What is considered the Golden Age of Piracy?

Historians do not all agree but the most common date range for the Golden Age of Piracy is 1690 to 1730.

Who started the Golden Age of pirates?

No individual started the Golden Age of pirates, rather, it was a time when colonial authorities did not have the money, men or ships to effectively police the high seas, particularly in the Caribbean Sea. Merchants of new colonies became easy targets for pirate ships.

Who was the worst pirate in history?

There are many candidates for who was the worst pirate in history. Blackbeard was the most terrifying to look at, Captain Kidd annoyed the authorities because they thought he had buried secret treasure, and Charles Vane was very cruel to captives. Bartholomew Roberts was by far the 'worst' pirate in terms of most captured ships.

Why did the Golden Age of Piracy end?

The Golden Age of Piracy ended because colonial authorities began to use more men and ships to hunt down pirates. Punishments were more severe than previously, and many of the most notorious pirates were hanged.

Golden Age of Piracy Timeline

Definition

The Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730) refers to a period when robbery on the high seas and at colonial ports reached an unprecedented level. Although not all historians agree on the precise time frame, it is generally applied to those pirates who operated in the Caribbean, the east coast of America, the eastern Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean.

More about: Golden Age of Piracy

Timeline

1690 - 1730
The Golden Age of Piracy.
May 1694
Henry Every leads a mutiny and takes over the Charles II which he renames the Fancy.
1695
In London, Captain Kidd gathers a consortium of anonymous backers to fund a privateering expedition in the Indian Ocean.
Sep 1695
The English pirate Henry Every captures a treasure ship of the Mughal emperor, one of the richest prizes ever taken by a pirate in any era.
1697 - 1698
Captain Kidd commits several acts of piracy in the Indian Ocean.
30 Oct 1697
Captain Kidd kills one of his gunners, William Moore.
30 Jan 1698
Captain Kidd attacks and captures the merchant ship Quedah Merchant off the coast of India near Cochin.
1701
The British government permits colonies to try and hang pirates themselves rather than ship them to England.
23 May 1701
The pirate Captain Kidd is hanged at Wapping Old Stairs, London and his body is left to rot in public veiw by the River Thames.
1713 - 1718
The British pirate Benjamin Hornigold is active in the Caribbean and North American coast.
1716 - 1720
The English pirate Charles Vane is active in the Caribbean and east coast of America.
1717 - 1718
The pirates Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) and Benjamin Hornigold sail in consort.
1717
Woodes Rogers is appointed the Governor of the Bahamas for the first time.
1717 - 1720
The pirate Edward England is active in the Caribbean, Eastern Atlantic, and Indian Ocean.
Mar 1717 - Oct 1718
The Barbadian pirate Stede Bonnet is active in the Caribbean and off the east coast of North America.
Apr 1717
The British pirate Samuel Bellamy dies when his ship Whydah is shipwrecked off Cape Cod.
Oct 1718
The two pirate crews of Blackbeard and Charles Vane enjoy a week-long party on Ocracoke Island, North Carolina.
Nov 1718
The pirate crew of Charles Vane votes to depose him. They select John Rackham ('Calico Jack') as their new captain.
Nov 1718
The Barbadian pirate Stede Bonnet is hanged in Charleston, South Carolina.
Apr 1719
Anne Bonny and John Rackham steal a ship in the Bahamas and embark on a life of piracy in the Caribbean.
1720 - 1722
The Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts ('Black Bart' Roberts) is active on both sides of the Atlantic.
Nov 1720
The pirates 'Calico Jack' (John Rackham), Anne Bonny, and Mary Read are apprehended in the Caribbean by the Jamaican authorities.
28 Nov 1720
Anne Bonny and Mary Read are tried for piracy in Jamaica and found guilty. Thier sentence of death by hanging is postpoend as both are pregnant.
1721 - 1724
The English pirate Edward Low is active in the Caribbean and eastern Atlantic.
1721
John Taylor and Olivier La Bouche capture the Portuguese treasure ship Nostra Senhora de Cabo at Réunion Island.
Mar 1721
The English pirate Charles Vane is hanged in Jamaica.
1722
The pirates Edward Low and George Lowther operate in tandem in the Caribbean.
1722
At Cape Coast Castle, Guinea in West Africa, 52 of Bartholomew Roberts’ crew are hanged.
Jan 1722
The Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts captures 11 ships of the West African coast.
12 Feb 1722
The Welsh pirate Bartholomew Roberts ('Black Bart' Roberts) is killed in action against the Royal Naval vessel HMS Swallow.