Career
Fleeing from Jamaica after being charged with murder, Baldridge sailed to Madagascar and, by 1685, had established a base of operations on the island of Saint Mary"son By the following year, Baldridge controlled the inland waterway into Saint Mary"s having established a virtual stronghold overlooking the island harbor as well as protecting the settlements" warehouses. After subduing the local tribes, native chieftains would be forced to pay Baldridge to mediate between warring tribes.
By the 1690s, Baldridge"s settlement had become a popular haven among pirates of the Mediterranean with Baldridge supplying pirates in exchange for high fees.
Baldridge reportedly lived a luxurious and extravagant life on the island, which included his own harem of island girls, until 1697 when he was forced to flee to the American colonies after the local tribes discovered he had sold a group of natives as slaves.