Skip to main content

What's more Dutch than Tulips?

(Courtesy from Ken Jennings [yes that Ken Jennings] on www.woot.com)
Ok this is a little dry, and on the factoid side but very interesting. I think I'll do an article on it later. Doubt I can match the detailedness. But for now, I couldn't have said it any better Mr Jennings. I'll edit it for readability.

He starts off with the Question; Are Tulips Native to the Netherlands? It begins....

"[Sure] windmills, wooden shoes, and heroin are pretty great, but, as signifiers of the Netherlands go, there’s everything else and then there’s the mighty tulip. What could be more Dutch than a field of brightly colored tulips, swaying in the wind? The Netherlands still produces three billion tulips every year, and its Keukenhof garden, near Lisse, is the largest tulip display in the world. But would it surprise you to know that tulips aren’t Dutch at all—that the de facto national flower is, in fact, a fairly recent immigrant?

Tulips are actually native to the steppes of the Near East and central Asia, and were probably first cultivated by the Turks—our word “tulip” comes from the Ottoman word tulbend, from the Persian for “turban.” In the most popular account, a German ambassador to the Turkish court brought tulip bulbs back to Bavaria in the sixteenth century, and in 1594, the Flemish botanist Carolus Clusius spread the love to Holland, planting bulbs from Vienna in the university botanical garden at Leiden.

At the time, the tulip was the only flower grown in Europe that could boast such intense and varied color, and displaying its blossoms quickly became an important Dutch status symbol. Eventually this led to “tulip mania,” one of the first speculative bubbles in history. A nineteenth-century account of the boom by a British journalist notes that, at one point, tulip values got so overinflated that twelve acres of land were trading for just one bulb. In 1637, the bubble finally popped, taking much of the Dutch economy with it, but by that time, the flower’s place in the culture and history of the Netherlands was assured. The tulip had gone Dutch."

Cool stuff! I never knew. I wonder what other interesting things I can find about the Tulip.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

de Vries, Hans de Vries. Almost.

In 1967 THE James Bond (Sean Connery) decided to step away from the world of James Bond films. EOS studios thus had to find a replacement. It came down to 5 men. 2 Brits, an American, a Australian, and a Dutchman. John Richardson, Anthony Rogers, Robert Campbell, George Lazenby, and Hans de Vries. None of those names ring a bell? George Lazenby won the part for the 6th Bond film, On Her Majesty's Secret Service. A movie that has been lauded both as the worst and one of the best Bond films in the franchise. If you haven't seen it, you should. It was the Bond film that 'Breaks the Fourth Wall', Bond gets married, wears a kilt, and goes skiing. But the reason for this post is instead of this; (Yes, THAT is James Bond) We could of had this. Improvement? Probably not. He looks a wee bit angry. Plus, no one watches OHMSS anyway. So, did de Vries have a movie career after Bond? Ha, no. The only notable movie rolls I can find for him were pre bond. And that was ...

Dutch Actors - Rutger Hauer

I had a case of 'Hey, I know that guy" the other day. I found another actor who is Dutch, who knew. Rutger Hauer Born in Breukelen, Netherlands 1944. (Yes that is where Brooklyn in New York got it's name from, I think I should post about that more some other time). I posted the picture of him that made me say "oh that guy". Anyone guess what movie the above picture is from? Anyone? Batman Begins, He played Mr Earle. The 'corrupt' businessman CEO leading Wayne Enterprises while Bruce was gone/dead. He gets what's coming to him in the end; "Didn't you get the memo?" Great stuff. Rutger is also known for playing a villain in Blade Runner. Recently he hasn't played many high profile roles besides the occasional guest start on TV shows. More info on his early life thanks to Wikipedia . His films IMDB . The man even has his own website ! Neat did you know facts about Rutger. His first and last name both end with er! -Got his st...

Comment Reply - Protestants

So I've been called out. I had my first comment yesterday stating that during their fight for independence in the Netherlands, Protestants were under oppression in England. I love reading about history but am no History major myself or professional so I appriciate the comment. I remember that happening but I focus on items that interest me. Which is why I've focused on the Netherlands area. So I guess I'll go into it a little more. The Netherlands have always been a very open and free society to live. Think Amsterdam today. In a way I guess you could compare it to Las Vegas or New Orleans. So I have no doubt that some Protestants moved to the Netherlands to escape the oppression and help fuel the independence. People or all walks of life, races, and religions were welcomed. This accepting attitude helped to fuel the competition between England and the Dutch in the 17 and 18th centuries as they raced to gain a trade monopoly over each other. This ties in nice with why I'...