Customer Reviews

Tulipomania : The Story of the World's Most Coveted Flower and the Extraordinary Passions It Aroused

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love tulips, so when I heard about this book I had to read it and I am glad that I did! The book focuses on the tulip craze in Holland, which took place between 1637-39. Tulips started out in China and Tibet they migrate to Turkey where they are cultivated during the "Golden Age" of the Ottoman Empire by Sullieman the Great at his Topkopi palace. From Turkey, they make their way aboard a ship to Holland.

Carolus Clusius became the first botanist in the west to do an in depth study of the tulip. As professor of botany in Leiden, he greatly succeeds in his efforts to have the bulbs and seeds cultivated by friends of his. The tulips rare beauty takes Europe by storm; women put them in their cleavage in place of wearing necklaces. As the market increases for tulips all manner of people start to breed them as a `cash crop' and trading in them brokers similar to selling stocks. People from all occupations are selling their trade tools like weavers looms to raise money to breed tulip bulbs. All of this activity causes a feverish market to spark a significant increase in tulip prices. The market really spurs the first futures market, which really trades in promissory notes and not tulip bulbs since they have a definitive growing season and people want to trade in them all year round. These promissory notes allow the euphoria to get out of hand. The market matures to the point to where one growers holdings sells for enough money to support a family of four for over one half of their lifetime. People finally come to their economic senses, money supply and bulbs dry up, and after 2 years of the tulip market being driven at a feverish pitch, it finally goes bust. Of course this causes financial ruin for allot of people. The market stabilizes and Holland becomes the premier growing area for Tulips in the world today.

This is a good book to learn about tulips during this time in history. It is an enjoyable easy read.