What was the name of the British speculative bubble that collapsed in 1720?

The South Sea Bubble was the British speculative bubble that collapsed in 1720.

The South Sea Company was founded in 1711 to trade with Spanish South America and to help manage Britain’s government debt. In practice, its commercial opportunities were far more limited than many investors believed. Company promoters and political supporters encouraged optimism about its prospects, and its share price rose dramatically during 1720.

The rise was part of a wider speculative episode involving the Mississippi Company in France and many new ventures in Britain. When confidence broke, South Sea shares collapsed. Investors across social classes suffered losses, and the scandal damaged the reputations of politicians and company directors.

The South Sea Bubble is not the same event as Tulip Mania in the Dutch Republic, which occurred in the 1630s, or the Mississippi Bubble in France, which also burst in 1720. The episode helped inspire tighter controls on joint-stock promotion, including the Bubble Act of 1720, although that law had complex effects and was not simply a modern securities regulation system.