From March to May every year, thousands of acres of land in Holland are occupied by the colorful upside-down bell shaped flowers known as tulips. Visitors from all over the world come to the expansive fields of vibrancy to marvel at the beauty of all the blossoms. A question some might ask is how did this festival come to be and why are tulips so important to the people of the Netherlands? The history of it all may surprise you and change whatever you think you know.
During the 16th century, tulips were brought to the Netherlands by Dutch traders via the spice route, and became popularized by public gardens and upper class individuals. Tulips were not native to the Netherlands and were marveled due to the varying shape and color of their petals. People began to think of them as hot commodities, using them as signs of extreme wealth and higher social status. Because of this, the upper class had full tulip gardens and the beautiful bulbs were too expensive for just anyone to buy. |
Tulip bulbs, being the fragile plants they are, died quite often and quite fast. In 1634, during the peak of the tulip fever, a single bulb from the best stock cost over 1 million dollars in today's money. The majority of people who bought tulips used credit and most times, ended up returning them due to lack of money. A common misconception is that this sent the Netherlands into a depression which is not true. Nor are many stories of grandeur surrounding tulips during this time. The argument that this phenomenon could model a modern scenario is also false because of the fact that an economic depression was not caused. The craze finally died down in 1638, leaving those who spent their earnings on the vibrant treasure to feel as if their money was wasted.
Tulips are not only graceful and eye-catching flowers but they are very unique and interesting. There are over 100 species and around 3,000 different variations of tulips in their native homes of eastern Europe, western Asia, and China. There are only a small amount that are available to gardeners and botanists however. Tulips are very finicky to cultivate and starting a garden of them takes choosing a good bulb. Of course they are not as expensive now, but they can get pricey based on pattern, temperament, and a range of other pricing indicators. |
The striking fields of petals and bright colors created by the tulip fest are enough to show the versatility of these plants. They have been quite the beauties for over four hundred years and continue to enamor gardeners and botanists alike. Tulip mania is just another story of rich people spreading ideas of wealth and luxury to the lower class and to one another.