island cassie

Banana Wars: Power, Production, and History in the Americas (American Encounters/Global Interactions) by Steve Striffler and Mark Moberg.

I am thinking of ordering this from Amazon and wondered if anybody had read it? I thought that it would be interesting to read something definitive about the banana trade, but on browsing the index I see that no mention is made of the Dominican Republic (obviously my place of interest). The word locally is that Puerto Plata (our nearest port) and the local economy was ruined when United Fruits pulled out of the country in the early years of the last century. Perhaps our crop was much smaller than elsewhere, but I would have thought we warrented a mention.

So - anybody know or read the book?

Bob

Hi Cassie, I haven't read this one yet but I will get to it. I've actually been collecting a lot of old United fruit paraphernalia over the past couple pf months. When I first became interested in growing bananas about 10 years ago by chance my wife bought me"Conquest of the tropics" in a garage sale. It turned out to be an autographed copy from 1914 written by a guy named Frederick Upton Adams. This is an exhaustive tribute to U.F.C. when the company was still fairly new. It's loaded with pictures and details all facets concerning the development of the company from the railroads, plantations, Great white fleet, you name it.
The next book I read was "Bananas: How the united fruit company changed the world". It was only recently published and written as an expose concentrating on the uglier side of the business including the human , financial , and military atrocities committed by or by the government on behalf of U.F.C. This of course included the military overthrow of the Guatemalan government as well as the roles played by all mentioned in the "Bay of Pigs".
The most recent I just finished was written in the mid 1970's by a former employee just after company president Eli Blacks suicide by jumping out the window of the old Pan Am building in New York. This book covers the history and inner goings on of the company in great detail during it's final years as united fruit and subsequent take over resulting in United Brands(now Chiquita Brands).
I cant remember off hand how much of these concerns the Dominican Republic but I'm sure it would be mentioned to some extent. In any case I would recommend reading all 3 of these to get the true perspective of what really went on with banana production during those times. Especially since one was a tribute, one a hate book and one written from the inside. It was just good fortune that I ended up with these books all of a different perspective and can now make up my mind on them armed with all points of view. Good reading,all.(Sorry for being long winded)

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island cassie

Bob - that is all very interesting and not long-winded at all. Good to get books written from different perspectives on the same subject, and I will keep an eye open for all of them.

I think I will advertise and ask around locally in the vain hope that somebody has kept some books, pamphlets or information that they are prepared to share.

I can get someone to bring me out the Banana Wars book in January so that is something to look forward to.

Thanks for your input and I will let you know if I find anything interesting.
Cassie

island cassie

I have found out that a local restaurant was the United Fruit warehouse and that the road to the tiny harbour was where there was a railway/track to the quay. The concrete piles are all that is left of the jetty where small boats were loaded with fruit to take out to the sailships beyond the reef. Also another smart hotel has the original head office of the United Fruit Co as part of it's luxury/historic accomodation - amazing what you can find when you start digging! Pics as soon as I can.

Bananaman88

I have had this book for over and year and am finally getting around to reading it. It's very good so far. It is basically a collection of essays, letters from United Fruit, and personal accounts. To quote a bit from the back of the book..."Banana Wars is a history of the Americas told throught the cultural, political, economic, and agricultural processes that brought bananas from the forests of Latin America and the Caribbean to the breakfast tables of the US and Europe." Very good so far from a historical standpoint and interesting (and sad) to see how the people of Central and South America were manipulated so that bananas could be cheap for us to purchase and profitable for the large banana companies.