Caribbean pirates expanded beyond the caribbean when an earthquake in 1692 destroyed port royal and reduced the attractiveness of the caribbean as it eliminated the pirates chief market for fenced plunder and at the same time merchants and governors from largely ignored english colonies such as bermuda new york and rhode island funded pirate voyages in the hopes of. Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable items or properties. Those who engage in acts of piracy are called piratesthe earliest documented instances of piracy were in the 14th century bc when the sea peoples a group of ocean raiders attacked the ships of.