Generally considered the first recorded speculative bubble, trade in what commodity collapsed in February 1637, devastating the economy of The United Provinces (now the Netherlands)?
Tulip mania Tulip mania Tulip mania (Dutch: "tulpenmanie") was a period in the Dutch Golden Age during which contract prices for some bulbs of the recently introduced and fashionable tulip reached extraordinarily high levels and then dramatically collapsed in February 1637. It is generally considered the first recorded speculative bubble; although some researchers have noted that the "Kipper und Wipper" (literally "Tipper and See-Saw") episode in 1619–1622, a Europe-wide chain of debasement of the metal content of coins to fund warfare, featured mania-like similarities to a bubble. In many ways, the tulip mania was more of a hitherto unknown socio-economic phenomenon than
Economy of the Netherlands from 1500–1700 it became a turning point in the war. Prior to the Fall of Antwerp, Portuguese had been sending gold, ivory, sugar, and other products from the Atlantic to the main port in Antwerp. The United Provinces of the Netherlands were growing quickly when the truce was established. Their colonies spanned across five continents and their growth can be considered as what was ‘a new type of global trade and the formation of the world economy.’ The Dutch trade differed from its rivals in many ways. They paid close attention to the relation between risk and profit. If the potential profit