Tulipomania
A delicious comment from Horseloverfat over at the Mighty Corrente Building:
O joy! Sing to me, horseloverfat, of tulipomania! At the nexus of my life-long passions for history, gardening, politics, art, books, and even the Dutch language, sits a jewel by Mike Dash, Tulipomania. If you have a similar nexus, here’s what you need:
“In the 1630s, visitors to the prosperous trading cities of the Netherlands couldn’t help but notice that thousands of normally sober, hardworking Dutch citizens from every walk of life were caught up in an extraordinary frenzy of buying and selling. The object of this unprecedented speculation was the tulip, a delicate and exotic Eastern import that had bewitched horticulturists, noblemen, and tavern owners alike. For almost a year rare bulbs changed hands for incredible and ever-increasing sums, until single flowers were being sold for more than the cost of a house.
“Historians would come to call it tulipomania. It was the first futures market in history, and like so many of the ones that would follow, it crashed spectacularly, plunging speculators and investors into economic ruin and despair.
“This is the history of the tulip, from its origins on the barren, windswept steppes of central Asia to its place of honor in the lush imperial gardens of Constantinople, to its starring moment as the most coveted–and beautiful–commodity in Europe. Historian Mike Dash vividly narrates the story of this amazing flower and the colorful cast of characters–Turkish sultans, Yugoslav soldiers, French botanists, and Dutch tavern keepers–who were centuries apart historically and worlds apart culturally, but who all had one thing in common: tulipomania.”
4 Responses to “Tulipomania”
-
Ciccina says:
Unfortunately I think a lot of people don’t get the moral of the tulipomania story. They assume that the folly was in hypervaluing an item that is relatively worthless; they see the tulip as substantially different from, say, gold. They miss the part about building a house of cards on the basis of speculation about any item’s future value.
Years from now we’ll look back and wonder why on earth possums were so damn coveted, and why people would risk it all just to have one.
By the way, I share your love of the Dutch language (and history)…
July 23rd, 2008 at 11:39 am EST -
horseloverfat says:
Hi Violet,
Love your blog.
-
horseloverfat says:
On a more serious note, this type of crowd behavior has accompanied the rise of many authoritarian personality cult governments. There is some serious danger here IMO.
-
libbygurl says:
Love, love, love your superb blog, (the late?) Dr Socks! Found you through the Confluence, I think, and first entry I read was about the genuine grassroots movement that is the PUMA movement. Thanks for the great writing and keeping things in a real-world-based perspective! Have bookmarked your site now. Every PUMAer, every HRC supporter should read you. Shall post from your articles on the Capital Hill Forum in future (like tomorrow, when I’m more awake).
