What was the name of the 1720 French speculative bubble centered on the Mississippi Company?

The French speculative boom and collapse centered on the Mississippi Company was called the Mississippi Bubble.

John Law promoted the company, which held rights connected with French colonial development in North America. Law also helped create a bank and a paper-money system. Investors were attracted by stories of immense wealth in Louisiana, and shares rose dramatically as demand fed further speculation.

The company’s shares became detached from realistic expectations about colonial profits. When confidence weakened and investors tried to exchange paper assets for hard currency, the system unraveled in 1720. The resulting collapse damaged Law’s reputation and disrupted French finance.

The Mississippi Bubble occurred during the same broad era as Britain’s South Sea Bubble, but the two were separate schemes in different countries. Both demonstrated how credit expansion, persuasive promotion, and rapidly rising share prices could produce a market crash long before modern stock exchanges existed.