Which French company was linked to the Mississippi Bubble that burst in 1720?

The Mississippi Company was linked to the Mississippi Bubble that burst in 1720.

The company was associated with Scottish financier John Law, who controlled a monopoly over French trade and colonization connected with the Mississippi region. Law also operated the Banque Générale, later the Banque Royale, and promoted company shares as part of a wider system involving paper money and public debt.

Speculation sent the shares to extraordinary heights in 1719 and 1720. Confidence collapsed when investors tried to convert paper wealth into hard currency and doubts grew about the company’s supposed American riches. The share price plunged, ruining many speculators and undermining Law’s financial system.

The Mississippi Bubble occurred at roughly the same time as Britain’s South Sea Bubble. The two events are frequently paired, but they involved different companies and governments. The American colony’s name also causes confusion: the company’s financial prominence did not mean that its actual profits matched the enormous expectations built into its share price.