TULIPS

Many people associate the tulip with Holland. However it is not native to Holland but was introduced to that country from the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century. The flower is native to mountainous region of western Europe and central Asia.

The Turks regarded the flower as special, being cultivated for the pleasure of the sultan and his court. There were strict laws preventing the tulip from being sold outside the capital, punishment meant exile from the country. The Turks were also believe to have held the first tulip festival. This was held at night, under a full moon. There were aviaries of exotic birds and the guests had to wear clothes which complemented the colours of the flowers.

During the mid-sixteen century it is believed that the Austrian ambassador to the Turkish Empire took some tulip bulbs from Constantinople to his garden in Vienna. From here it spread into central Europe and eventually Holland in 1562. The bulb became very popular and the Dutch took the lead in trading and breeding prize specimens.

In the 1630s in Holland this trade in tulip bulbs became an obsession. Both wealthy and poor began to speculate investing in bulbs. The bulbs were sold by weight. So many people speculated on the future weight of the bulb. They would buy bulbs, plant them and wait for the soil to nuture them and increase their weight. It was often said it was like making money out of thin air, and so the trade became known as "the wind trade".

The situation was made worse by a disease which began to infect Tulip bulbs. Instead of killing the plant it caused changes to the colour of the flower. Huge flames and splashes of colour on the petals only added to the excitement and the desire these flowers caused. Traders were now able to demand even higher prices for new varieties.

The price of these bulbs rose dramatically. They would be bought and sold and even change owners a number of times while they were still in the ground. During 1636 and 1637 this speculation reached such absurd proportions that it is referred to as "Tulipomania". During this time tulip bulbs have been recorded as selling for the same price as a house. There is a record of a bulb being swapped for a brewery in France, and it became acceptable that a single bulb could be given as a dowry for a bride. Others were swapped for acres of land or a horse and buggy. A bill of sale shows one bulb being sold for “two [loads] of wheat and four of rye, four fat oxen, eight pigs, a dozen sheep, two oxheads of wine, four tons of butter, a thousand pounds of cheese, a bed, some clothing and a silver beaker.”

Tulip fever swept the country and many other ordinary industries were neglected and forgotten. Of course religious leaders and moralists tried to stop this speculation. The government even passed laws but it still continued until its inevitable collapse. When the collapse did come many people lost everything they owned. Some varieties did continue to command high prices but generally the demand dried up. It took decades for Holland to recover from this economic crisis, its effects being comparable to the Wall Street crash and the Great Depression of the 20th century.

Photographs on this page were taken in Holland and supplied by Elizabeth Shore