Tulip mania is the Dutch financial craze often called the first recorded speculative market bubble.
The episode occurred in the Dutch Republic during the 17th century, with particularly intense trading in tulip bulbs and contracts during the 1630s. Prices for some rare varieties rose dramatically before collapsing in February 1637, when buyers became unwilling or unable to continue paying elevated prices.
Modern historians caution against the popular version of the story. Tulip trading was concentrated in particular contracts and social circles, and the wider Dutch economy did not simply collapse because of tulips. Some contemporary and later accounts exaggerated the scale of the financial damage.
The episode remains important because it illustrates how scarcity, fashion, leverage, expectations, and imitation can drive asset prices away from practical value. It is often compared with the South Sea Bubble and Mississippi Bubble, although those later bubbles involved major companies and public finance.