The Tulip Crash

When tulips were introduced to the Dutch from 17th century Turkey, a strange craze would take hold of the country. This obsession grew out of the Dutch people’s love for the unique shape and the variance of colors found in tulips. At first, the only people who had access to these amazing flower were the ones at the top of Dutch society, but it wouldn’t be long before everyone was getting in on this craze.

The Dutch became so enamored with tulips that some would even mortgage their home to buy some especially rare variety of bulb in the hopes they could sell them on for a tidy profit. The people became so blind to the fact the tulip really doesn’t have any intrinsic value. When the tulip bubble burst many rushed to take their money out of this now worthless plant and caused a massive financial crash, possibly the first in Dutch history.

Overnight many middle-class Dutch families lost most, if not all, of their savings. This event is still studied by economists and historians to this day as it is still quite astonishing that a simple flower can tank an entire country’s economy.