Tulip bulbs were at the center of the Dutch speculative bubble that collapsed in 1637.
Tulip mania refers to a period in the Dutch Republic when prices for some tulip bulbs rose dramatically, especially for rare varieties. Trading intensified in the 1630s, and contracts could be bought and sold before bulbs were delivered. In February 1637, a failed auction in Haarlem is commonly associated with the collapse in confidence.
The episode became famous as an early example of a speculative bubble, in which prices are driven far above ordinary expectations by the belief that someone else will pay more later. The market’s exact scale and social impact are debated, because some later accounts exaggerated the number of people ruined.
Tulip mania was not a stock-market crash in the modern sense: tulip bulbs are commodities, not company shares. It remains relevant to crash history because it illustrates recurring patterns of speculation, leverage, changing expectations, and sudden illiquidity.