In 2008 we witnessed a global recession that affected tens of millions of people worldwide. Names like Freddie Mac and Lehman Brothers, and terms like housing bubble, liquidity crisis, over-leveraged, commodity boom dominated global headlines. Stock markets worldwide lost trillions of dollars in value, banks worldwide collapsed and millions of people were eventually left homeless.  

Newcomers to the world of finance are often unaware that financial crashes and bubbles have occurred many times, the first of which dates back to the 1600s. This article explains several of the largest financial crashes and bubbles that occurred from 1637-1837.