Background and the beginning of the boom
One of the foreigners intrigued by tulips was Ohhir Gilen de Bouzbek, the Austrian ambassador to Turkey (1555-1562). He brought some bulbs from Constantinople to Vienna, where they were planted in the gardens of Ferdinand I, the Habsburg emperor. There the tulips blossomed under the expert supervision of Charles de Lecluse, a French botanist better known by his Latin name Carl Clusius.
Soon the fame of Clusius attracted the attention of the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, and he was persuaded to become curator of the university botanical garden. In October 1593, with "a secret supply of tulip bulbs", Clusius came to Leiden. A few months later, in the spring of 1594, the new garden of Clusius was the site of the very first tulip to bloom in the Netherlands.
For more than 20 years, the Dutch have managed to grow dozens of varieties of tulips.
Rise of trade
Price collapse
Notes
Links
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See what "Tulipmania" is in other dictionaries:
- (from tulip and Greek mania passion). Excessive love for tulips, which in the XVII century. developed to the point in Holland that an onion was paid 13,000 guilders, until finally a law was passed against this kind of extravagance. Dictionary… … Dictionary of foreign words of the Russian language
See Tulip...
Finance Public Finance: International Finance The state budget local budget Private finance: Corporate finance Household finance Financial markets: Money market Currency market Stock market Derivatives market Financial instruments ... Wikipedia
- (theory). T. is understood as fishing activity aimed at overcoming obstacles that separate producers and consumers in time and space. This definition (van der Borgt) is wider than the generally accepted one, according to which T. is in ... ... Encyclopedic Dictionary F.A. Brockhaus and I.A. Efron
- (Tulipa), a genus of perennial herbs of this family. lily. Stem high 6 50 cm, with 2 3 (5) leaves and 1 (rarely several) bright flower. Propagated by seeds. OK. 100 species, in the temperate zone of Eurasia (main sample in Central Asia). In the USSR ca. 80 species, in Wed. Asia, ... ... Biological encyclopedic dictionary
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Every avid traveler knows the colorful fields of regular geometric shape that can be seen flying over Holland. Many people associate the name of this area, first of all, with tulips - beautiful flowers that can be found here in huge numbers. Where is Holland located, and why is this country considered the birthplace of tulips? What is the history of this area, and what interesting things await each guest here?
Holland or the Netherlands?
Many people confuse these two names, but you cannot put an equal sign between them. The Netherlands is a country that consists of 12 provinces. Two of them together form Holland - the Land of Tulips. These are North and South Holland. But at the same time, the name "Holland" is used to refer to the entire territory of the Netherlands.
The official name of the country is the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This area is called the country of tulips due to the fact that a huge part of its territory is covered with multi-colored tulip fields, which look like the flags of different countries replacing each other.
Country history
The territory of the Netherlands was settled quite early - back in the Neolithic era. Celtic tribes that lived in the 1st millennium BC. e., were eventually supplanted by the Germanic ones. In the 5th century, the Frankish kingdom was formed here. In the X-XI century, there were several feudal estates that were part of the Roman Empire. In the 12th century, cities began to appear on the territory of the modern Netherlands, in which trade and crafts rapidly developed. In 1566, a bourgeois revolution began here, aimed at overthrowing the rule of Spain. In the XVII-XVIII century, the Dutch economy became one of the most powerful in all of Europe.
During the Second World War, the Netherlands declared a policy of neutrality, but already in 1940 they were occupied. After the end of the war, the country abandoned the traditional policy of neutrality and began to join various political organizations.
From Asia to Holland
Tulips were brought to Holland quite a long time ago - back in the middle of the 16th century. There is a version according to which these flowers were brought here from Vienna by Carlos Clausius, the creator of the apothecary garden at Leiden University. Around the same time, tulips were brought to Austria. They were sent in 1554 by an ambassador named Ojir de Brusek from the gardens of Sultan Suleiman, which were located in Constantinople. The ancestors of beautiful flowers were a wild species called the Schrenk tulip. It grew in the expanses of Turkey, Kazakhstan and the Black Sea coast.
homeland of tulips
According to another common version, Iran was the birthplace of the tulip, and it was from there that this flower spread to other Asian countries. Much later, he came to Holland - the Land of Tulips. The word "tulip" comes from the name of the headdress it looks like - "turban".
There is a beautiful legend about this flower. Along a field where flowers never bloomed, a woman was walking with a baby. When the child saw the flowers, he laughed joyfully, and from his happiness they opened.
So, Carlos Clusius was the man thanks to whom Holland in the future became known as the Land of Tulips. He did not even suspect that he would become the culprit of the real insanity of the entire population of this country on tulips. During the Golden Age, this obsession reached a truly unprecedented scale - in order to acquire bulbs of new varieties, the Dutch were ready to give away fortunes, and for a tulip flower bed they easily said goodbye to rich houses and family heirlooms.
Tulips today
Today, everyone knows which country tulips have been considered a symbol of for a long time. This is the Netherlands. Holland itself is considered a cultural monument, and tulips make it even more beautiful. However, it cannot be argued that after four centuries the Land of Tulips has completely cooled down to these beautiful flowers.
Naturally, in Amsterdam no one will exchange housing for a handful of rare bulbs, but these flowers still remain one of the main sources of income. Every year they bring more than 600 million euros to the Dutch state treasury. net income. The largest flower auction in the country, FloraHolland, has offices throughout the Netherlands. More than 20 million tulips and other plants are sold here daily.
flower auction
Tourists will be interested in visiting flower sales. It's both funny and educational. After all, auctions are held not only to sell as many tulips as possible, but also to entertain the public.
The auction starts at sunrise. The auction is open all year round, but the most best time to visit the Land of Tulips is spring and summer. It is during these seasons that the entire territory of Holland is covered with multi-colored rectangles, on which tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and lilies bloom alternately. Kilometers of neat plantings go into the distance, delighting guests of the country and local residents.
Keukenhof - the largest park
Many are interested in where the largest and most picturesque park is located in the Land of Tulips. We will answer: this is Keukenhof, located in Lisse. The word Keukenhof literally means "kitchen yard".
This flower garden is considered the largest in the world - its area is 32 hectares. Here you can see "rivers" of tulips and "banks" of hyacinths. Keukenhof is also considered a model in the field of landscape design. Every autumn, about thirty gardeners begin to create pictures of the next spring. They plant more than 7 million bulbs in this park. The vast majority of manufacturers provide their flowers here for free - after all, it is considered a great honor for each of them to plant their own flower bed in Keukenhof Park. At the same time, flower tycoons compete among themselves for the right to receive a diploma for the most beautiful flower and for the most picturesque flower bed. Everyone who has ever visited Keukenhof remembers for a lifetime what a picturesque and unusual country of tulips.
Every year tourists can see new landscapes in this park. You can come to it every year, and every time you will be surprised by the skill of gardeners and organizers. Breeders tirelessly bring out more and more new varieties of flowers. Long before the season opens, the organizers are developing the concept of the next exhibition.
In 2012 Poland was the main country at the exhibition. Guests of Keukenhof could see a portrait of Chopin made of flowers. And in 2010, the "Russian season" was opened. Here you could see various floral decorations - a hut on chicken legs, a large theater, mittens, nesting dolls. St. Basil's Cathedral was built from flowers, and the main guest was D. Medvedev's wife Svetlana. In the same year, two new varieties of flowers were bred - cream-colored tulips were named Miss Medvedev, and pale pink tulips were named Putin. In the souvenir shops of Keukenhof you can buy your favorite varieties of tulips.
Floriada
But Keukenhof only opens for 9 weeks. Although it is the largest park, there is a project in the Land of Tulips that surpasses Keukenhof in scale. This is a world-famous horticultural exhibition, which takes place in Holland only once a decade - "Floriada".
Various cities in the Netherlands are constantly fighting for the right to host this famous exhibition. The city of Almere is a candidate for the next Floriade, which will take place in 2022. The area where the exhibition takes place is about 66 hectares. Usually there are not only picturesque flower beds, but also various pavilions, cinemas, recreation areas and attractions.
We all know firsthand how fragile and unstable the financial and economic situation in the world can be. The greed and short-sightedness of some politicians, the greed of the leaders of the largest financial institutions, the pursuit of excess profits by some investment banks led to what could be seen at the end of 2008. Many researchers agree that events occur in a certain cycle and that they can be repeated from time to time. All basic postulates technical analysis convince us of this. Having carefully studied history, one can state the fact that a person belongs to the type of beings who often “step on the same rake” and simply ignore the lessons that needed to be learned from the past.
Flora's Mail Sailboat (c. 1637) by Hendrik Gerrits Pot satirizes Dutch tulip mania.
In most articles on economic theory The first global financial crisis that has been adequately described and documented is the Tulip Crisis, which hit Holland in the first half of the 17th century. Of course, it cannot be fully called global: in most cases, the inhabitants of the Netherlands felt the consequences, but we should not forget that at that time there was no free movement of capital, and its movement in large volumes was an expensive operation.
According to Karl Marx, Holland at the beginning of the 17th century could be considered an ideal capitalist country. After a protracted war with Spain for its independence, already in 1609, after a truce, a bourgeois republic was founded on the territory of the seven northern provinces, which in a matter of years took a leading position in economic terms among all the states of Western Europe. Almost immediately, the basis of its economic base was foreign and colonial trade, which, with the support of one of the most powerful fleets in the world, in a few years made The largest city countries, amsterdam, shopping mall Europe. The Dutch industry also received a strong impetus at this time. The key to success is considered to be the political system of the Netherlands, which guaranteed the big bourgeoisie, which seized all the finances and trade in the country, unlimited domination.
The “Tulip” epic rightfully bears the title of the very first speculative race in the world, which ended in failure for the whole country, which at that time was the leader in economic terms. The excitement and crazy demand for tulips began in the Netherlands in the early 1620s and did not stop until the 37th year. The peak of prices was recorded in a three-year period: from 1634 to 1637. It is worth noting that modern man it will be rather difficult to understand the reason for choosing the tulip as the subject of national speculation. I suggest that you carefully study the history of the crisis that brought down Europe's largest economy and try to learn as many lessons as possible from it.
Jean-Leon Gerome. "Tulip Madness" 1882
According to official data, in 1554, the envoy of the Austrian emperor noticed amazing flowers in the garden of the Turkish Sultan, which immediately struck him with their beauty and grace. In the same year, the ambassador bought a batch of bulbs at his own expense and brought them home to Vienna. A few years later, flowers were already growing in the Vienna Garden of Medicinal Plants, the director of which was the Dutch botanist Clusius. It is to his merits that the appearance in 1570 of the first tulip bulb in his hometown of Leiden can be attributed. The popularity of the flower was rapidly gaining momentum, after a few years Marshal Biron, Voltaire, Richelieu, French King Louis XVIII confessed their love for him.
The tulip immediately became a title symbol: it often testified to belonging to the upper strata of society. From these small bulbs grew flowers of unearthly beauty of one color or another, which changed over time with the appearance on the petals of stripes of always a different shade. Only in the first half of the 20th century, in 1928, it was established that the appearance of such stripes is nothing more than a viral disease, a mosaic, which over time invariably led to the degeneration of the variety. However, at the beginning of the 17th century, it seemed to everyone only magic, bringing an unusual and brighter color to the petals.
The reason for the frenzied demand for tulip bulbs can be considered the publication in 1612 in the Dutch catalog Florilegium of almost 100 varieties of this flower. Over time, some European royal courts became interested in this new symbol of prosperity. As a result, a sharp increase in the price of it began. Realizing that you can make good money on tulips, almost all segments of the population began to engage in this business. The fever was explained by the expectation that everyone would soon become interested in this flower. more people and the prices will go up again.
Foreign capital begins to rapidly import into Holland, the value of real estate grows, and the demand for luxury goods increases. Another reason for this boom was the cholera epidemic in the country in 1633-1635. Due to the several-fold increase in the mortality rate among the population in the state, a shortage of labor began to be felt, as a result of which wages. People who had not previously thought about trade began to take an active interest in it and even mortgaged their houses, lands, and jewelry to buy as many tulip bulbs as possible in the hope of earning as much money as possible later.
To attract new buyers, the sellers of tulips decided to take a certain risk: when selling the bulbs, only a small amount of cash had to be paid as an advance, and it was proposed to use the buyer's property as collateral. It was not uncommon that one bulb of the Viceroy tulip was sold for 2.25 cubic meters of wheat, for 4 fat cows, 12 fat sheep, 8 pigs, 2 furs of wine, two barrels of oil, 4 barrels of beer, a bed or a new wardrobe with clothes - in general, for everything that could cost 2.5 thousand florins.
"Semper Augustus" 17th century, the most expensive flower sold during the tulip mania
In the National Museum in the Dutch capital, in Amsterdam, there is evidence of the sale in 1634 of two stone houses for 3 bulbs of this flower. In addition, the girl who had such an onion in her dowry was considered the most “profitable” bride. In order to better assess the scale of the flower boom in the country, it is enough to convert the currency of the 17th century into the modern American dollar: as a result, the earnings of an ordinary seller of tulips amounted to a little more than $44,000 per month.
Careless attitude to the bulbs often led to serious consequences. A few years earlier, records of a trial were found in the archives of this Western European country, during which a young guy was found guilty of destroying a Van Eyck bulb, which was rare at that time, and sentenced to a fine of 4,000 guilders. Until the full payment of this amount, he had to be in custody. The reason for going to court was the inattention of a young man who, while talking with his acquaintance, did not notice how, while removing the husk from the bulb, he did not stop in time and completely destroyed it.
Most of us are probably aware that tulips are seasonal plants. Before this "flower" fever began, they were traded from May, when they were dug up, until October, when they had to be planted in the ground. The following spring, the flowers were already delighting their owners. During the boom, the winter trade in seedlings became widespread. Most merchants, despite all the risk, tried to buy tulips in winter: in this case, in the spring they could be sold at two or even three times the price! By the end of 1636, the lion's share of the annual crop turned into "paper", sold under "future" contracts. As a result, speculators began to appear on the markets, trying to buy as many "paper" tulips as possible at the beginning of summer, hoping to resell them next spring at an even higher price.
The first to notice this "problem" at the end of 1636 were city magistrates and tulip growers. At this time, the trade in tulips themselves practically ceased, giving way to "paper" ones. It was the manufacturers who proposed at the beginning of 1637 to reduce the number of purchased flowers. As a result, on February 2, sales completely stopped, no one wanted to buy them anymore, everyone tried only to get rid of them as quickly as possible. A catastrophic drop in prices began, everyone was ruined: both the poor and the rich. Of course, those who were lucky enough to be the first to sell the bulbs became rich in no time. Those who were not so lucky lost everything.
The main dealers tried their best to keep the situation in the country stable. Buyers began to break contracts for tulips in the summer seasons of the 37th year. On February 24, an emergency meeting of the main flower producers in the country was held in Amsterdam. The scenario they developed for overcoming the crisis assumed that only contracts concluded before November 1636 were considered valid. All deals signed in the following months could be terminated at unilaterally, it was necessary to pay only 10% of the compensation.
However, a different point of view was Supreme Court Netherlands. Considering the merchants themselves to be the main culprits of the crisis, it was decided to give the seller the right to sell their goods to a third party at any price that they themselves consider necessary, and the difference could subsequently be demanded from the second party that signed the contract. The authorities of the state, realizing that in fact everyone was to blame for the crisis, sent special commissions to all cities, which over the next few years sorted out “flower” cases. As a result, the sellers were able to get five florins out of every hundred that were due to them under each contract.
tulip chart economic crisis 1634-1637
The three-year stagnation had an extremely negative impact on the economy of this Western European country. Stagnation was observed in shipbuilding, fishing and agriculture. The scale of the shock that Holland suffered in the middle of the 17th century is comparable to the size of the Russian default in 1998. The wars that followed the collapse in the economy accelerated the decline in the commercial power of the state and brought the country to a desperate state. Considering the fact that back in 1636 the cost of one tulip was comparable to the cost of a small house near Amsterdam, after a few months the price of one bulb decreased by almost 1000 times! And two years later, tulips generally ceased to be in any demand.
However, do not forget about positive aspects crisis. Even considering everything Negative consequences, which at that time felt all the "non-flower" sectors of the economy, the boom, nevertheless, to a large extent contributed to the economic buildup in the state, stimulated the emergence of new exchanges and futures companies. The subsequent period is considered to be the "golden age" in the history of the Netherlands. Tulip fever for the next 2 centuries was a kind of "vaccination" for the Dutch. Memories of the crisis helped people not to get involved in many super profitable, but insanely risky companies. It was thanks to the crisis at that time that the West India Company was founded and actively developed, which led to an unprecedented increase in goods brought to Europe from East and West India.
A long time ago, the Dutch had only one national symbol - the windmill. In the middle of the 17th century, a tulip was added to it. Today, this industry occupies a leading position in the state economy. 20% of the country's territory is given over to fields where the famous bulbs are grown. In addition, the Netherlands remains one of the world's largest importers of these flowers: last year alone, more than 2 billion tulips were sent to more than 80 countries around the globe!
As you all may have noticed, even during the first financial crisis traces of an inflating bubble were visible. The unreasonable value of an easily reproducible investment object was capable of generating nationwide hysteria. As a result, it became obvious to the ordinary citizen that it became much more profitable to engage in operations with “new gold” than with subsistence farming or real production. The result is a huge financial imbalance throughout the state. The futures mechanism acted as a catalyst for the process, which, moreover, provided not only a sharp increase, but also a discouraging fall.
To prevent a repetition of these events, we all need to try to look for parallels of past crises with modern ones. After all, in fact, just like in those days, people wondered: is there any point in taking risks? Think about whether you will now save your money for deposit accounts, receiving 5% per annum, will you agree to invest them in your own business or decide to buy shares of high-tech companies, dreaming of earning 50-100% per annum?
The Dutch have achieved particular success in breeding tulips and breeding new varieties. Hundreds of yesterday's fishermen and artisans have retrained as flower growers. Many farmers have turned their fields and orchards into vast plantations to grow the much sought-after plant.
Bulb prices have risen steadily for several years. And Holland, with its advanced economy and spirit of free enterprise, has become the main supplier of tulips for all of Europe.
The climax of the tulip fever. The authorities sent soldiers to destroy flower plantations in order to stop prices from falling. In the foreground is a Dutchman who is ready to defend his pot with an exotic variety of tulip with weapons in his hands.
At the same time, in Amsterdam and a number of other cities, spontaneous exchanges were formed, where such a topical product was actively traded. Moreover, not only professional brokers, but also many random people actively participated in the auction. Another feature of such exchanges was speculation in futures. That is, contracts were concluded for the purchase and sale of bulbs that still had to be grown. Or those varieties that have not even been bred yet.
A bulb of a rare variety was considered the best dowry
1634 is traditionally considered the start of tulip mania. The rapid rise in prices also spurred the inflow of capital from other countries. For a week, the price of a “novelty” on the market could double. There are cases when a mill or a ship was given for a pot with a tulip of exotic colors. Girls were considered desirable brides, for which they gave an onion of a variegated variety as a dowry.
By the end of 1636, the excitement had reached its zenith. The cost of not only rare, but also the most ordinary tulips jumped sharply. Many were sincerely sure that the price of these flowers would rise forever. The short-term drop in demand in November turned into an even more rapid rise in prices soon after. Many speculators have lost their sense of reality. They became so self-confident that they mortgaged all their property without thinking about the potential risks.
By February 1637 prices were at their peak. But the market turned out to be overheated, and the exchange bubble naturally burst. Bulb prices have dropped dramatically. Hundreds of holders of receipts (including doctors, bakers, and even chimney sweeps) for flowers that had not yet grown turned out to be bankrupt. The authorities, wanting to save the situation, took drastic measures. To stop prices from falling, soldiers were sent to plantations with flowers to destroy seedlings. But it was all in vain. Tulip markets collapsed.
In 1636, 5200 guilders were paid for one bulb.
Later in the literature, the history of tulip madness and the complete ruin of stock market players was vividly and repeatedly described. There are many myths and tales. But in fact, in fact, the Dutch economy, against the backdrop of the collapse of the tulip exchanges, not only avoided depression, but also continued to grow. And the Netherlands is still the world leader in flower production.
The events of tulip mania became the backdrop for the love drama "Tulip Fever" (USA - UK, 2017)
The main lesson of tulipmania was that any game on the stock exchange should be conducted deliberately and professionally. And when everyone starts to engage in an asset at once, this is a sign of the coming “bubble”. I recall the words of the famous financier John P. Morganaml., who managed to save his assets before the stock market crash of 1929: “When shoe shiners enter the market, the professionals should leave.” Experienced brokers always feel the main trends. And they manage to withdraw both their own and client funds before the “bubble” bursts.
tulip mania- it classic example stock market bubble and the crash that followed it, with all the ensuing consequences. It cannot be said that the tulip crisis was the first crisis in history. There were crises in ancient civilizations, but the tulip crisis in Holland was generated by speculation, and not by a series of crop failures, for example. This is the history of tulip mania.
Tulips were brought to Holland from Turkey in the first half of the 17th century. The first tulip flowers were not particularly beautiful, however, experiments on breeding tulips yielded results and the number of varieties increased dramatically. Large areas were sown with tulips, their popularity grew. The prices for tulips also rose. For a couple of bulbs of some varieties, the inhabitants of Holland were ready to give away fortunes.
Gradually more and more people began to get involved in the tulip trade. The Dutch sold property cheaply and bought expensive tulip bulbs. However, at that time the concepts of "expensive" and "cheap" were different. Individual speculators made a fortune in a couple of transactions with tulips. Seeing this, a huge number of people began to buy and sell tulips.
Physically, there were not enough tulips and people started trading futures and options for future tulip bulbs. That is, not yet grown tulips were bought and sold by people. As shortages increased, prices skyrocketed.
The crash happened very quickly. In February 1637, prices began to fall sharply. People began to get rid of the bulbs, and by the end of 1637 a tulip bulb could be bought for less than one percent of its former price.
The consequences were sad - almost everyone who participated in the speculation lost, if not all, then almost all. The only positive moment in this story is that Holland now remains the main producer of tulips (probably it was a pity to throw away depreciated bulbs, they decided to breed and sell to others).
What conclusion can be drawn from this story? Let's look at the US mortgage crisis in 2007. There are more similarities between real estate and the history of tulips (which is almost 400 years old!) than it might seem at first glance. So, theses:
- Tulips and American houses are very pretty things to the eye, and both were desirable, if not for the entire population, then for at least for most of it;
- Real estate and tulip prices began to rise gradually, and then a real boom began, which was fueled by various "success stories";
- Demand was in both cases predominantly speculative, i.e. few people were going to own the asset, be it a bulb or a house;
- The most important point is that the real product has ceased to be an object of speculation. The so-called "securitization" took place, i. obligations to deliver tulips and pay a mortgage for a house were presented in the form of securities (from English security - a security). These ones securities and became the subject of speculation and, as a result, collapse. Important point- almost no one could have guessed that the price of the underlying asset, i.e. tulips and real estate may someday go down. This belief has turned "highly reliable" assets into "toxic" ones.
- And one more feature - the whole economy and foreign "investors" suffered. Only in the case of real estate has globalization played a role, so the consequences current crisis heavier than 400 years ago.
Conclusion: what is happening to the world economy now is the consequences of another tulip mania, only its scale is larger.
