Which 1720 English bubble collapsed after the South Sea Company’s share price surged?

The South Sea Bubble was the 1720 English speculation collapse centered on the South Sea Company.

The company received a government-backed monopoly over trade with parts of Spanish South America and assumed portions of Britain’s national debt. Its shares rose dramatically as investors imagined enormous commercial profits, even though the company’s actual trading prospects were limited.

By late summer 1720, enthusiasm turned into panic. Share prices collapsed, ruining many investors and exposing fraudulent promotion and weak financial practices. Parliament investigated the scandal, and several politicians and company officials faced severe consequences.

The South Sea Bubble is often discussed alongside John Law’s Mississippi Bubble in France and the earlier Dutch tulip speculation. Those episodes were separate events, despite their frequent appearance in the same histories of financial bubbles.