The United Fruit Company In The 1890's

In the 1890’s, the United States began to act like a great power. At that time, it had passed a period of crisis; the civil war, industrialization, immigration and the aftermath of the Reconstruction era added to anxiety of its economic crisis. Imperialism was called upon to aid in this crisis because it would create a system of foreign relations based on the exchange of goods, but it did so without understanding the consequences of its actions. One way the exchange of goods was used in creating foreign relations was through corporations. Corporations at the time went abroad to look for resources that the continental United States did not have, such as bananas and coffee. In 1899, the United Fruit Company was created in hopes of monopolizing

These three American businessmen were Lorenzo Baker, Andrew Preston, and Minor C. Keith. Baker and Preston, the owners of the Boston Fruit Company were in charge of seven small companies that sold bananas in the mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions in the United States. The third businessman was Minor C. Keith who owned many railroad industries in Latin America. The merging of the Boston Fruit Company and the wealth from Keith’s railroads created the world’s largest banana producing company. These railroads connected to the United States and were instrumental in importing and exporting UFCO’s goods. Their company would collaborate with the corrupt dictators of Guatemala, specifically that of Manuela Estrada Cabrera that would help aid them in becoming the most powerful corporation in Latin America at the

investment; he simply wanted to reform the railroad monopoly in Guatemala, moreover, his annulment did not deny or try to nationalize IRCA. Nonetheless, his actions were seen as hostile and it left him in a powerless position, not only from the U.S. or UFCO, but from Guatemalan liberals as well. In the fall of 1921, Generals Orellano and Ubico attempted to remove, minister of war, Escamilla from his position as minister of war; however, Herrera refused to oblige. He again, unintentionally, offended and isolated himself from his coalition. Ultimately, this led to an internal coup that ended up doing what Keith had been planning to do, overthrow