Piracy in the Golden Age, 1690–1730: Lessons for Today

Abstract

This chapter reviews the history of the so-called Golden Age of piracy, which lasted from ca. 1690 to 1730 and occurred primarily in the North Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Seas. Many pirates during this time had previously been commissioned as privateers or agents of national governments charged with attacking and plundering the merchant ships of enemy countries, thereby blurring the line between piracy and warfare. When hostilities ceased, however, many privateers continued their activities as outright pirates. An important lesson from the Golden Age is that national enforcement efforts seem to have been quite effective in ending the threat. We contend that this is because international trade at the time was monopolized by England and France, and so enforcement had more of the character of a private good than a public good. Also, accepted law enforcement practices at the time allowed harsher and speedier punishment of pirates as compared to today.