In Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag, which historical period provides the game's main setting?

Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag is mainly set during the Golden Age of Piracy.

The game takes place in the Caribbean in the early 18th century, when pirates, privateers, colonial powers, and merchant fleets competed for control of important sea routes. Edward Kenway's story moves between pirate havens, colonial cities, plantations, and open water, combining fictional factional conflict with real historical figures.

Historical pirates including Edward “Blackbeard” Thatch, Benjamin Hornigold, and Charles Vane appear in the game. The period is often associated with the years around 1650 to 1730, although historians use the label in somewhat different ways. Black Flag is not set during the later Victorian era, which is the period explored by Assassin's Creed Syndicate, nor during the American Revolution, the principal setting of Assassin's Creed III.