Which company promoted the South Sea Bubble that collapsed in Britain in 1720?

The South Sea Company promoted the South Sea Bubble that collapsed in Britain in 1720.

Founded in 1711, the South Sea Company received a government-backed monopoly over trade with parts of Spanish South America, although the expected commercial opportunities were far more limited than investors imagined. It also took on British government debt, linking its fortunes to public finance as well as overseas trade.

Its share price rose dramatically in 1720 amid aggressive promotion and speculative buying. The boom was part of a wider episode that also involved John Law’s Mississippi Company in France. When confidence failed, the South Sea Company’s shares collapsed, ruining many investors and exposing corruption and misleading practices.

Parliament investigated the scandal, and the episode led to legal and political consequences. Isaac Newton, who had invested and later sold before buying again at a higher price, is often associated with the bubble through a frequently quoted remark about calculating celestial motions but not crowd madness. The crash remains a classic example of speculative bubbles.