Tulip Mania in the Ottoman Empire | 3 Minute History
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juleps which are native to Central Asia became a very popular flower in the
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Ottoman Empire in the 16th century especially during the reign of Suleiman
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the Magnificent during this period and not only became a status symbol but also
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came to represent God so the plant was cultivated in the Royal Garden and
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displayed in a great deal of artwork in 1554 the children its way to Europe when
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the Holy Roman Empire as ambassador and its temple postbag sent the first to the
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pool to austria passed for 215 93 and a famed flemish part in this perilous
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classiest planted several tulip bulbs in his botanical garden but I’m he proved
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their ability to grow in the harsh conditions at the Low Countries 30
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discovered the trailer braking fires this virus made the flowers bloom with
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colors that appeared flame like would ultimately made them more desirable but
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took over seven years to properly mature and display could not keep up with the
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demand so price inflation was somewhat inevitable initial market for the
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punches in the Netherland they’d recently achieved their independence
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from Spain and thanks to overseas trade had an ever growing middle class this
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middle-class to display the newfound wealth were quick to adopt the flower as
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a status symbol nevertheless oppressive troops initially remained relatively
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stable until around 1634 when french mature and began to buy jewels that
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wives sailors began to stockpile troops further increasing the price and in turn
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making the trip appear as the sound investment so rather than planting
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tulips the largely inexperienced investors began to bite your lips with
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the intention of resetting and this craze began to grip the nation this
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corresponded with an outbreak of plague in the Netherlands the plague along with
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the casualties caused by the Thirty Years War created a labor shortage and
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increase in wages plus some say the fatalism which this produced made the
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Dutch more inclined to take risks
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the sellers found a way to keep selling for the period of the year when the
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plant could not be uprooted the new merchants were trading contracts and
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this was the early form of what is now future contracts but these contracts are
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not regulated and largely conducted in talent between the two parties so bulbs
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and money rarely changed and instead the by would only have to pay a small wine
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tax around 2.5% of the trade and he could sell the contract on for-profit
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later that day this cute the balance between risk a draw
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ought therefore throughout the winter months of 16 36 and 37 the price of
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troops shot through the roof
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a certain species of trip to Vegas right could fetch around 2,500 guilders or
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around 16 and a half years pay for skilled worker but the smarter traders
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began to see the market is in manageable and failed to reinvest their money into
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it then in February 1637 the bubble burst when it toolbox in harlem failed
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to attract any buyer’s agent who still had troops were thrown into a panic and
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try to quickly sell off these now worthless flowers causing the prices
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dropped significantly it was made even worse because many florists had been
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selling chips they did not yet known to buyers who couldn’t afford it so the
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Dutch government tried to step in and offered 10% cancellation fee to avoid
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any contracts but it did little to prevent many people losing a vast amount
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of money however on the whole economic damage was extensive for the state in
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population and the Dutch continue to expand but it did create a cultural
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legacy that was reference to every market crash from South tees company to
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that of the dot-com boom meanwhile the Ottoman nobility continue to be
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infatuated with the plant and in the early 18th century went through the
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Tudor period which saw the elite by a great deal of juleps but learning from
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the Dutch the Ottoman government was able to effectively intervene once it
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looked like a similar situation would arise in Istanbul and issued priceless
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and in the Netherlands over the tulip fell out of favor for a while it
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gradually found its way to become the symbol of the country
