What was the 1720 English stock-market bubble involving the South Sea Company called?

The 1720 English stock-market bubble involving the South Sea Company was called the South Sea Bubble.

The South Sea Company received rights connected with British trade and government debt, and its shares rose dramatically in 1720 amid intense speculation. Investors were attracted by promotional claims and the prospect of enormous profits from overseas commerce. The company’s actual trading opportunities were much more limited than many buyers assumed.

As enthusiasm spread, people bought shares at increasingly unrealistic prices, often using borrowed money. The price eventually collapsed, causing severe losses for investors across social classes. The scandal damaged public confidence and led to investigations of company officials and politicians. Isaac Newton, who had invested, is famously associated with the episode, although the exact wording of quotations attributed to him is often uncertain.

The South Sea Bubble occurred alongside John Law’s Mississippi Bubble in France. These were separate schemes, though both collapsed in 1720 and are frequently discussed together as major early examples of speculative bubbles.