The Rise of Dutch Capitalism
Bank of Amsterdam, Established in 1609
Amsterdam Stock Market
Emmanuel de Witte, Stock Market in Amsterdam, 1653
A bond issued by the Dutch East India Company and Traded on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange, dating from 7 November 1623, for the amount of 2,400 florins
The Great Tulip Crash of 1637
In 1637, Amsterdam’s commodity market in tulip bulbs crashed, causing capitalism’s first depression.
In 1593, a man by the name of Conrad Guestner imported the first tulip bulb into Holland from Constantinople, in present day Turkey. After a few years, tulip bulbs became a status symbol and a novelty for the rich and famous. Eventually, tulip bulbs became a sought after item in neighboring Germany, as well. After some time, a few tulip bulbs contracted a non-harmful plant virus called mosaic. The effects of this mosaic virus were tulip petals with beautiful “flames” of color. This unique effect furthermore increased the value of the already rare and highly exclusive tulip bulb.
Initially, only the true connoisseurs bought tulip bulbs, but the rapidly rising price quickly attracted speculators looking to profit. It didn’t take long before the tulip bulbs were traded on local market exchanges, which were not unlike today’s stock exchanges. By 1634, tulip mania had feverishly spread to the Dutch middle class. Pretty soon many people were dealing in tulip bulbs, looking to make a quick fortune. The majority of the tulip bulb buyers had no intentions of even planting these bulbs. The name of the game was to buy low and sell high, just like in any other market. The whole Dutch nation was caught in a sweeping mania, as people traded in their land, livestock, farms and life savings all to acquire 1 single tulip bulb!
In less than one month, the price of tulip bulbs went up twenty-fold. When the crash came in early 1637, the bulbs lost nearly 100 percent of their value. Needless to say, innumerable investors were ruined.
Mercantile Wealth
17th Century Dutch Merchant Ship
Two Merchant Ships Under Sail
Merchant Ships in Distress
Merchant Ships Running Aground in a Storm
Merchandise Unloaded in Port
Dutch Merchants
Other Members of The Dutch Bourgeoisie
Rembrandt, The Syndics of the Cloth-maker's Guild, 1662
Rembrandt, Jan Six (Mayor of Amsterdam), 1654
Rembrandt, Scholar, 1631
Vermeer, The Music Lesson (1662)
Vermeer, The Girl with the Pearl Earring (1665)
Vermeer, Officer and a Laughing Girl (1657-1659)
Vermeer, Young woman sleeping, 1656-1657
Vermeer, A Lady Seated at a Virginal (1672)
Vermeer, The Wine Glass (1658-1661)
Vermeer, Girl Interrupted at her Music (1660-1661)
Vermeer, Girl Reading a Letter at an Open Window (1657-1659)
Dutch Imperialist Expansion
Dutch and other European settlements in India
Coin Minted by the VOC
VOC headquarters in Amsterdam
Flag of the West India Company
One of the many battles to break the Dutch blockade of Goa
Dutch siege of Olinda
Dutch-Portuguese war
New Amsterdam, 1664
New Amsterdam
Dutch West Indies, Once the Center of the Caribbean Slave Trade
Dutch Ceylon (Sri Lanka)
New Holland, Western Australia
Dutch Batavia in the 17th Century, built in what is now North Jakarta
Jan Van Reibeck Arrives in Capetown, South Africa