When was the Golden Age of Piracy?
Piracy in the Atlantic World
"The Golden Age of Piracy" is a term used by historians to refer to the most widespread increase of "sea banditry" on record. Although scholars agree that there was a boom in raiding and pillaging activities in the early eighteenth century, there are various schools of thought regarding the length of time that was the Golden Age. The shortest amount of time that is agreed upon is from around 1715 to 1725. The signing of the Treaty of Utrecht ended the War of Spanish Succession, ending the authorized privateering that was a part of the war and marking the beginning of the Golden Age of Piracy. Another group holds that the Golden Age was from around 1690 to about 1725. The longest definition of the Golden Age runs from 1650 to 1726, to include the buccaneers and other piracy endeavors.
Piracy
While the term can include acts committed in the air, on land (especially across national borders or in connection with taking over and robbing a car or train), or in other major bodies of water or on a shore, this article focuses on maritime piracy. It does not normally include crimes committed against people traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator (e.g. one passenger stealing from others on the same vessel). Piracy or pirating is the name of a specific crime under customary international law and also the name of a number of crimes under the municipal law of a number of states. In the early 21st century, seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant issue (with estimated worldwide losses of US$16 billion per year in 2004), particularly in the waters between the Red Sea and Indian Ocean, off the Somali coast, and also in the Strait of Malacca and Singapore.