7 Economic Bubbles That Burst and Forever Altered the Course of History

3. The Mississippi Bubble (1720)

Around the same time as the South Sea Bubble, France experienced its own financial disaster with the Mississippi Bubble. This bubble was fueled by the Mississippi Company, which had monopoly rights over trade with French colonies in North America. The company, led by economist John Law, used paper money to stimulate the economy and pay off national debt. However, when investors realized that profits were overblown, the bubble popped, plunging France into economic depression. The crisis undermined confidence in paper money, pushing France back toward gold and silver as primary currencies.