Bubble Act
| Act of Parliament | |
 6 Geo. 1. c. 18 | |
| Territorial extent | Great Britain Later extended to American colonies, including: |
|---|---|
| Dates | |
Royal Exchange Assurance Act 1901 | |
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
The Bubble Act 1720 (also Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719)
| Bubble Schemes (Colonies) Act 1740 | |
|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | |
14 Geo. 2. c. 37 | |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 25 April 1741 |
| Repealed | 15 July 1867 |
| Other legislation | |
| Repealed by | Statute Law Revision Act 1867 |
| Relates to |
|
Status: Repealed | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
Its provisions were extended later by the Bubble Schemes (Colonies) Act 1740 (
The act gave the
Background
Various motivations have been suggested for the act. They include the desire to prevent the speculation that produced the contemporary
Recent scholarship indicates that the last was the cause: it was passed to prevent other companies from competing with the South Sea Company for investors' capital.[5][6][7]
| Bubble Companies, etc. Act 1825 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Act of Parliament | ||
 Commencement 5 July 1825 | | |
| Other legislation | ||
| Amends |
| |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | ||
In fact, the act was passed in June 1720, before the peak of the bubble. The act was partially repealed in 1825 by the Bubble Companies, etc. Act 1825 (
Contents
The Act declared "illegal and void" all business that raised money or offered shares in the manner of a chartered company without a charter from the royal government.[5] Under the terms of the act, the Royal Exchange Assurance Corporation and the London Assurance Corporation were granted charters to write marine insurance. Until 1824, they remained the only joint-stock firms with such a charter.
See also
- R v Cawood (1790) 2 Ld Raym 1361, 92 ER 386 (1 January 1790) - the only prosecution brought under the Act which, according to L.C.B. Gower, "decided nothing of importance".[10]
References
- ^ An Act for better securing certain Powers and Privileges intended to be granted by His Majesty by Two Charters for Assurance of Ships and Merchandizes at Sea, and for lending Money on Bottomry; and for restraining several extravagant and unwarrantable Practices therein mentioned, 6 Geo 1. c. 18
- ^ An Act for restraining and preventing several unwarrantable Schemes and Undertakings in His Majesty's Colonies and Plantations in America, 14 Geo. 2. c. 37
- ISBN 0-8166-0709-5.
- ^ Castelow, Ellen. "The South Sea Bubble of 1720". Historic UK. Retrieved 31 July 2019.
- ^ S2CID 154429555.
- ^ Cooke, Colin Arthur (1951). Corporation, trust and company: an essay in legal history. Harvard University Press. p. 82.; Gower, L.C.B. (1951). "A South Sea Heresy?". Law Quarterly Review. 68: 214.
- ISBN 7800660370.
- ^ An Act to repeal so much of an Act passed in the Sixth Year of His late Majesty King George the First, as relates to the restraining several extravagant and unwarrantable Practices in the said Act mentioned; and for conferring additional Powers upon His Majesty, with respect to the granting of Charters of Incorporation to trading and other Companies, 6 Geo. 4. c. 91
- ^ "Royal Exchange Assurance Act 1901" (PDF).
- ISBN 0-42044580-3.
Further reading
- OCLC 316196437.
- Paul, H., Di Liberto, N., Coffman, D'M. (2023). The Bubble Act: New Perspectives from Passage to Repeal and Beyond, Palgrave MacMillan, ISBN 9783031318931.