This didn't set well with the privateers and they decided to keep plundering no matter who it was. An extreme added bonus, Spain had lost gold and silver all over the place due to mostly storms that broke their ships apart. These privateers saw a great opportunity to treasure hunt and make a living. Britain was livid that the privateers turned on them (they kind of turned on the privateers first).
They sent their military to take these mercenaries out and gave them the name "Pirates," as a negative connotation. But as they found when the Revolution took place, pirates didn't follow war protocols and neither did the patriots who fought for our country. There was no pomp and circumstance, there was a lot of gorilla warfare. British sailors were certainly proud, but boy did they hate it if they saw the skull and crossbones. They knew that inevitably the pirates would be on their ship and they'd have to fight hand to hand (sword to sword). Pirates loved it, the British, French, and Spanish sailors, did not.
The period of advanced pirating only lasted between 1716 and 1730. Quite frankly, it was getting tough putting together crews because it was extremely hard and dangerous work. Due to the sparse areas population wise (ports), they operated in, they didn't have a vast pool of candidates who were excited about becoming pirates and there was significant turnover on their ships. Some couldn't hack it and deserted as soon as they reached land, some were killed in battles, and some were killed by their own shipmates. Plus, there was a lot of illness back then. Many of them migrated towards legitimate work on merchant ships.
Sheldon Cooper had his show, "Fun with Flags," mine will be called: "Fun with History." 😁 Take care and make it a great day!