South Sea Bubble
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‘An Emblematic Print on the South Sea’ by William Hogarth, 1724. To the left, the Devil carves up the figure of Fortune and throws it to the crowd. In the centre of the scene, investors ride the financial merry-go-round. Honesty is strapped to the wheel at the bottom, being tortured by Self-Interest. At the bottom right, Trade lies languishing on the ground. Hogarth (1697–1764) was an English painter and engraver who used his artwork as a medium for critical social commentary.
Financial crisis in Britain in 1720. The South Sea Company, founded in 1711, which had a monopoly of trade with South America, offered in 1719 to take over more than half the national debt in return for further concessions. Its 100 shares rapidly rose to 1,000, and an orgy of speculation followed. When the ‘bubble’ burst, thousands were ruined.
The discovery that cabinet ministers had been guilty of corruption led to a political crisis.
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