Tulip madness PDF Print E-mail
Written by Ber van de Rijdt   
tulipsThe tulip at one time was so much sought after in the Netherlands that it caused the very first economic crash. Between 1633 and 1637 tulip bulbs increased enormously in value. They were traded as we now trade shares. They were valued and auctioned daily and went to the highest bidder.

In February 1637 it got so out of hand that a lot of 100 bulbs was sold for 100 000 guilders. At current value this would mean millions of Euro's for one hundred bulbs. A nice house on one of the canals could be purchased for about 1000 guilders.

Many more varieties than today were cultivated. Some with flames in the leaves, and psychedelic colours, deviant shapes, pointed leaves. There was no end to the extravagant cultivars.

After while there were bids on tulips that were still in the ground., because they could be harvested only once a year during a relatively brief period. This was of course gross speculation. Even common tulips without any special qualities were sold at extremely high prices; speculation!

Because of the quantities that were sold a shortage of REAL tulips developped eventually. At the same time more and more farmers started growing them. Something broke the bubble, panic arose. Prices fell and many a person who tried to earn something lost all they had and became as poor as a church mouse overnight. Their trade was without value.

To be noted: the tulip is not really of Dutch origin, it came from the Turkish/Persian and if we go further back in time we find the oldest tulips came from the Xinjiang province in NW China.