Latin American countries have had a long and difficult road on the path to independence. They have fought against the influence of both Europe and the United States of America. This fight has led to many of these countries being used and exploited for their resources. The main example of this in Central America is the banana trade and the corruption of the banana industry. Men called the Banana Men exploited the many weaknesses in these countries. These men and corporations had large influences in the development and tearing apart of nationalism in Central America. Banana Men stayed in control in a variety of corrupt and deceptive ways that cause large scale unrest in Central America. Banana Men have had a large and lasting impact on Latin
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Nationalism is defined as a political movement espousing a strong state, national pride, and economic development (Chasteen A5). Banana companies established company towns based entirely on banana harvests. When these companies would move it left thousands jobless. This caused many to move to cities in search of work (Chasteen 190). This migration to cities caused mass spread of ideas and influence between people who had never had a chance to communicate before. This spread of ideas lead to a new form of nationalism to spread. Farmers, Miners, and other professions all were looking for work and this spread of ideas lead to a new form of nationalism and thinking to occur. Many nationalist ideas were also destroyed by the efforts of the Banana Men and the higher class trying to maintain control in their countries. Some instruments and practices were outlawed to try and maintain a sense of togetherness instead of embracing different traditions that many people had. Outlawing some of these differences made it easier to control people in their societies. This caused a change in the way people felt nationalism around them and they had to practice in secret or create more creative ways to practice their traditions. This along with the spreading of new ideas caused many new practices to develop. The Banana Men and banana corporations had huge influences on the nationalism in Latin …show more content…
He was then taken to a Drunken General and given to understand that he would be shot. This of course was a bitter pill for Christmas so he said to the Gen. all right if I have to be made a target of give me a gun so I may kill som S___ B___” (Langley 48). Lee Christmas was just one of many mercenaries to be used in Latin America to maintain control in a corrupt system. The quote made by Christmas shows how bitter and humorous many of these mercenaries were. Corporations and corrupt governments throughout Latin America used revolutions, mercenaries and civil unrest to maintain control and power over their respective regions. Banana Men wanted to keep control of their regions with little to no rules or regulations so they would often use people such as Lee Christmas or Guy “Machine-gun” Molony to do some of the dirty work for them. This constant unrest made it easier to maintain control over trade in Latin American countries. Banana Men used a variety of ways to stay in control of countries in Latin America and more so Central America. Many different men came to Latin America for a variety of reasons. Some came to be mercenaries, entrepreneurs, adventurers and some came because they just had nowhere else to go. Men, nicknamed Banana Men, came
Nationalism is defined as a political movement espousing a strong state, national pride, and economic development (Chasteen A5). Banana companies established company towns based entirely on banana harvests. When these companies would move it left thousands jobless. This caused many to move to cities in search of work (Chasteen 190). This migration to cities caused mass spread of ideas and influence between people who had never had a chance to communicate before. This spread of ideas lead to a new form of nationalism to spread. Farmers, Miners, and other professions all were looking for work and this spread of ideas lead to a new form of nationalism and thinking to occur. Many nationalist ideas were also destroyed by the efforts of the Banana Men and the higher class trying to maintain control in their countries. Some instruments and practices were outlawed to try and maintain a sense of togetherness instead of embracing different traditions that many people had. Outlawing some of these differences made it easier to control people in their societies. This caused a change in the way people felt nationalism around them and they had to practice in secret or create more creative ways to practice their traditions. This along with the spreading of new ideas caused many new practices to develop. The Banana Men and banana corporations had huge influences on the nationalism in Latin …show more content…
He was then taken to a Drunken General and given to understand that he would be shot. This of course was a bitter pill for Christmas so he said to the Gen. all right if I have to be made a target of give me a gun so I may kill som S___ B___” (Langley 48). Lee Christmas was just one of many mercenaries to be used in Latin America to maintain control in a corrupt system. The quote made by Christmas shows how bitter and humorous many of these mercenaries were. Corporations and corrupt governments throughout Latin America used revolutions, mercenaries and civil unrest to maintain control and power over their respective regions. Banana Men wanted to keep control of their regions with little to no rules or regulations so they would often use people such as Lee Christmas or Guy “Machine-gun” Molony to do some of the dirty work for them. This constant unrest made it easier to maintain control over trade in Latin American countries. Banana Men used a variety of ways to stay in control of countries in Latin America and more so Central America. Many different men came to Latin America for a variety of reasons. Some came to be mercenaries, entrepreneurs, adventurers and some came because they just had nowhere else to go. Men, nicknamed Banana Men, came