What was the name of the company at the center of Britain’s famous 1720 stock-market bubble?

The South Sea Company was at the center of Britain’s famous 1720 stock-market bubble.

Founded in 1711, the company received a government-backed monopoly over British trade with parts of Spanish America in exchange for taking on government debt. Its commercial prospects were far less impressive than the excitement surrounding its shares. Speculation nevertheless pushed the stock price dramatically higher in 1720.

Investors from many social classes joined the frenzy, while promoters launched other speculative ventures. Parliament passed the Bubble Act in 1720, restricting unauthorized joint-stock companies, but the measure did not prevent the South Sea Company’s share price from collapsing later that year. The crash ruined many investors and damaged public confidence.

The South Sea Bubble is often grouped with France’s Mississippi Bubble, which also burst in 1720. They were separate schemes, though both reflected the era’s enthusiasm for paper finance, monopoly privileges, and rapidly rising share prices.