banana plantation in Honduras
A worker standing on top of a Tela Railroad Company car as it travels through a banana plantation in Honduras during the 1940s. Tela Railroad Company was a subsidiary of the United Fruit Company, which overtly controlled Honduras's government and was the country's largest employer. The amount of power wielded by United Fruit resulted in Honduras being labeled a banana republic.
banana republic
government
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banana republic, derogatory term for a country that has an economy dependent solely on revenue from exporting a single product or commodity. As a result, such countries are typically controlled by foreign-owned companies or industries. Banana republics usually have a highly stratified socioeconomic structure, with a small ruling class that controls access to wealth and resources, and are politically unstable. The term has its origins in the development of banana plantations by American corporations and their exploitation of land and workers in Central and South America beginning in the late 19th century. A country labeled a banana republic has many ...(100 of 1061 words)