History

October 2, 2026October 3, 2026 1 Minute

This book describes the tulip mania in the Netherlands in the 1630’s. Even knowing the history, it is hard to say why it touched off (or any similar boom & bust) in the first place. Some factors seem to be: generally well-off economy (see the vast profits from the Dutch East India trade; many had money to burn on their country estate gardens), a well-categorized asset (many varieties of tulips), and a built-in “slow-down” factor encouraging futures contracts (tulips only bloomed once per year). The prices kept going up and up until one day, they didn’t. Then everything fell apart – almost no one was interested in the actual flowers (though they were beautiful), but in the money they could make. (seems like cryptocurrency today.)

Funnily enough, the most sought-after tulips with “striped”, multi-colored petals were the result of viral infection.

Published October 2, 2026October 3, 2026