What was the name of the 1720 English speculative collapse centered on a trading company?

The South Sea Bubble was the 1720 English speculative collapse centered on the South Sea Company.

The South Sea Company received a government-backed monopoly over trade with Spanish South America, although its actual trading prospects were limited. It also took on government debt and promoted its shares aggressively. Prices rose dramatically as investors expected enormous profits and many bought into the rising market.

The speculation unraveled later in 1720. The company’s shares fell sharply, ruining many investors and exposing bribery and political connections surrounding the scheme. Parliament investigated the scandal, and several directors and politicians faced severe consequences.

The South Sea Bubble is often discussed alongside France’s Mississippi Bubble, which also collapsed in 1720. They were separate schemes. The episode is not a modern stock-exchange crash in the same sense as 1929, but it is a landmark early example of a speculative financial bubble and market collapse.