Mississippi Bubble Collapses
May 17, 1720
John Law's Banque Royale in Paris, having printed paper money against dreams of Louisiana gold, saw its scheme unravel. Shares that had sold for twenty thousand livres fell to five hundred. Law fled France in disguise. The monarchy lost credit it would not recover before 1789. Enlightenment Paris learned the word speculation.
In context
Also in 1720 (4 other events on record)
- South Sea Bubble Bursts · Europe · Politics
- Qing Conquest of Tibet · East Asia · War
- Plague of Marseille · Europe · Exploration
- Rackham and the Pirate Women · North America · Politics
Before and after in Europe
Before and after in Politics
Era
Enlightenment (1651–1800), one of 696 events from that era on Saeculum.