United Fruit Imperialism

The United Fruit Company was established on 1899 in Central America, as the first U.S. company to take business in another country, portraying inequality between the authority figures, and its’ farming laborers. Few holding high charge positions of this company got rich while abusing and exploiting plantation workers who were in deplorable conditions while earning low wages. United Fruit kept gaining power by acquiring a wide number of lands and plantation in the vulnerable countries of Central America who were ruled by weak governments who imposed no rules to stop the company. Being an entrepreneur was almost impossible as their fruit could not sell due to the company being a monopoly, putting pressure with unfair contracts, and the lack of a transportation system available for all. With that, the United Fruit Company controlled the whole system of trade by preventing competition and progress of smaller companies and acting as an example for what other companies would like to become. Shaping the world with a fruit that started the new era of globalism.
The establishment of this …show more content…
Most sources state how the “United Fruit has been considered the quintessential representative of American imperialism in Latin America, holding the local governments in its pocket, controlling the local economy of the host countries, and harshly exploiting the plantation workers.” The success of the company led many to question how the company was able to act as such, especially with the money from the exports of banana to the United States the company was able to pay the few government’s officials, but not the actual field workers, since they outnumbered them. With the rules from both the government and United Fruit Company, people from Latin America had nowhere else to go, but to stay and work in the fields to