The South Sea Company became the symbol of the South Sea Bubble after its share price collapsed in 1720.
Founded in 1711, the company received a government-backed monopoly over British trade with parts of Spanish America, although the expected commercial opportunities were far smaller than many investors imagined. Promotional schemes and speculation drove its shares to extraordinary levels during 1720.
When confidence broke, the price fell sharply and ruined many investors. Parliament investigated the affair, revealing corruption and improper dealings involving officials and company directors. The episode is often mentioned alongside France’s Mississippi Bubble, another major speculative collapse of 1720, but the South Sea Bubble was the British crisis and involved a separate company.