The South Sea Bubble: The 1720 Scam Even Newton Fell For

In 1720, Britain bet everything on a company that traded almost nothing, and the whole country went mad for it. Mini Fiascos #2 · History's biggest fiascos, explained. A broke government. A salesman named John Blunt who could sell anything, especially nothing. A King who became the company's governor without asking what it did. Then South Sea Company shares went from about £128 to about £1,000 in seven months, and Isaac Newton, the smartest man in Britain, bought back in near the top. This is the South Sea Bubble: the free shares for politicians, the Bubble Act, the crash, and how Robert Walpole walked out of the wreckage as Britain's first prime minister. CHAPTERS 0:00 A normal Tuesday in 1720 0:47 Britain is broke 1:37 Enter John Blunt 3:00 The asiento 3:45 The King signs up 4:24 The great debt deal 6:23 Now watch the price 7:22 Enter Isaac Newton 8:17 The mystery companies 9:38 Newton buys back in 10:23 The pop 11:52 Who gets the blame? 13:34 Why we call it a bubble Previous: The Toledo War: When Ohio and Michigan Almost Fought —    • When 1,600 Men Went to War Over a Strip of...   SOURCES The National Archives, "The South Sea Bubble of 1720": https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/... Smithsonian Magazine on Newton's South Sea losses: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-... Wikipedia: South Sea Company, Bubble Act, John Aislabie, Robert Walpole Charles Mackay, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds (1841) Jason Zweig on the "mystery company" legend: https://jasonzweig.com/the-extraordin... The "nobody to know what it is" company and Newton's "madness of people" quote have no primary source, so we flag them as legend in the video. Prices vary slightly by source. This is history, not investment advice. Copyright: Fiascology does not give permission to translate and/or re-upload our videos or designs on YouTube or any other platform. -------------- ATTRIBUTIONS -------------- Music: original score made for Fiascology Sound effects: ElevenLabs Sound Effects, Pixabay (Pixabay Content License), and original effects Voices: ElevenLabs Voice Library Thanks for watching! #History #Fiascology #SouthSeaBubble #newton #fun