Which flower is responsible for bursting an economy?

The Dutch tulip bulb market bubble is to this day one of the most famous market bubbles of all time. It occurred in Holland during the early 1600's when speculation drove the value of tulip bulbs to extremes. At the height of the market, the rarest tulip bulbs traded for as much as six times the average person's annual salary.

The tulip was brought to Europe in the middle of the sixteenth century from the Ottoman Empire. Holland's upper classes soon competed for the rarest bulbs as tulips became a status symbol. By 1636, tulip bulbs were traded on the stock exchanges of numerous Dutch towns and cities, encouraging all members of society to speculate in the markets. It all came to an end in 1637, when prices dropped and panic selling began. Bulbs were soon trading at a fraction of what they once had, leaving many people in financial ruin.

Generally considered to be the first recorded financial bubble, the Tulip Mania of 1636-1637 was an episode in which tulip bulb prices were propelled by speculators to incredible heights before collapsing and plunging the Dutch economy into a severe crisis that lasted for many years.