The Golden Age of Piracy (~1670 to 1722) is the name that was given to several separate time periods that most of the European powers fell into a struggle involving the colonization of the Caribbean, many sailors saw the conflict as a huge opportunity to attack and loot the involved ships, thus becoming pirates. Their favorite targets were mostly Spanish galleons that were usually filled with the riches from the New World.
The Golden Age of Piracy finally came to an end around 1730, for most of its notorious pirate captains eventually died out or accepted the royal pardons.