Which company was central to France’s Mississippi Bubble, the speculative crash of 1720?

The Mississippi Company was central to France’s Mississippi Bubble, the speculative crash of 1720. The company was associated with John Law, a Scottish financier who gained influence in France after proposing a bank and a broad paper-money system.

Law’s company, originally linked to French colonial claims in North America, gained control of several trading enterprises and became known as the Company of the West. Investors were encouraged by stories of wealth in Louisiana, while abundant paper money and easy speculation pushed share prices sharply higher. The company was later merged with other colonial trading bodies and became the Company of the Indies.

Confidence collapsed when investors tried to convert paper assets and shares into precious metal and cash. Share prices plunged, and Law’s financial system broke down. The Mississippi Bubble is often confused with Britain’s South Sea Bubble, which also burst in 1720, but the companies and national financial systems were different.