United Fruit Company: a history and its effects

To reiterate from my last post about Minor Keith and his company, it was established in Costa Rica at the end of the 1800s. He was given land on both sides of the nation because he helped build the railroad connecting the Central Valley to both bodies of water. Along with his railroad, Keith planted bananas alongside the rails. On the eastern coast, the bananas grew at alarming rates; Costa Rica became one of the top producers of bananas.

United Fruit Company was based in New Orleans

Minor Keith grew his business and let it branch into different Central American countries. The most infamous example was Guatemala. United Fruit Company held a massive influence on the region. During the Great Depression, the company capped the workers' pay at 50 cents; the business ended up making twice the revenue of the Guatemalan government. With growing anti-American sentiment, in 1954 there was a coup d'état. The old Guatemalan government was replaced with a dictator that was backed by the United States. This coup was encouraged by the United Fruit Company since the old government wanted to kick the business out for exploiting their nation.

In 1978, Panama Disease (a type of root fungus) was introduced to the Pacific coast bananas which decimated the population. Since those bananas could no longer thrive on that side of the coast, they were replaced with palm oil plantations. Plus since most of the banana population was killed off, there was the creation of artificial banana flavoring. This flavoring was made from a different species of bananas. That's why bananas do not taste the same as their artificial flavoring.

Even though today the United Fruit Company has been disbanded into many smaller companies such as Dole and Chiquita, there are still remains of its presence. 

Braulio Carrillo National Park

Driving along Highway 32 in Costa Rica is an unique experience. The highway goes up through the mountains that border the Central Valley. The highway was originally a rail that transported, and connected, coffee from the Central Valley to the Caribbean coast. The Caribbean coast is widely used for exportation of the agricultural goods to the United States and Europe.

In the 1960s, Costa Rica began to clear its natural forests in favor of graze land. The people had decided that if they raised cattle then they could sell the meat to the United States. It turned out that the quality of the meat was not good; therefore there was no profit to be made in the business. In this quick grab for money, the natural forests which had covered over 90% of the country was dwindled to around 15%. 

Hoping to save their natural topography, the Costa Rican government began to create national parks and biological save havens. In 1978, the rain forest and cloud forest lining the highway was established as a national park. This lush greenery is to show what the nation used to look like before its industrialization. Unlike the rest of the highway, no buildings are allowed in this area; therefore the nature is not corrupted and pure. Because this area is protected by the Costa Rican government, the native animals are allowed to flourish. The largest mammal found in the nation is the tapir, a large pig like creature with an elongated snout.

Now why was the rain forest saved? This area along the highway 32 stretch, is named  after Braulio Carrillo a former president of Costa Rica. Carrillo had proposed back in the 1800s for Costa Rica to create a highway system that would connect the nation.T he highway is the reason to why the national park was established. It was to preserve the natural beauty of the nation amidst the rapid industrialization of the nation and the rest of the world.

mario Gomez Jenkins

Mario Gomez Jenkins is a native born Costa Rican that went to school in George to study engineering. He initially started off with a degree plan for mechanical engineering, but eventually ended up with a second degree in aerospace engineering. In 2015, Jenkins was awarded the best technical paper in the student sector. 

Jenkins returned to Costa Rica where he started his work on Proyecto Irazu. The project is the first Costa Rican space mission in the nation's history. The plan is to attach monitors to trees in the northern forests of Costa Rica to monitor climate change. Jenkins said that the project would either prove or disprove whether or not climate change in real. The trees will intake carbon dioxide, and once they take in the CO2, they will grow. Jenkins' device will be able to measure the tree to the 3rd millimeter. He plans on making a more accurate device in future based on the results. 

Jenkins wants to prove that technology is real and coming to Costa Rica. His satellite will be manufactured in Costa Rica to create jobs and new opportunities. 

Mario Gomez Jenkins is currently creating history in Costa Rica. He is on the doorstep of two frontiers: the Costa Rican space community and the final. His progress is affecting the Central American society.

mascarados, Mardi Gras, and Tintamarre

The Costa Ricans working in the coffee fields created a form of mockery for the rich plantation owners. During the mascaradas, the workers don costumes that made fun of the rich. This holiday of mockery is similar to Mardi Gras back in Louisiana or Tintamarre in Acadia.

This holiday is meant to turn around the established social structure. With the roles reversed, the farmers are the rulers while the rulers are ridiculed. This holiday allows the farmers to release their stress and anger towards their landowners without violence. The costumes resemble the massive “bobble heads” found at Tintamarre. The people parade through the streets with their large disguises and act like fools.

bananas and connections

Minor Keith was an American that came to Costa Rica in the 1870s. His original intention was to construct a railroad that connected the Central Valley to the Carribean coast. After Minor Keith constructed his railroad, the Costa Rican government gave him a plot of land as thanks.

Minor Keith used his newly gained plot of land to cultivate bananas. The fruit is native to Southeast Asian and the Pacfic islands. Coffee was not an all year around product, so the banana crops were used to create a profit during the coffee plant's dormant season. Also unlike coffee, bananas do not need a certain elevation to grow. The ease of growing bananas allowed Keith to turn up a faster profit. Keith's land was on the Caribean side of the nation, but he was able to slowly gain land eventually allowing his company to reach the Pacific side.

Minor Keith ended up establishing the United Fruit Company in 1899. Like many businesses at the turn of the century, United Fruit Company became a monopoly. His actions led to the placement of a dictator in Guatamala; in 1944, this dictator was overthrown coining the term "banana republic."

First Impressions

The flight was normal as usual. The "meal" served was a Stroopwafel which was really tasty. The packing said to eat it with a cup of coffee, or to place it on the rim of the cup to heat it up. Mine was a bit cold in the center but I still found it to be an enjoyable meal. 

The country is a lot more mountainous than I expected. I didn't think that there would be mountains and ravines that could be seen from the plane. Even driving through the city to get to the hotel had its literal ups and downs. 

The hotel is nice. It's more spacious than some hotels in New Orleans back home. After dropping off our stuff, we headed over to Soda Tapia. The restaurant resembles a soda jerk bar from the '50s. The servers don red hats and white uniforms. To order, you have to write down what you want on a slip of paper. There was only one English menu, so we had to struggle our way to deciding by deciphering the few words we know. 

I ordered only knowing that my dish had eggs and rice. This shot in the dark proved to be a delicious meal. I was really fond of the fried plantains that came on the side. We ate underneath the awning outside and watched the cars drive past. The drivers are similar to those in Lafayette: green means go and yellow means speed up. One of the beggars in the street almost got hit in the street. 

European Settlement

Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus landed in modern day Costa Rica near Limón in 1502. Columbus was met with friendly natives, so he reported that Veragua (the name he gave the land) was ready to colonize.

Map of Veraguas

In 1506, governor Diego de Nicuesa goes to establish the colony on Veragua but is met with hostilities. The natives burned their crops so they would not have to feed the Spanish Conquistadors.

After the discovery of a passage from the Pacific Ocean, Spaniards travel to Panama and then Costa Rica where they are met with gift bearing natives. These natives are converted to Catholicism by the Spanish priests; smallpox is introduced, killing off many of the native peoples.

Central American natives dying from smallpox taken from Florentine Codex 

Juan Vásquez de Coronado became the governor of Veragua in 1562. He established the capital near Volcán Irazú named Cartaga. In 1723, Volcán Irazú erupted and nearly destroyed Cartaga.

View of  Volcán Irazú from Central Valley

After the eruption, Spanish population increased and established three more towns in the Central Valley. This growth led to the establishment of silver mines and cacao plantations where natives were forced to work as slaves. The hard labor and diseases led to a further decline in the native population.

Other websites on the subject:
Geographia
Viva Costa Rica
Effect of Spanish rule in Costa Rica