Istanbul Alive Magazine April 2014 ISTANBUL ALIVE APRIL 2014 | Page 9

The tulip truly
stands out as a
cultural symbol of
Europe during the
time of the flower's
heyday.
Lale, 16. yy'da
Avrupa'nın kültürel
sembolü olarak
yer aldı.

an ever-widening price range, tulips
became. One of the few luxury goods
that could be purchased by members
of all classes. The popularity of the
tulip in the Dutch Republic reached
its pinnacle in the years 1636-37
during the craze known as “ tulip
mania” At this time, the practice of
tulip speculation only relevant to
prized varieties of the flower-growers
had to cultivate the bulbs and could
not sell them until they were ready,
these bloemisten began selling
promissory notes guaranteeing the
future delivery of the tulip bulb. The
buyers of these pieces of paper resold
the notes at marked-up prices. In this
way, the promissory notes changed
hands from buyer to buyer until the
tulip became ready for delivery. The
key was to be able to resell the note
before the tulip could be delivered;

the unlucky gambler was the person
who could no longer resell the note
because he now owned the actual
tulip. This Dutch trade in the future

promise of tulips became known as
the tulpen windhandel, literally 'tulip
wind trade,' because transactions
involved nothing more than air.
Many Dutch citizens, angry at such
a corruption of the flower market,
voiced their opinions on the matter in
pamphlets. 2 The Dutch govemment
was also concerned and ended the
tulpenwindhandel and the era of
'tulip mania' by enforcing economic
controls in 1637" Growing trade
with non-European economies, the*
rise in new learning and scientific
experimentation, and a boom in
the market for luxury goods are all
aspects of early modem Europe that
are demonstrated in the history of
the tulip. Thus, the tulip truly stands
out as a cultural symbol of Europe
during the time of the flower's
heyday.
I S TA N B U L A L I V E •

7