Which company’s collapse was central to the South Sea Bubble stock-market crash of 1720?

The South Sea Company’s collapse was central to the South Sea Bubble stock-market crash of 1720. The company’s shares rose dramatically before falling, ruining many investors in Britain.

Founded in 1711, the company received a government-backed arrangement connected with Britain’s public debt and a monopoly over trade with Spanish South America. In practice, its expected commercial opportunities were far more limited than many investors assumed.

Promoters and investors pushed the share price to extraordinary levels during 1720. The company’s rise encouraged a wider speculative frenzy, with numerous questionable ventures seeking money from the public. When confidence weakened, the South Sea share price collapsed.

The episode is often discussed alongside France’s Mississippi Company bubble, which also burst in 1720. The two events were separate companies and markets, although both reflected the era’s enthusiasm for speculative shares and ambitious colonial-trade claims.