Collapse of the Dutch Tulip Mania

Timeline

1. c. 1636–1637Haarlem and Amsterdam · Dutch RepublicAfter tulips were introduced in the late sixteenth century they became luxury collectibles. In winter 1636 merchants repeatedly resold delivery contracts while bulbs were still buried in the ground, a practice called 'wind trade'. Individual rare specimens could fetch the price of a house, but few traded at such prices; it was not mass speculation.
2. 1637Haarlem · HaarlemAround February 3, a bulb auction in Haarlem repeatedly lowered prices yet found no buyers, rapidly reversing market expectations. Before the news spread, people in nearby cities were still trading at high prices, creating a brief price divergence.
3. 1637Alkmaar · AlkmaarThe February 5 auction at the Alkmaar orphanage still recorded very high totals, but within days buyers broadly refused to perform at original prices. By February 7 Utrecht florists had elected representatives to meet in Amsterdam, and the contract network collapsed within a week.
4. 1637Amsterdam · AmsterdamIn late February representatives met in Amsterdam: some argued contracts before December 1636 remained valid and later ones could be cancelled for a ten percent fee. Courts declined to rule uniformly and the matter returned to the cities. Haarlem and others ultimately let buyers escape for small penalties; most contracts were never fulfilled. Dutch trade and public finances did not collapse, but credit and reputation suffered, and later ages turned it into a classic bubble parable.