The 1637 tulip mania marks the first recorded speculative bubble

Evidence

As variously traced by different observers’ accounts, the history of speculation goes all the way back to ancient Mesopotamia or, closer to its modern financial form (in the sense of stock trading) to medieval Europe. The 1637 tulip mania in the Netherlands is typically cited as the first occasion of a speculative bubble (de Marchi and Harrison 1994; also see de Goede 2005). — Aris Komporozos-Athanasiou, Speculative Communities, 582

Categorization

• CANDY: The tulip mania as the first speculative bubble is a classic cocktail-party financial history fact.
• ADDENDUM: Context for the reader’s finance/speculation theme: deep historical roots of bubbles before modern markets.
• XREF: connects to: Speculation traces to Mesopotamia and its first bubble was the 1637 tulip mania.

Broader Connections

• Speculation traces to Mesopotamia and its first bubble was the 1637 tulip mania. #corroborates (0.93)