South Sea Bubble, popular name in England for the speculation in the South Sea Company, which failed disastrously in 1720. The company was formed in 1711 by Robert Harley Harley, Robert, 1st earl of Oxford, 1661–1724, English statesman and bibliophile. His career illustrates the power of personal connections and intrigue in the politics of his day.
..... Click the link for more information. , who needed allies to carry through the peace negotiations to end the War of the Spanish Succession. Holders of £9 million worth of government bonds were allowed to exchange their bonds for stock (with 6% interest) in the new company, which was given a monopoly of British trade with the islands of the South Seas and South America. The monopoly was based on the expectation of securing extensive trading concessions from Spain in the peace treaty. These concessions barely materialized, however, so that the company had a very shaky commercial basis. Nonetheless, it was active financially, and in 1720 it proposed that it should assume responsibility for the entire national debt, again offering its own stock in exchange for government bonds, a transaction on which it expected to make a considerable profit. The government accepted this proposal, and the result was an incredible wave of speculation, which drove the price of the company's stock from £128 1-2 in Jan., 1720, to £1,000 in August. Many dishonest and imprudent speculative ventures sprang up in imitation. In Sept., 1720, the bubble burst. Banks failed when they could not collect loans on inflated stock, prices of stock fell, thousands were ruined (including many members of the government), and fraud in the South Sea Company was exposed. Robert Walpole Walpole, Robert, 1st earl of Orford, 1676–1745, English statesman.

Early Life and Career

He was the younger son of a prominent Whig family of Norfolk.
..... Click the link for more information. became first lord of the treasury and chancellor of the exchequer and started a series of measures to restore the credit of the company and to reorganize it. The bursting of the bubble, which coincided with the similar collapse of the Mississippi Scheme Mississippi Scheme, plan formulated by John Law for the colonization and commercial exploitation of the Mississippi valley and other French colonial areas. In 1717 the French merchant Antoine Crozat transferred his monopoly of commercial privileges in Louisiana to
..... Click the link for more information. in France, ended the prevalent belief that prosperity could be achieved through unlimited expansion of credit. Legislation was enacted that forbade unincorporated joint stock enterprise.

Bibliography

See studies by L. S. Benjamin (1921, repr. 1968), J. Carswell (1960), and V. S. Cowles (1960).

South Sea Bubble

(1720) Speculation mania that caused financial ruin for many British investors. Parliament's acceptance of a proposal by the South Sea Co. to take over the British national debt resulted in an immediate rise in its stock. After soaring from 128¹⁄₂ to over 1,000 in nine months, the bubble of overvalued stock burst and the price per share dropped to 124, dragging other stocks down and leaving many investors ruined. An inquiry by the House of Commons found collusion by several government ministers.

South Sea Bubble

fraud is exposed in British South Sea Company (1720). [Br. Hist.: EB, IX: 383]

See : Scandal