The Obituary
The South Sea Company was chartered in 1711 and granted a monopoly on British trade with Spanish South America, a trade that war and treaty kept tiny. Its true business was financial: assuming portions of the national debt in exchange for shares. In 1720 a frenzy of speculation drove its stock from around £128 to over £1,000 in a few months, drawing in investors across society. The bubble burst that autumn, wiping out fortunes — Isaac Newton among the losers — and triggering a corruption scandal. A husk of the company lingered until Parliament dissolved it in 1853.
Worth remembering
- In 1720 its shares rose from about £128 to over £1,000 in months before collapsing, ruining thousands including Isaac Newton.
- Its real trade was meagre; the company existed largely to convert and manage British government debt.
Sources
A graveyard tradition: leave a stone to show you came, and remembered.