The History of the Tulip
This post may contain Affiliate Links
This is a sponsored post
When you visit The Netherlands and specifically Amsterdam, it’s almost impossible to not be faced with the fact that everywhere you look, you will see tulips. Holland is known for them, and there are even yearly shows and events which are tulip centred. Tulips are the Dutch’s pride! But are they even originally from there? Do you know the history of the tulip?
The History of the Tulip
Himalayas
There’s no shame in not realizing that tulips are not originally from Holland. Trust me, most of their people don’t even know this themselves and will be in denial when they find out.
However, tulips originate from the Himalayas. Yes, you heard that correctly. Now, you might wonder how it is even possible that tulips were able to grow in this area. This is because tulip bulbs thrive in a climate that has cold springs and hot summers. Sounds familiar right?
For a tulip to bloom, they need a cold period of at least 14 weeks. This is why in the Dutch tulips are getting planted at the end of August, when the weather starts to cool off again. But before going ahead of ourselves, how is it that a flower from the Himalayas has made it all the way to
The Netherlands. This is because nomads used to collect them and as we all know, nomads travel a lot. For centuries, tulips were a typical Turkish flower, which also explains the name of the flower; which is named after the turban, a headpiece that Turkish people still wear to this day.
Gifts
The travelling of the tulips started with the Turkish people, who were very fond of their flower and saw them as something holy. Magnificent feasts would be thrown when the tulips were in full bloom.
Because it was such a Turkish pride, sultans used to gift the bulbs to diplomats and eventually some of these bulbs ended up with Carolus Clusius, who let them be planted in a field in Leiden all the way back in 1594.
Being that The Netherlands at that time didn’t have a lot of colourful flowers, these tulips became an eye-catcher to many, and the bulbs at times even got stolen from the fields.
Eventually, a tulip-mania happened and Holland literally became obsessed with the flower, which had so many colours that nobody understood at that point. Because of this, it became one of the biggest investments in history.
However, sadly all good things must come to an end and the market in 1637 crashed because everybody started to sell the tulips. However, a bounce back happened where the Dutch people played, and still are playing a big role in the flower trade of the tulip.
Present
Tulips are world-famous and in different countries, they are proudly being shown off during the blooming season, but Holland is definitely the biggest one of all of them. A national pride, every year there are numerous events that are centred around the tulip and which thousands of visitors from around the world travel for.
