Bubble Act 1720

E321727

The Bubble Act 1720 was a British law passed to curb speculative financial schemes and unchartered joint-stock companies in the wake of the South Sea Bubble crisis.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Bubble Act 1720 canonical 1
Financial Revolution in England 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Act of Parliament of Great Britain
British statute
aimedAt fraudulent or dubious investment projects
speculative stock-jobbing schemes
alsoKnownAs Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719 (commonly called Bubble Act)
appliesTo joint-stock companies
background speculative boom in South Sea Company shares
cause South Sea Bubble
country Kingdom of Great Britain
dateEnacted 1720
dateRepealed 1825
effect aimed to restore confidence after South Sea Bubble crash
limited legal avenues for incorporation
restricted corporate formation in Britain
enactedBy Parliament of Great Britain
enforcementMechanism criminal penalties for unauthorized corporate activity
governs creation of companies with transferable shares
historicalPeriod early 18th century
impactOnLaw delayed development of general incorporation in Britain
inForceUntil early 19th century
jurisdiction Great Britain
language English
legacy influenced later British company legislation
often cited as an early example of financial market regulation
legalForm statute
legalStatus repealed
locationOfPassage City of Westminster
surface form: Westminster
motivatedBy government desire to control capital markets
public outcry over financial speculation
prohibits establishing companies without royal charter or Act of Parliament
unincorporated joint-stock companies from raising transferable shares
purpose to curb speculative financial schemes
to restrict formation of unchartered joint-stock companies
regulates formation of joint-stock companies
public subscription for company shares without royal charter
relatedTo British South Sea Company
surface form: South Sea Company

financial bubbles
history of corporate law in the United Kingdom
repealedBy Joint Stock Companies Act 1825
requires royal charter or Act of Parliament for incorporation
shortName Bubble Act
signedBy George I of Great Britain
surface form: King George I of Great Britain
subjectMatter company law
financial regulation
securities and share trading
typeOfRegulation ex ante restriction on company formation

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

South Sea Bubble legislativeResponse Bubble Act 1720
Whig economic policy associatedWith Bubble Act 1720
this entity surface form: Financial Revolution in England