What was the name of the 1720 British speculative bubble involving a trading company?

The 1720 British speculative bubble involving a trading company was the South Sea Bubble.

The South Sea Company received rights connected with British trade in Spanish South America and assumed part of the government’s debt. Its shares soared in 1720 as investors expected enormous commercial profits, even though the company’s actual trading opportunities were far more limited than the excitement suggested.

The company promoted its prospects while share prices rose through complex financing schemes and intense public speculation. When confidence broke, prices collapsed, ruining many investors and prompting a political scandal. Parliament investigated the company’s directors and several officials.

The episode occurred alongside John Law’s Mississippi Bubble in France, so the two are often discussed together. They were separate schemes, however. The South Sea Bubble also helped popularize the broader idea of a speculative “bubble,” in which prices become detached from realistic income or assets. Isaac Newton famously lost money after re-entering the South Sea market, though the exact amount is uncertain.