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."

Indigenous People and Geography
The river that the bananas are being transported on seperated the Bribri and Cabécar tribes. These two groups held close bonds but they were different thanks to the seperation caused by the river. Both were descendants of the Chipcha people from South America (though it is not argued they originated in Costa Rica).
Cabécar were a more spiritual group of people. When the natives fought against the Spanish, the Bribri were in the front attacking while the Cabécar gave aid from the back lines.
Also Bribri language is a nicer sounding language compared to the Cabécar language. It is simliar to the way English and German sound: both are from the same root language but have different connotations.
Even though the two groups had a brotherhood and followed the same religion, it was possible for them to develop different viewpoints due to the geography. Minor Keith, by connecting to two coasts of Costa Rica, allowed the nation to create a more cohesive culture. There are still some differences between west coast and east coast just as there are differences between the Bribri and Cabécar. 

a banana truck loading up alongside the river that separated the Bribri and Cabécar people