First, describe an event with only dates, places, and numbers. Save your evaluation for last.
What happened • Money • Sources • Common explanations
Money, Read Through Events
Bubbles, Fraud, and Financial Crises
Bubbles, fraud, and financial crises. We will trace how money was accumulated, moved, and lost through cases that really happened.
Time to read the text: about 7 min ／ Time to read the in-depth book: about 483 min
The review questions are optional and not included in this time.
What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
After purchase, you can read the full text once your access starts.
How to Analyze Events in 3 Minutes
1See it
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February 3, 1637
At a tavern auction, a buyer won 3 bids as the price dropped.
In Haarlem, Netherlands
Payment was due when the bulbs were delivered in May-June. In winter, they were in the ground.
People who bought and sold on paper didn't lose any actual cash.
For numbers, always include: when, the unit, a comparison, and the source.
If a number doesn't have all four, label it 'unconfirmed'.
The highest price was equal to a house. You can see this by comparing it to a master craftsman's annual income.
Approx. 5000 guilders
A master craftsman's annual income was 300 guilders.
Documents show 37 people spent more than 300 guilders.
Just saying '37 people' without the comparison changes the meaning.
The story of 'the sailor who ate a bulb' was actually an older, different story.
Trace it back: source → copied book → textbook.
For points where researchers disagree, label them as 'disputed'.
Don't pick just one view as the fact.
When comparing, use four steps: similarities, differences, what's useful, and limitations.
Look at the system, not just the price.
2In numbers
5000guilders
Highest price for a bulb (approx.). Compare it to a master craftsman's annual income.
37people
People documented to have spent more than 300 guilders on bulbs.
3What would you do?
It's the winter of 1637. You're in a tavern and make a deal to buy a tulip bulb, to be delivered in the spring. In February, the price crashes. Have you paid for it yet?
Pick one
I paid right there in the tavern when I made the deal.
Actually, payment was only due when the bulbs were dug up and delivered in May-June. During the winter, the bulbs were still in the ground.
I haven't paid yet; I'll pay in the spring when I get the bulb.
That's right. That's why people who only bought and sold on paper didn't lose actual cash. The February crash mainly wiped out profits that only existed on ledgers.
Knowing when money actually changes hands helps you understand how losses spread. This course is about looking at these systems, rather than just the high prices.
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What you will understand after this course
- To be able to read a single incident from its first scene to the end, and to explain in your own words what happened, why it spread, and how it reached everyday life.
- To be able to specify the point in time, unit, and denominator for a number, and to distinguish between nominal and real values, as well as face value and market value.
- To be able to trace the origin of commonly heard explanations and distinguish between what is supported by historical sources and what is not.
The book for this course
『Money, Read Through Events』
A complete illustrated book. 78 figures, about 483 min
Free sample: Tulip Mania 1636–37
More about this course
Course number: E11 — Bubbles, Fraud, and Financial Crises
Supervised by: Mitsuru Hayama
Beyond the text: 6 exercises · 4 readings How reading times are calculated
You will also understand
- To be able to place two events by type, mechanism, and question, and to compare them in four stages—similarities, differences, applications, and limitations—to avoid equating them.
You can start this course without reading any other course.
If you want to know more about checking sources (optional)
- Is It Really True? Checking History
We re-examine the origins of money and famous anecdotes, comparing them with historical records and actual artifacts.
Assessment
6 exercises in this course (4 check, 0 compare, 2 written). Progress is recorded by self-assessment.
The 8 chapters of this course
- Reading in four sections — What happened, Money, Sources, and Common theoriesFour sections. The first section contains only dates, places, and numbers. Save the evaluation for last.
- Type, Mechanism, and Question — A Three-Layer FrameworkOne type, multiple mechanisms, and two or three questions. The classification can be provisional.
- Giving Numbers a Denominator — Point in Time, Unit, Nominal or RealPoint in time, unit, denominator, source. A number that does not have all four should be marked as "unconfirmed."
- Examining the Layers of Historical Sources — From Contemporary Records to Modern ResearchDo not skip layers. Account for the sources that have not survived.
- Tracing the Source of Popular Myths — From Satire to TextbooksSource → copied book → textbook. There are four verdicts, and information should not be presented as a single, established fact.
- When researchers' views differ — present the three perspectivesWhere views differ, present the three perspectives. Label it as disputed.
- A Four-Step Comparison — Similarities, Differences, Applicability, and LimitationsSimilarities, differences, applicability, limits. Withdraw any comparison for which the limits cannot be stated.
- Connection to the present — Look at the structure, not the price.See the structure. Do not predict the price.
Real-life examples in this course (4)
- A tavern in Haarlem Netherlands Tulip mania 1636–1637
Sections 1 & 2. Tavern meetings and forward contracts. The setting for the incident. - The auction hall at Alkmaar Netherlands Tulip mania 5 February 1637
Section 3. Ninety thousand gulden and three hundred gulden. Adding a denominator to the number. - Haarlem Netherlands Tulip mania 3 February 1637
Section 4. The day of the crash, and the legal response. - A printing shop in the Low Countries Netherlands Tulip mania 1637–1841
Section 5. The anecdote as transcribed over three hundred years.
Read next
Those Who Made Counterfeit Money, and Those Who Pursued Them →What you learn next: You can explain in what order anti-forgery technique advanced.
Time to read the text: about 8 min ／ What you can read: the course opening and contents are free; the full text is for those who have purchased
Price
After purchase, the full courses, the illustrated books, every country’s story and the numismatics examination are open to you.
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