I'm trying to do research for writing a historical fiction about pirates in the East Indies (1600-1700), but I have a lot of questions and am having trouble finding the information I need. Who did the pirates sell their plundered goods to? I mean, they couldn't exactly sell it to some honest merchant, right? Also, was the British Royal Navy present in the East Indies and if so what was there purpose there? Were there a lot of hostilities between the English East India Company and Dutch East India Company? How did the Dutch monopoly in the Spice Islands work? Did they trade with any English merchants or just Dutch merchants? If anyone has any answers or information concerning my questions please respond/comment! Thanks!
I won't promise to answer all of that, and a lot changed between 1600 and 1700, so you could really do with being more specific about the date, but here goes.
Who did pirates sell their plundered goods to? For most of the 17th century pirates tended to make short cruises into the Indian Ocean, spend a season raiding, then return home, either to Europe or, later, the Americas. Towards the end of the century, and certainly by the 1690s, corrupt merchants trading in the region were known to purchase pirated goods. For example, George Weoley, who was captured by pirates, recorded that they sold some of their goods to a Dutch merchant trading in India, who also supplied the pirates with intelligence. At that time there was a great rivalry between merchants of different nationalities in India, and it may have been that aiding English pirates (who would not help the popularity of the English merchants) was good business sense for a Dutch merchant. By far the most organised disposal of pirate goods in the region began in 1690 when Adam Baldridge set up a trading post on St. Mary's Island, Madagascar, with the primary purpose of trading with pirates. Backed by New York merchant Frederick Phillipse, Baldridge exchanged supplies of food, drink, powder and shot, and other items such as books and clothing for pirated goods, which he then sent back to New York to be sold. Baldridge fled the island in 1697, but the post was quickly taken over by Edward Welch, who ran it into the 18th century.
It's hard to find these days, but Charles Grey's Pirates of the Eastern Seas is a very good (and probably the only single volume) history of 17th century pirates in the Indian Ocean.
There was no permanent Royal Navy presence in the Indian Ocean in the 17th century, but occasional voyages were made to the region in the early 18th century, mostly for hunting down pirates. Additionally, East India Company vessels were generally large and well-armed and frequently served in a policing role (with mixed success) as well as trading.
The questions about the Dutch East India Company are a: a little too broad to answer in a single post, and b: a little beyond my own area of expertise. I'd thoroughly recommend Nathaniel's Nutmeg by Giles Milton for a general background and history of an extremely bloody rivalry between the English and Dutch in the area.