It was starred in a product that today is not taken into account by anyone for speculation: tulips. It happened in 1637, when just a century ago they had begun to be introduced into Western Europe from Turkey. The Dutch, already dominating the flower business, began to grow the new species boldly. The varieties of bulbs with the most beautiful buds became more expensive to unsuspected limits.
As many wanted to become growers, financial instruments were developed to favor investment, in a very similar way to what happened in our real estate bubble . And then came the puncture.
That economic mirage inspired the Flemish painter Jan Brueghel the Younger, who in his painting Satire of the Tulipomania (1840) made a fierce criticism of the situation , with apes playing the role of speculators and unwary. We reveal the keys to this canvas, which you can see on these lines, below:
On the left, below: The most appreciated tulips were those with the most varied streaks – in the image, pink and white. These shades largely depend on viruses that cause alterations in the distribution of pigments.
Above left (on the porch): A good feast was the way to conclude and enter into a contract during those years of irrational exuberance, as the monetary authorities of our time would say.
Apes shaking hands: Market euphoria fueled the emergence of financial derivatives. One of them was the right to acquire the tulips at a fixed price, which was established at the time of the contract, illustrated here by a handshake. This futures market was highly risky and encouraged speculation.
Monkey with pen and paper: In some cases complex legal clauses were drawn up to foresee the eventualities generated by the transactions. Lawyers and notaries participated.
Bird of prey on the back of the writing ape: The owl was considered a symbol of vanity and madness at that time.
Monkey weighing bulbs: These came to cost so much that a single person could not pay for them, so a kind of actions called perits were created . These divided them into about four hundred units of 0.056 grams, when each bulb weighs between 22 and 25 grams.
Monkey with tulips under his arm: This figure represents someone who puts his tulips in a safe place after having invested a large sum. In 1637, such a general attitude would cause a financial debacle when, suddenly, no one wanted to buy any more bulbs as an investment.
Tulips below, right: Curiously, the most popular bulb variety at the time, the Semper augustus , has now disappeared and can only be obtained by hybridization. The same virus that endowed the tulip with beautiful colors also made it shrink and not bloom anymore. It reached prices of 5,500 florins – around 70,000 euros today – for each unit.
Image of the painting Satire of the tulipomania: Frans Hals Museum, Haarlem (Netherlands) via Wikimedia
