Hogarth satirizes crowds consumed by political speculation on the
verge of the stock market collapse of 1720. The 'merry-go-round' was
set in motion by the South Sea Company, who held a monopoly on trade
between South America, the Pacific Islands and England. The Company
tempted vast numbers of middle-class investors to make quick money
through absurd speculations. The wheel of fortune in the center of
the print is broken, symbolizing the abandonment of values for quick
money, while 'Trade' lies starving to death. On the right, the original
inscription on the London Fire Monument--erected in memory of the
destruction of the City by the Great Fire in 1666--has been altered
to read: 'This monument was erected in memory of the destruction of
the city by the South Sea in 1720.'
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