Which 1720 French speculative bubble collapsed after the Mississippi Company’s shares soared?

The 1720 French speculative bubble built around the Mississippi Company was called the Mississippi Bubble.

The company was promoted by Scottish financier John Law, who also controlled France’s Banque Générale, later renamed the Banque Royale. Investors were attracted by claims about the commercial wealth of France’s North American territories and by the easy availability of paper money and company shares.

Mississippi Company shares rose spectacularly in 1719 and early 1720. Speculators bought shares in expectation of further gains, but confidence collapsed when the company’s prospects and financial structure could not support the inflated prices. The resulting decline ruined many investors and damaged confidence in Law’s monetary system.

The Mississippi Bubble occurred at roughly the same time as Britain’s South Sea Bubble, but the two were separate schemes. Both are frequently discussed together as famous early-eighteenth-century bubbles, yet one centered on a French company and the other on a British company.