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Article: From tulips to railways, a history of crazy optimism.
- Article from:
- Sunday Business (London, England)
- Article date:
- June 26, 2005
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2005 Sunday Business. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Byline: Allister Heath
Jun. 26--As the philosopher George Santayana once said, a country without a memory is a country of madmen. The same holds true of investors: if only they were aware of how frequently markets fall prey to speculative bubbles, perhaps they would be more prudent with their (and other people's) money.
In the 1630s, the Dutch were enjoying unparalleled prosperity and the highest incomes in Europe. Tulips, brought to the attention of a top Dutch botanist by the Turkish ambassador, soon became a symbol of wealth and luxury. Soon, tulip bulb prices started to soar out of control. By 1636, bulbs were changing hands up to 10 times a day, ...