South-Sea Scheme
Preserved but no longer current.
Also seen as: South-Sea Bubble
A stock-jobbing scheme devised by Sir John Blunt, a lawyer, in 1710, and floated by the Earl of Oxford in the following year. The object of the company was to buy up the National Debt, and to be allowed the sole privilege of trading m the South Seas.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “South-Sea Scheme” mean?
A stock-jobbing scheme devised by Sir John Blunt, a lawyer, in 1710, and floated by the Earl of Oxford in the following year. The object of the company was to buy up the National Debt, and to be allowed the sole privilege of trading m the South Seas.
Is “South-Sea Scheme” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.