Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions by Charles Mackay We pick up this week learning about how private enterprise came up with the plan to save the English economy by exploiting the new frontiers of South America through forming the South Sea Company in 1711. Driven by the promise of ships full of gold coming from the native tribes of the New World a frenzy of speculation in stocks in the company drove stock values through the roof. However, the riches failed to materialise as Spain, in control of most of the New World would not allow free trade from their English rivals. But this didn’t prevent some people becoming wealthy from the scam while ruining many, many others. Story (03:01)   Find Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions by Charles Mackay https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/24518            Supporting Sleepy Time Tales If you would like to support my work and help keep the podcast available and for free, there are several ways you can support the show. ·        You can support the show as a supporter on Patreon and receive a host of bonuses including Patron only episodes and special edits https://www.patreon.com/sleepytimetales ·        If you’re enjoying Sleepy Time Tales and would like to make a financial contribution, but would rather not commit to a monthly payment then you can throw a tip in the jar at paypal.me/sleepytimetales ·        Get yourself a set of SleepPhones, headphones designed specially for your needs as an insomniac who likes to listen to something to help you sleep, take a look at https://sleepytimetales.net/sleepphones ·        Or check out our new Merch store up at TeePublic where you can buy Sleepy Time Tales merch or even cool works from other creators. Go to https://www.teepublic.com/?ref_id=25247   Patreon Sleep Tight Patrons Chris & Moya Chuck Mysti Roberta Charity Traci Emily Moya Brian Sandra Jillian Anita Demelza Carla     Please Share If you’re enjoying the show, and finding it helps you sleep despite the stresses and strains of your life, the absolute best thing you can do is share it with your friends, families, acquaintances, cellmates etc. Anyone who needs a good night’s sleep might benefit. So please share it with the people in your life, whether in person or on social media.     Find The Show Website: sleepytimetales.net Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/sleepytimetales Twitter: https://twitter.com/sleepytimetales Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sleepytimetalespodcast/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SleepyTimeTales Merch: https://www.teepublic.com/?ref_id=25247 Project Gutenberg Terms of Use https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Terms_of_Use