What was the name of France’s major 1720 stock-market bubble involving John Law’s company?

France’s major 1720 stock-market bubble involving John Law’s company was the Mississippi Bubble.

The episode centered on the Mississippi Company, which received extensive trading privileges and was reorganized under the financial system created by Scottish financier John Law. Law promoted paper money and expanded the company’s role in French colonial commerce, helping drive its shares to extraordinary heights. Investors bought shares partly with borrowed money, and expectations became detached from the company’s realistic earnings.

Confidence collapsed in 1720 when holders tried to convert paper wealth into more dependable forms of money. The company’s shares plunged, destroying fortunes and damaging confidence in Law’s banking and monetary system. Law fled France later that year.

The Mississippi Bubble is often confused with England’s South Sea Bubble, which also peaked and collapsed in 1720. They were separate schemes in different countries, although both reflected the era’s enthusiasm for publicly traded companies and speculative finance.