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1. Creation of the Banana Empire, 1900-1930
- University of Nebraska Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
Contrary to popular belief, bananas are not native to the Western Hemisphere. According to Reynolds ( , ), their original homeland was most likely in South or Southeast Asia. Various banana species were diffused by human migration—for example, by the Polynesians, who carried them as far as Hawaii—or by conquest— such as by the Arabs, who were responsible for the banana’s westward expansion. The biological term used for bananas, musa, is Arabic; it is a derivative of a Sanskrit word, reflecting the fact that Arabs originally encountered the fruit in India (Reynolds , ). There are many species of bananas, most of which are produced on a small scale for local consumption throughout the tropics. Only a few species are produced for export on a major scale, and those have lost the ability to reproduce from seeds. They must be propagated by dividing the rhizomes (root stock) to generate new plants for each growing season. Europeans first came across bananas during their explorations of coastal Africa, to which the banana had spread either by Arab con- ' J^[9h[Wj_ede\j^[ 8WdWdW;cf_h[" '/&&·'/)& | Bananas in Latin America tact from the North, through Polynesian migration to Madagascar, or both. The Spanish were responsible for its introduction into the Americas when Friar Tomás de Berlanga brought the first banana plants from the Canary Islands to Santo Domingo in . It is important to note that the fruit alone was incapable of such lengthy voyages, a problem that delayed its commercialization until the late nineteenth century. The entire plant stock had to be transported for propagation in the new territories. This chapter focuses on the first stage in the development of the banana industry in the Western Hemisphere, drawing heavily from several early studies of the industry. Technological development was central to the development process, and the implementation of key innovations was fostered by the peripheral nature of the banana-growing regions within the countries in which the industry emerged. Distinct patterns of trade also were created, promoted by the United Fruit Company (hereafter, the United or ), and the North and South became linked in a manner that has proven remarkably durable. J^[8WdWdW¹FheXb[cWj_Yº Since its inception, the banana industry in the Western Hemisphere has been an early example of globalization. The industry was shaped by the requirements of the fruit itself, some of which do not differ very much from those of other fresh fruit or vegetable commodities . Other aspects of the industry, were unique, however, presenting special problems to those who sought to grow and market the fruit. The banana is highly perishable, with just a short period of time between its edible maturation point and the time of spoilage. Thus, timing is of the utmost importance to the banana industry. It is essential to harvest the still ripening fruit, transport it to a port facility, load it onto a ship, carry it to markets, complete the ripening process, and transfer it to wholesalers and local retailers in a coordinated manner. The span of time from harvest to consumption [3.149.234.251] Project MUSE (2024-04-17 09:56 GMT) The Creation of the Banana Empire | is only four to five weeks, during which the banana may have to travel up to fifteen hundred miles by land and from two thousand to six thousand miles by water to reach its market, where its retail shelf life will be no more than five days. While most major market regions lie in the temperate zones of the world, cultivation of the banana is limited to tropical or subtropical areas that have warm year-round temperatures and receive at least sixty inches of rainfall annually ( , ). Therefore, the geography of banana production and consumption is determined by the fruit’s need for high levels of efficient organization . This can take a variety of forms. But one thing has always been clear with bananas: it is virtually impossible for independent farmers, operating alone, to exercise sufficient control to ensure the eventual timely delivery of the fruit to the market. At a minimum, some form of association is needed, if not one or more corporate structures. This reality contributed to the emergence of the so-called Banana Empire. Ellis ( , ) identifies the banana industry’s first stage as the period from until , during which independent farmers in Central America sold fruit to private North American shipping firms. While this activity established that there was a market for bananas in the North, the period...