Which 1720 French financial bubble is associated with John Law’s Mississippi Company?

John Law’s Mississippi Company is associated with the Mississippi Bubble, a French financial crisis of 1719–1720.

John Law, a Scottish financier, gained control of the company that held trading privileges connected with French Louisiana. He also helped create a bank that issued paper money. Shares in the company rose spectacularly as investors believed its American prospects and Law’s financial system would generate immense wealth. Speculation attracted people from across French society.

The boom became unstable when investors tried to convert paper claims and shares into more reliable assets. Confidence collapsed in 1720, causing the company’s share price and the value of Law’s notes to fall sharply. Law fled France, and the episode damaged public trust in paper money and ambitious state-backed financial schemes.

The Mississippi Bubble is often discussed alongside England’s South Sea Bubble, which also burst in 1720. They were separate companies and national systems, although both reflected the same era’s speculative enthusiasm and were linked through the wider European investment climate.