South Sea Bubble Bursts
September 1, 1720
The stock of the South Sea Company, having risen from one hundred and twenty-eight pounds to over a thousand in eight months on promises of Pacific trade, collapsed in weeks. Aristocrats, clergymen, and Isaac Newton himself were ruined. Parliament investigated. Walpole took power on a promise of stability. Britain learned the shape of its first financial crash.
In context
Also in 1720 (4 other events on record)
- Qing Conquest of Tibet · East Asia · War
- Mississippi Bubble Collapses · Europe · Politics
- 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.