"I am Not Master of Events"

Two of the greatest financial fiascos of all time took place at the same time and were instigated by two acquaintances, both considered financial geniuses while their fortunes lasted. The Mississippi Bubble was a scheme to refinance French public debt by converting it into public shares in a company to exploit the resources of the Mississippi River (then owned by France), on which John Law at first made a vast fortune and gained sway over French finances. The South Sea Bubble, launched by Britain to refinance its public debt in turn, was a challenge to both John Law and Thomas Pitt, Jr. , Lord Londonderry, his main partner in England. Both men used the complex options and other forms of derivatives available in the stock exchanges of London, Paris, and Amsterdam to try to recoup their respective fortunes. This book tells the story of these two financial schemes from the letters and accounts of two leading personalities. Larry Neal, a distinguished economic historian, highlights the rationality of each person and also finds that the primitive exchanges of the day, though informal and completely unregulated, actually performed reasonably well.