The Bubble Act 1720 (also Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation Act 1719) was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain passed on 11 June 1720 that incorporated the Royal Exchange and London Assurance Corporation, but more significantly forbade the formation of any other joint-stock companies unless approved by royal charter. Its provisions were extended later by the Bubble Schemes, Colonies, Act 1740 to include its colonies, particularly Massachusetts. The act gave the South Sea Company a monopoly over British trade with South America until the South Sea Bubble "popped" in Britain's first major stock market collapse.