How one flower broke an economy
1636
An ordinary tulip bulb becomes the talk of the Dutch Republic. Traders start paying absurd sums for the rarest colors.
Winter
People sell houses, land, and cattle to buy bulbs that are, quite literally, sitting in the ground doing nothing.
Peak
A single bulb of "Semper Augustus" trades for more than a skilled craftsman earns in ten years. One bulb, one canal house.
Feb 1637
The market looks at itself, realizes it's a flower, and collapses within days. Fortunes vanish as fast as they appeared.
Today
Almost 400 years later, nobody remembers the boring investments of 1637. Everybody remembers the tulip.