Which 1720 English company became the symbol of the speculative South Sea Bubble?

The South Sea Company became the symbol of the speculative South Sea Bubble in England in 1720.

Founded in 1711, the company received a monopoly over British trade with parts of Spanish South America, although its actual commercial opportunities were far more limited than enthusiastic promoters suggested. It also took on government debt, linking its fortunes to public finance.

Promotional claims and easy credit pushed the company's share price to extraordinary levels during 1720. When confidence broke, prices collapsed and many investors suffered severe losses. The panic spread beyond the company to other speculative ventures.

The South Sea Bubble is often mentioned alongside France's Mississippi Bubble, which also burst in 1720. Neither event was a modern stock-market crash in the broad, global sense, but both are classic examples of a financial bubble fueled by speculation and leverage.