Tulips from the Ottoman Empire
Tulips, picture them in your mind, the colors, the slender trunk, reaching up, and at the peak, a beautiful 'cup' looking flower.
One of my favorite flowers.
How was this 'petite' flower introduced into Europe and the rest of our World.
Let me write about this today.
The introduction of the flower known as Tulip to Europe is well known to be by the Ambassador of the 'Roman Empire' to 'Ottoman Empire'.
Tulips, on the field I
This person was Ogier de Busbecq, the ambassador of Ferdinand I of the 'Roman Emperor'.
The Tulip seeds/bulbs were sent to the city of Vienna, in the year of 1554 from Istanbul, then known as Constantinople.
Soon after this date, the Tulip bulbs were distributed from Vienna to the rest of Europe.
The city that really embraced this flower was, the city of Amsterdam.
The flowers popularity and cultivation in the country of Netherlands, especially in Amsterdam is generally thought to have started around the year of 1593, at the University of Leiden, which established the 'Hortus Academicus' at this Institute.
Tulips, on the field II
Why was the Tulip different then all the flowers in Europe at this time?
The answers are that:
- there is an intense petal color that no other plant had.
- status symbol of the flower.
- at the time, Netherlands was finding the independence from Spain, and therefore this 'independence' was symbolized by the flower.
Now, let me briefly describe the economic factors caused by the flower.
Tulips, on the field III
After the introduction of the Tulip into Europe from the Ottoman Empire, there was a Tulip-mania formed. The high demand resulted in surging prices and stretching the flower's supply. Prices of the flower fluctuated with extreme 'highs' and 'lows' during these years. It is stated in 'Economic' books that this is the first example of 'demand' based pricing.
At the peak of Tulip-mania, around the year of 1637, single tulip bulbs sold for more than 10 times the annual income of a skilled craftsman in Europe, especially in Netherlands.
Not only a beautiful flower, but with a 'rich' history.
Thank you for visiting this site.
I like tulips too. You can see tulips on all the parks in Istanbul at the beginning tog the springs. Plus tulips figure is most comman used figure on practice of marbling art , which one of the pupular art practicesd during the term of Ottoman Empire.
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