United Fruit Company
Chiquita's corporate ancestor
United Fruit Company was an American corporation that dominated the banana trade and held vast agricultural operations across Central America and the Caribbean throughout the 20th century.
The company wielded enormous political influence over the governments of banana-producing nations—giving rise to the term "banana republic." Its most notorious intervention came in 1954, when it lobbied for the CIA-backed coup in Guatemala.
The company merged into United Brands in 1970 and eventually became Chiquita.
Domination through foreign settlement
- neocolonialismIndirect foreign domination
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- dominationSupreme authority held
- subjugationForcing into submission
occupation · empire · sovereignty · annexation · gunboat diplomacy · intervention · puppet state · sphere of influence
Large-scale farming operation
- exportForeign-bound sale
- tropicalOf hot, humid regions
- harvestGathering mature crops
- bunchGrouped collection of items
ripening · agriculture · steamship · railroad · tierra · monoculture · blight · boxing
Abrupt seizure of power
- GuatemalaCentral American republic
- CIAU.S. foreign intelligence service
- DullesWashington-area international airport
- interventionPurposeful involvement to change course
overthrow · propaganda · lobbying · bribery · corruption · regime change · Cold War · anticommunism
Selfish use of others
- workersPeople doing jobs
- plantationsLarge-scale farming operations
- peonageDebt-based forced labor
- indenturedContracted to serve
abuse · coercion · oppression · wages · strikes · campesinos · migrant · conditions
Foreign-bound sale
- importObtain from overseas
- shippingTransporting goods to destinations
- commoditiesTradeable raw materials
- logisticsCoordination of complex activities
tariffs · distribution · ports · railroads · refrigeration · markets · wholesale · international
One seller, no substitutes
- antitrustAgainst corporate market dominance
- conglomerateCorporation spanning many industries
- subsidiaryOf lesser importance
- vertical integrationOwning multiple production stages
market dominance · trust · predatory pricing · shareholders · merger · acquisition · railroad · steamship
colonialism
Domination through foreign settlement
- neocolonialismIndirect foreign domination
- hegemonyDominant group's control
- dominationSupreme authority held
subjugation · occupation · empire · sovereignty · annexation · gunboat diplomacy · intervention · puppet state · sphere of influence · Monroe Doctrine
plantation
Large-scale farming operation
bunch · ripening · agriculture · steamship · railroad · tierra · monoculture · blight · boxing · green
coup
Abrupt seizure of power
- GuatemalaCentral American republic
- CIAU.S. foreign intelligence service
- DullesWashington-area international airport
intervention · overthrow · propaganda · lobbying · bribery · corruption · regime change · Cold War · anticommunism · destabilization
exploitation
Selfish use of others
- workersPeople doing jobs
- plantationsLarge-scale farming operations
- peonageDebt-based forced labor
indentured · abuse · coercion · oppression · wages · strikes · campesinos · migrant · conditions · injustice
export
Foreign-bound sale
- importObtain from overseas
- shippingTransporting goods to destinations
- commoditiesTradeable raw materials
logistics · tariffs · distribution · ports · railroads · refrigeration · markets · wholesale · international · customs
monopoly
One seller, no substitutes
- antitrustAgainst corporate market dominance
- conglomerateCorporation spanning many industries
- subsidiaryOf lesser importance
vertical integration · market dominance · trust · predatory pricing · shareholders · merger · acquisition · railroad · steamship · landholding
- Guatemalan RevolutionOctober Revolution, agrarian reform, Guatemala City
United Fruit Companysovereign nation
Self-ruled territorial polity
democratic socialism · indigenous sovereignty · decolonization · economic nationalism · Sandinistas
United Fruit Companycredit union
Member-owned financial cooperative
mutual aid society · kibbutz · commons · public utility · subsistence farming
united, fruit, company, unite, uniting, unity, union, unions, unitary