Tulip mania is the traditional name for a period of intense tulip speculation in the Dutch Republic during the 1630s.
Prices for some tulip bulbs, particularly rare varieties, rose sharply as traders and buyers competed for them. The market collapsed in February 1637, and the episode became one of the most famous examples of speculative enthusiasm.
Modern historians caution that later retellings exaggerated the scale and social damage. Not every Dutch citizen participated, and the crash did not destroy the entire Dutch economy. Some contracts were disputed or canceled rather than settled at the most extreme quoted prices.
Even with those qualifications, tulip mania remains useful for discussing bubbles, information cascades, rarity premiums, and the difference between popular financial legends and surviving evidence.