Commodities Traded in the Tulip Trader

Textiles: Called by some the steel industry of the 17th century, it was a major industry for speculators. A major difference from steel of a later age was textiles always remained a luxury item, so it was more prone to economic conditions. The poor and lower classes were always more likely to make their own cloth inversely making purchased textiles a sign of accomplishment.

Tobacco: Trading involved not only Maryland and Virginia leaf from the Americas, but also a courser Dutch leaf which was often put inside the American "wrapper." By 1675, six million pounds of tobacco was being exported annually, and this figure would itself double by century's end. Much of the tobacco would be exported to Russia and the Baltics, though as seen in many of the Genre paintings of the age - a great deal remained within the Dutch cities for enjoyment.

Herring and wheat: Self explanatory - it's a fish and a grain. Food is always a safe and predictable investment unless something happens to disrupt the market conditions for the commodity. Wheat was a standard in most people's diet, and the Dutch of course love their herring!

Indies: I've used this collective term "Indies" to refer to the various Dutch/English East Indies Companies. These were government/private organizations formed to engage in the Asian trade markets. Typically fickle and with balance sheets that defy economic reality sometimes these could be great or terrible investments, all depending on when you get in.

Tulips: The Internet stocks of the Baroque. Expect huge swings in a price more driven by momentum and greed or fear. Yes, we are talking about tulip bulbs and to really understand the phenomenon read this article on the "Tulip Bubble." Fortunes were made and lost in tulip bulbs.

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Humanities Resource of Mark Hunter