Which 1720 bubble collapsed after the Mississippi Company’s shares soared and then plunged in France?

The Mississippi Bubble was the 1720 French speculative collapse centered on the Mississippi Company.

John Law’s company received a monopoly over trade and development connected with French Louisiana and became tied to a broader plan to restructure France’s finances. Investors bought shares enthusiastically, driving prices far above levels supported by the company’s actual prospects. When confidence failed, a rush to sell caused the shares to plunge.

The episode is often discussed alongside England’s South Sea Bubble, which also burst in 1720, but they were separate schemes in different countries. Both involved ambitious companies, government finance, easy credit, and intense speculation. The Mississippi Bubble damaged confidence in Law’s monetary system and contributed to his fall from power. It did not concern the modern U.S. state of Mississippi as a stock exchange; the name came from the company’s claimed colonial interests along the Mississippi River.