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Cover of Cabbages and Kings (1904 edition). In the 20th century, American writer O. Henry (William Sydney Porter, 1862–1910) coined the term banana republic to describe the fictional Republic of Anchuria in the book Cabbages and Kings (1904), [1] a collection of thematically related short stories inspired by his experiences in Honduras, whose economy was heavily dependent on the export of ...
United Fruit had a deep and long-lasting effect on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism, and they described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the so-called banana republics.
The U.S. did not need to use its military might in Guatemala, where a series of dictators were willing to accommodate the economic interests of the U.S. in return for its support for their regimes. [8] Guatemala was among the Central American countries of the period known as a banana republic.
By 1902 local railroad lines were being constructed on the Caribbean coast to accommodate the expanding banana production. [7] The economic dominance and political influence of these companies was so great from the late 19th until the mid 20th century that Honduras became the original model for the banana republic. [8]
Corporatocracy [a] or corpocracy is an economic, political and judicial system controlled or influenced by business corporations or corporate interests. [ 1 ] The concept has been used in explanations of bank bailouts , excessive pay for CEOs , and the exploitation of national treasuries, people, and natural resources . [ 2 ]
Honduras: Where the United Fruit Company and Standard Fruit Company dominated the country's key banana export sector and associated land holdings and railways, saw insertion of American troops in 1903, 1907, 1911, 1912, 1919, 1924, and 1925. [14] The writer O. Henry coined the term "banana republic" in 1904 to describe Honduras. [15]
Samuel Zemurray (born Schmuel Zmurri; January 18, 1877 – November 30, 1961), nicknamed "Sam the Banana Man", was an American businessman who made his fortune in the banana trade. He founded the Cuyamel Fruit Company and later became president of the United Fruit Company , the world's most influential fruit company at the time.
The general strike of 1954 was a watershed political and economic event in the history of Honduras that ushered in widespread change.. When former United Fruit Company lawyer Juan Manuel Gálvez became president in 1954, following the contested election of 1953, he surprised everyone by adopting a pro-labor stance, introducing, among other things, an 8-hour work day, including extra pay for ...