...

(1652-1655). He was for the duration of twenty years President of Bantam in the

East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...

. He made a fortune in the East India trade.

Origins

Baker was born in the parish of Alphington, near

, Devon, as is recorded on his mural monument in Dunchideock Church.

Madras period

Baker was the first President of Madras when the Presidency of Fort St George was created in the year 1652. He served as President from 1652 to 1655.List of Governors of Madras, from ''worldstatesmen.org''
/ref> In 1652-53, caste conflicts arose between "left-hand" and "right-hand castes" which was settled by the English, who reserved the eastern half of the Indian quarter of the city for the "left-hand" castes and the western half of the quarter for the "right-hand" castes. During this period the area around Madras was in great turmoil due to the rebellion of Mir Jumla against his overlord in

Golconda Golconda is a fortified citadel and ruined city located on the western outskirts of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. The fort was originally built by Kakatiya ruler Pratāparudra in the 11th century out of mud walls. It was ceded to the Bahmani ...

. During this time Bala Rao, the chief of Poonamallee, raised the customs duties on English goods thereby causing a drastic increase in prices. Madras was besieged by Bala Rao and his colleague, Tupaki Krishnappa Naick. This blockade and the economic boycott of English trade by Bala Rao forced the English to reduce Fort St George from a Presidency to an Agency at the termination of Baker's term of office.

Dismissal

Private trade was eventually allowed while holding Presidency positions but had at first been frowned upon; both Aaron Baker and Sir Edward Winter were ultimately dismissed for engaging in it.

Retirement in England

Baker retired to Bowhay in the parish of Exminster,

, England, with the fortunes he earned. In 1669 he rebuilt the north chancel aisle of St. Michael's church in Dunchideock, near Exminster, where is a monument to his memory.

Marriages

Baker married twice: *Firstly to a certain Elizabeth (d.1652), who died in childbirth at sea when on her way to join her husband in Madras, and has the distinction of having the oldest English tombstone in India. *Secondly on 25 July 1672, in the parish church of Dunchideock, Devon, "Mr. Aaron Baker of Exminster" married "Mrs Mary Rowe of the parish of Ayston".

Death and burial

Baker died in 1683 and is buried in St. Michael's Church, Dunchideock, where survives his mural monument. By coincidence or otherwise, a later Governor of Madras, Sir Robert Palk, 1st Baronet (1717-1798), lived in the parish of Dunchideock at Haldon House and was buried in the same parish church.

Monument at Dunchideock

A mural monument to Aaron Baker survives in St Michael's Church, Dunchideock, situated on the north wall of the north aisle chapel. It is inscribed in Latin as follows:
:''Positum et sacratum est hoc monumentum piae memoriae Aaronis Baker de Bowhay Armigeri infra conditi qui viginti annorum spacio praeses fuit Bantum Indiis Orientalibus. Huius aedificii partem sum(p)tu suo proprio generoso erexit. Natus Alphinton hoc comitatu; obiit die 28 Octobris An(n)o Verbi Incarnati 1683 aetatis suae 73'' ("This monument is placed and sacred to the pious memory of Aaron Baker of Bowhay, Esquire, embalmed below, who during the space of twenty years was President of Bantum in the

. He erected at his own noble expense part of this building. He was born in Alphington in this county; he died on the 28 day of October in the year of the Word Incarnate 1683, of his age 73"). Above are shown the arms of Baker: ''Argent, on a saltire engrailed sable five escallops of the first on a chief of the second a lion passant of the first''; impaling the arms of his two wives: in chief: ''Or, a fess between three Catherine wheels sable'' (possibly BrentinghamSee similar blazon for Brentingham in Prince, John, (1643–1723) The Worthies of Devon, 1810 edition, London, p.78

/ref>); in base: ''Gules, on a chevron argent a lion rampant sable''. Above is the crest of Baker: ''A man's dexter arm embowed argent garnished or grasping in the hand an arrow point downward of the last''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Aaron 1610 births 1683 deaths Presidents of Madras Businesspeople from Exeter