The War of the Spanish Succession ended in 1713, helping create conditions associated with the Golden Age of Piracy.
The conflict lasted from 1701 to 1714, although the main peace settlements began in 1713. Britain, France, Spain, and other European powers had used large numbers of privateers during the war. When peace arrived, many sailors and armed seamen lost their wartime employment.
Some of these experienced mariners turned to piracy, especially in the Caribbean and along the American coast. This postwar transition is one reason historians often place the most famous period of Atlantic piracy in the years after 1713.
The war did not end every military operation immediately: the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 began the settlement, while fighting involving Austria and France continued until 1714. Thus 1713 is the standard date for the peace settlement’s opening year, not the date every soldier stopped fighting.