Which company was founded in 1711, as a public-private partnership to trade with South America and to reduce the national debt? Its shares greatly increased in value in 1720, fuelled by the company financing the purchase of its own shares, before its spectacular and devastating collapse.
South Sea Company South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of fishing) was a British joint-stock company founded in 1711, created as a public-private partnership to consolidate and reduce the cost of national debt. The company was also granted a monopoly to trade with South America and nearby islands, hence its name (the modern use of the term "South Seas" to refer to the entire South Pacific was unknown in England at the time). When the company was
Private company limited by shares Private company limited by shares A private company limited by shares is a class of private limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales, Scotland, certain Commonwealth countries, and the Republic of Ireland. It has shareholders with limited liability and its shares may not be offered to the general public, unlike those of a public limited company (plc). "Limited by shares" means that the liability of the shareholders to creditors of the company is limited to the capital originally invested, i.e. the nominal value of the shares and any premium paid in return for the issue of the