When a Single Flower Bulb Cost 10x an Annual Salary

Many merchants sold all of their belongings to purchase a few tulip bulbs for the purpose of selling

them at a higher profit than they could ever imagine in their lifetimes. This was the 1630s,

and the average person could expect to live fewer than 40 years and be lucky to make any

money at all. Meanwhile, some of the tulip traders were earning the equivalence

of $62,000 a month. It seemed like the tulips were a quick way to paradise, and everyone wanted

in. During the build-up and height of Tulip Mania, the Dutch East India

Company incorporated the tulip trade into their operations, and the stock price began to rocket

upwards. By this stage, even England and France were trading tulips on the London