South Sea Company

money & economicsWikipedia1711–1720 · Britain

South Sea Company

the gist

The South Sea Company was a British joint-stock company founded in 1711 to consolidate and reduce the national debt. In 1713 it gained a monopoly on supplying enslaved Africans to Spanish South America, and it carried over 34,000 people across the Atlantic, yet it never earned significant profit from that trade. Its shares nonetheless rose as it took on more government debt, peaking in 1720 before collapsing back near their original price. The collapse ruined thousands of investors. Insiders had used advance knowledge of debt conversions, shares had been bought with loans secured on the same shares, and bribes had been paid to politicians. A parliamentary inquiry followed, and the Bubble Act of 1720 was passed.

how it works

The company's shares were pushed up by promises of huge future trade profits that never materialised. Insiders sold before the price fell, and buyers using share-backed loans were left exposed when prices dropped, so the fall spread through the whole market.

so what

The South Sea Bubble became the classic case of speculation driven by hype and insider dealing. It shaped British rules on joint-stock companies and remains a standard reference point for financial manias.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗