Myth of the 20th Century: Banana Imperialism – Central America and the Rise of the United Fruit Company

Agriculture has historically played a central role in global empires, from wheat in North Africa during the Roman Era to sugar in the Caribbean during the era of French and British domination. But in the case of American imperialism, the little beforehand known banana plant became crucial in the rise of American money and power in Central America and coining of the phrase ‘Banana Republic.’

— References —

– UNITED FRUIT COMPANY 1940s BANANA PRODUCTION FILM 71222, United Fruit Company – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPMoMLeJ9nA
– Cocaine Politics Drugs, Armies, and the CIA in Central America, Marshall and Scott (1996)
– Going bananas: Pan Am Building suicide in Chiquita scandal, Krajicek (2011) – https://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/bananas-pan-building-suicide-chiquita-scandal-article-1.143195
– The Controversial History of United Fruit, Harvard Business Review (2019) –
– Cocaine stash worth more than $1M found in banana boxes at Washington grocery stores, Associated Press (2019) – https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/08/24/1-m-worth-cocaine-found-banana-boxes-washington-supermarkets/2107307001/