Hi, I'm reading about pirates and I was wondering about pirates' identity and sense of belonging whether to a nation such as Britain or to some other formed idea of brotherhood or confederacy in the Caribbean. I mean i know as privateers they attacked ships from a certain nation that would be at war with their own, but as pirates certainly they would attack their own nation's ships. Did nationality play that big a role in pirates lives? Or deciding whether to attack Spanish or British ships. Was it whoever has cargo/money?
Short answer: It depends.
Long answer, there are a few things going on with the various crews. Some pirates were privateers who turned to piracy because a war ended, or because they figured on more profit attacking their own side. Some pirate crews formed out of mutinies, and the circumstances generally affected how they felt about their home nations. Often, pirate crews were comprised of a significant number of escaped slaves, who felt no allegiance to the great powers.
I recommend reading Marcus Rediker's "Villains of All Nations." It's not only a decent look at piracy in the golden age, but it's also a masterpiece of Marxian scholarship. In my grad school it was required reading because of how well structured and tight the whole thing is.