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109-764: White Earth/White Earths may refer to: Anthropology Zaculeu ("White Earth"), pre-classic city of the Mam-Maya of Guatemala (Saqulew in modern orthography) Saqulewab , "White Earths", referring to the Mam people in the Popol Vuh United States White Earth, Minnesota , a census-designated place White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota White Earth Band of Ojibwe White Earth River (Minnesota) White Earth, North Dakota ,

218-645: A hostile takeover . Zemurray moved the company's headquarters to New Orleans, Louisiana, where he was based. United Fruit went on to prosper under Zemurray's management; Zemurray resigned as president of the company in 1951. In addition to many other labor actions, the company faced two major strikes of workers in South and Central America, in Colombia in 1928 and the Great Banana Strike of 1934 in Costa Rica. The latter

327-474: A 1% increase in probability of being poor in 2011 since 1973 compared to the 0.73% lower probability on a UFCo location. A strike by United Fruit workers broke out on 12 November 1928 near Santa Marta on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. On December 6, Colombian Army troops allegedly under the command of General Cortés Vargas opened fire on a crowd of strikers in the central square of Ciénaga . Estimates of

436-453: A building complex with Structure 21 on the southeast side. Plaza 7 is a small plaza at the western extreme of the site core, to the west of Plazas 5 and 6. Plaza 8 is an enclosed plaza to the southwest of the ballcourt. Structure 2, a pyramid, closes the northwest side and Structure 3 closes the southeast side. Structure 1 is a 39-foot (12 m) high pyramid on the southeast side of Plaza 1. It has eight stepped sections topped by

545-430: A company's investment is largely self-contained for its employees and overseas investors and the benefits of the export earnings are not shared with the host country. One of the company's primary tactics for maintaining market dominance was to control the distribution of arable land. UFCO claimed that hurricanes, blight and other natural threats required them to hold extra land or reserve land. In practice, what this meant

654-415: A complete skeleton with associated offerings that included two tripod earthenware bowls, one with duck effigies, a tripod incense burner , a flint knife, nine obsidian knives , five jade beads and some fragments of gold. Structure 6 is a temple on the northeast side of Plaza 1. It rises in stepped sections topped by a summit shrine and was accessed via a stairway from the plaza that divided in two near

763-462: A contract with the government of Costa Rica to build a railroad connecting the capital city of San José to the port of Limón in the Caribbean . Meiggs was assisted in the project by his young nephew, Minor C. Keith , who took over Meiggs's business concerns in Costa Rica after his death in 1877. Keith began experimenting with the planting of bananas as a cheap source of food for his workers. When

872-492: A documentary film nominated for an Academy Award Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title White Earth . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White_Earth&oldid=642794412 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description

981-448: A group of the northern Mam. His son K'iq'ab continued where his father had left off and completed the conquest of the people. K'iq'ab was ruler when Zaculeu was conquered by the Kʼicheʼ.' This appears to have been a second Kʼicheʼ conquest of the city, having previously fallen some time earlier. When the Kʼicheʼ conquered another kingdom, its practice was to place the newly subject kingdom under

1090-585: A hard life for a company "far away", and whose accompanying video depicted orange groves worked by peasants overseen by wealthy managers. The lyrics and scenery are generic, but United Fruit (or its successor Chiquita) was reputedly the target. US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and his law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell negotiated land giveaways to the United Fruit Company in Guatemala and Honduras. John Foster Dulles's brother, Allen Dulles , who

1199-525: A number of temple-pyramids with talud-tablero style architecture and double stairways. The pyramids and governmental palaces are grouped around a series of large public plazas. The site also holds a court for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame . The site was originally fortified with walls. The site was restored by the United Fruit Company in the late 1940s. It is open to tourists and includes

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1308-536: A promising host export-driven economy. The Agrarian Law would grant international, multinational companies leniency in tax regulations along with other financial incentives. Acquiring the first railroad concession from liberal President Miguel R. Dávila in 1910, the Vaccaro brothers and Company helped set the foundation on which the banana republic would struggle to balance and regulate the relationships between American capitalism and Honduran politics. Samuel Zemurray ,

1417-460: A scheme for the solution of the participants' cash flow problems and was in the process of implementing it. The merger formed the United Fruit Company, based in Boston, with Preston as president and Keith as vice-president. Palmer became a permanent member of the executive committee and for long periods of time the director. From a business point of view, Bradley Palmer was United Fruit. Preston brought to

1526-515: A small museum . The name Zaculeu means "white earth" in the Mam , Kʼicheʼ and Q'anjob'al languages , from saq (adj) meaning "white" and ulew (n) meaning "earth". In the Mam language, the site is also called Chinabajul. The present-day village of San Lorenzo developed around this archeological site, on the outskirts of Huehuetenango city, in the Guatemalan department of Huehuetenango . Zaculeu

1635-576: A small city White Earth River (North Dakota) Science A special case derived from Earth climate simulations whereby the Earth is plunged into a state of total glaciation. Seems to provide statistical support for the Snowball Earth (also known as "White Earth") theory. Entertainment The White Earth , a Miles Franklin Award-winning novel by Andrew McGahan White Earth (film) ,

1744-616: A small-sized American banana entrepreneur, rose to be another contender looking to invest in the Honduran agricultural trade. In New Orleans , Zemurray found himself strategizing with the newly exiled General Manuel Bonilla (nationalist ex-president of Honduras 1903–1907, 1912–1913) and fomented a coup d'état against President Dávila. On Christmas Eve, December 1910, in clear opposition of the Dávila administration, Samuel Zemurray, U.S. General Lee Christmas , and Honduran General Manuel Bonilla boarded

1853-531: A substantial amount of U.S. capital to build a progressive infrastructure in Honduras. The granting of land ownership in exchange for the railroad concession started the first official competitive market for bananas and giving birth to the banana republic . Cuyamel Fruit Company and the Vaccaro Bros. and Co. would become known as being multinational enterprises. Bringing western modernization and industrialization to

1962-527: A summit shrine. The shrine has three doorways approached via a double stairway rising from the plaza below. The pyramid was rebuilt seven times with the visible remains dating to the Early Postclassic. The earliest phase of construction dates to the Early Classic period. Structure 2 is a pyramid on the northwest side of the sunken Plaza 8. It is largely unrestored. Structure 3 lies across the plaza to

2071-407: Is a large plaza at the southeast of the site core, south of Plaza 1. It is bordered on the southeastern side by Structure 4, on the northeast by Structure 1, on the northwest by the ballcourt and on the southwest by Plaza 3. Plaza 3 is a small plaza at the southern extreme of the site core, southwest of Plaza 2 and south of the ballcourt. Plaza 4 is at the northwest side of the site core. It

2180-422: Is closed on the northeastern side by Structure 10, on the southeast by Structure 13 and on the southwest by the ballcourt. Plazas 5 and 6 are located immediately to the west. Plaza 5 is a small plaza immediately west of Plaza 4 and northwest of the ballcourt. It is divided from Plaza 6 to the northwest by Structure 21. Plaza 6 is another small plaza to the west of Plaza 4. It is enclosed on three sides by

2289-477: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Zaculeu Zaculeu or Saqulew is a pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site in the highlands of western Guatemala , about 3.7 kilometres (2.3 mi) outside the modern city of Huehuetenango . Occupation at the site dates to the Early Classic period (AD 250–600) of Mesoamerican history. Zaculeu

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2398-402: Is in revolt; military who have orders 'not to spare ammunition' have already killed and wounded about fifty strikers. Government now talks of general offensive against strikers as soon as all troopships now on the way arrive early next week. The dispatch from U.S. Bogotá Embassy to the U.S. Secretary of State, dated December 29, 1928, stated: I have the honor to report that the legal advisor of

2507-581: Is missing. The range structures are unequal in size and each contains a single long room atop a low platform. The facade of each of these rooms once possessed a row of columns although only stumps remain in situ. This temple-palace is Kʼicheʼ in style and has been identified with the Nija'ib' lineage of the Kʼicheʼ, being very similar to the Temple of Awilix at Qʼumarkaj . A tomb was excavated in Structure 4, it consisted of

2616-412: Is on the southwest side of Plaza 1, dividing that Plaza from Plaza 2. It was accessed via a double stairway ascending from Plaza 1. This double stairway gave access to the first level of the temple structure only; from there, a wide single stairway continued to the summit shrine. Only the lower sections of the walls and columns of the temple superstructure remain. The earliest phase of construction dates to

2725-611: Is the main tourist attraction in the Huehuetenango area. Zaculeu is located at an altitude of 1,900 metres (6,200 ft) above mean sea level , and is bordered by the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes mountain range. Zaculeu is located in an area of fertile soils close to the Selegua and Viña rivers. The site is situated on a plateau overlooking the Selegua River, which flows to the west of

2834-409: Is topped by a shrine containing three rooms, the final room of the three is circular. The temple has three steep stairways flanked by balustrades . The main stairway ascends directly from the plaza, those on either side are perpendicular to the main stairway. The balustrade of each stairway terminates at the top in a vertical panel. The temple facade is in good condition although the roof of the temple

2943-588: The Hornet to a Honduran straw buyer on the island to avoid falling foul of the Neutrality Act . After successfully attacking the port of Trujillo, the Hornet unexpectedly encountered the U.S. gunboat Tacoma and was towed back to New Orleans. The nascent revolution continued apace, Zemurray's media contacts having spread the word in advance. President Dávila was forced to step down, with Francisco Bertrand becoming interim president until General Bonilla handily won

3052-602: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission exposed a scheme by United Brands (dubbed Bananagate ) to bribe Honduran President Oswaldo López Arellano with $ 1.25 million, plus the promise of another $ 1.25 million upon the reduction of certain export taxes. Trading in United Brands stock was halted, and López was ousted in a military coup. After Black's suicide, Cincinnati -based American Financial Group , one of billionaire Carl Lindner, Jr. 's companies, bought into United Brands. In August 1984, Lindner took control of

3161-659: The United Brands Company . United Fruit had far less cash than Black had counted on, and Black's mismanagement led to United Brands becoming crippled with debt. The company's losses were exacerbated by Hurricane Fifi in 1974, which destroyed many banana plantations in Honduras . On February 3, 1975, Black committed suicide by jumping out a window from the 44th floor of the Pan Am Building in New York City. Later that year,

3270-470: The wealth gap as well as the collusion between the profiting Honduran government officials and the U.S. fruit companies (United Fruit Co., Standard Fruit Co., Cuyamel Fruit Co.) versus the Honduran working and poor classes. Due to the exclusivity of the land concessions and lack of official ownership documentation, Honduran producers and experienced laborers were left with two options to regain these lands— dominio util or dominio pleno. Dominio util —meaning

3379-520: The 15th century AD based on ethnohistoric accounts. Radiocarbon dating has pushed back the calculations of the Kʼicheʼ conquests by three centuries, and researchers now say their conquest of the Mam kingdoms may have taken place as early as the 12th century. The city was dominated by the Kʼicheʼ until the Spanish Conquest of the early 16th century. The Kʼicheʼ king Q'uq'umatz died in battle against

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3488-494: The 1930s the company owned 3.5 million acres (14,000 km ) of land in Central America and the Caribbean and was the single largest land owner in Guatemala. Such holdings gave it great power over the governments of small countries. That was one of the factors that led to the coining of the phrase " banana republic ". In 1933, concerned that the company was mismanaged and that its market value had plunged, Zemurray staged

3597-704: The 1930s – was Secretary of State under Eisenhower; his brother Allen, who did legal work for the company and sat on its board of directors, was head of the CIA under Eisenhower; Henry Cabot Lodge , who was America's ambassador to the UN, was a large owner of United Fruit stock; Ed Whitman, the United Fruit PR man, was married to Ann Whitman, Dwight Eisenhower's personal secretary. You could not see these connections until you could – and then you could not stop seeing them. The United Fruit Company (UFCO) owned huge tracts of land in

3706-566: The Caribbean coast of Colombia . In 1899, Keith lost $ 1.5 million when Hoadley and Co., a New York City broker, went bankrupt. He then traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, to participate in the merger of his banana trading company, Tropical Trading and Transport Company , with the rival Boston Fruit Company. Boston Fruit had been established by Lorenzo Dow Baker , a sailor who, in 1870, had bought his first bananas in Jamaica, and by Andrew W. Preston . Preston's lawyer, Bradley Palmer , had devised

3815-464: The Caribbean lowlands. It also dominated regional transportation networks through its International Railways of Central America and its Great White Fleet of steamships. In addition, UFCO branched out in 1913 by creating the Tropical Radio and Telegraph Company. UFCO's policies of acquiring tax breaks and other benefits from host governments led to it building enclave economies in the regions, in which

3924-468: The Company built extensive railroads and ports, provided employment and transportation, and created numerous schools for the people who lived and worked on Company land. On the other hand, it allowed vast tracts of land under its ownership to remain uncultivated and, in Guatemala and elsewhere, it discouraged the government from building highways, which would have lessened the profitable transportation monopoly of

4033-460: The Costa Rican government defaulted on its payments in 1882, Keith had to borrow £ 1.2 million from London banks and from private investors to continue the difficult engineering project. In exchange for this and for renegotiating Costa Rica's own debt, in 1884, the administration of President Próspero Fernández Oreamuno agreed to give Keith 800,000 acres (3,200 km ) of tax-free land along

4142-451: The Early Classic and consisted of a low platform that supported a perishable superstructure. Structures 15 and 16 are both low platforms located in Plaza 2, on an axis running directly northwest across the plaza from the central temple of Structure 4. Structure 17 is a pyramidal base in Plaza 2, to the west of Structures 15 and 16. It supported two rooms accessed via a double stairway on

4251-510: The Early Classic, with minor alterations thereafter. The smaller platforms situated in the plazas were late additions; they show the influence of central Mexican civilization. The entrance to the site was via a narrow land bridge to the north, which was protected by a fortified structure that occupied three-quarters of the width of the land bridge. The ceremonial centre of the city consisted of 43 structures clustered in an area of 1,400 square metres (15,000 sq ft). The architecture at

4360-566: The Guatemala operation. Company holdings in Cuba , which included sugar mills in the Oriente region of the island, were expropriated by the 1959 revolutionary government led by Fidel Castro . By April 1960 Castro was accusing the company of aiding Cuban exiles and supporters of former leader Fulgencio Batista in initiating a seaborne invasion of Cuba directed from the United States. Castro warned

4469-550: The Honduran declaration of independence in 1838 from the Central American Federation, Honduras was in a state of economic and political strife due to constant conflict with neighboring countries for territorial expansion and control. Liberal President Marco Aurelio Soto (1876–1883) saw instating the Agrarian Law of 1877 as a way to make Honduras more appealing to international companies looking to invest capital into

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4578-452: The Honduran government or in some cases it was permitted by U.S. companies, such as United Fruit Co., to create long-term contracts with independent producers on devastatingly diseased infested districts. Even once granted land concessions, many were so severely contaminated with either the Panaman, moko, or sigatoka, that it would have to reduce the acreage used and the amount produced or changed

4687-530: The November 1911 Honduran presidential elections. In 1912, General Bonilla quickly granted the second railroad concession to the newly incorporated Cuyamel Fruit Company owned by Zemurray. The period of some of these exclusive railroad land concessions was up to 99 years. The first railroad concession leased the national railroad of Honduras to the Vaccaro Bros. and Co. (once Standard Fruit Company and currently Dole Food Company ). Zemurray granted his concession to

4796-460: The Spanish Main – via Boston and New Orleans written and illustrated by Henry R. Blaney. The travel book featured landscapes and portraits of the inhabitants pertaining to the regions where the United Fruit Company possessed land. It also described the voyage of the United Fruit Company's steamer, and Blaney's descriptions and encounters of his travels. In 1901, the government of Guatemala hired

4905-565: The Tela Railroad Company—another division within his own company. Cuyamel Fruit Company's concession would also be awarded to the Tela Railroad Company. United Fruit Company (currently Chiquita Brands International ) would partner with President Bonilla in the exchange of access and control of Honduran natural resources plus tax and financial incentives. In return, President Bonilla would receive cooperation, protection and

5014-529: The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (see Operation PBSuccess ). The directors of United Fruit Company (UFCO) had lobbied to convince the Truman and Eisenhower administrations that Colonel Árbenz intended to align Guatemala with the Eastern Bloc . Besides the disputed issue of Árbenz's allegiance to communism, UFCO was being threatened by the Árbenz government's agrarian reform legislation and new Labor Code. UFCO

5123-452: The U.S. that "Cuba is not another Guatemala" in one of many combative diplomatic exchanges before the U.S. organized the failed Bay of Pigs Invasion of 1961. In the 20th century, many parts of Latin America were not positively operated and invested in compared to the region of Costa Rica. The United Fruit Company, according to researchers, made positive impacts in the region that continued past

5232-510: The UFCo. According to Yale Insights, the impact of the infrastructure still persists today in astonishing numbers. In 1973, households living within the boundaries of UFCo were 26% less likely to be poor compared to outside households. A most recent research statistic in 2011, states that only 63% of the poverty gap had closed by 2011. The impact of the UFCo investment in capital among families had statistically paid off as outside work options had around

5341-512: The United Fruit Company here in Bogotá stated yesterday that the total number of strikers killed by the Colombian military authorities during the recent disturbance reached between five and six hundred; while the number of soldiers killed was one. The dispatch from the U.S. embassy to the U.S. Secretary of State, dated January 16, 1929, stated: I have the honor to report that the Bogotá representative of

5450-531: The United Fruit Company to manage the country's postal service, and in 1913 the United Fruit Company created the Tropical Radio and Telegraph Company . By 1930, it had absorbed more than 20 rival firms, acquiring a capital of $ 215 million and becoming the largest employer in Central America. In 1930, Sam Zemurray (nicknamed "Sam the Banana Man") sold his Cuyamel Fruit Company to United Fruit and retired from

5559-467: The United Fruit Company told me yesterday that the total number of strikers killed by the Colombian military exceeded one thousand. The Banana massacre is said to be one of the main events that preceded the Bogotazo , the subsequent era of violence known as La Violencia , and the guerrillas who developed in the bipartisan National Front period, creating the ongoing armed conflict in Colombia . Following

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5668-429: The archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the so-called banana republics. After a period of financial decline, United Fruit merged with Eli M. Black 's AMK in 1970 to become the United Brands Company . In 1984, Carl Lindner, Jr. transformed United Brands into the present-day Chiquita Brands International . In 1871, U.S. railroad entrepreneur Henry Meiggs signed

5777-525: The architectural influence of the great metropolis of Teotihuacán in the Valley of Mexico . The largest constructions date from the Classic Period (AD 250–900). To these were added other plaza groups and buildings in the Early Postclassic (AD 900–1200) and Late Postclassic (AD 1200–1525) in an unbroken history. Zaculeu has been used as a ceremonial site by Mam Maya continuously to

5886-661: The arrival of the Spanish conquistadors shifted the political landscape. Conquistador Pedro de Alvarado described how the Mam king Kayb'il B'alam was received with great honour in Qʼumarkaj. At the time of the Spanish Conquest , the main Mam population was situated in Xinabahul (also spelled Chinabjul ), now the city of Huehuetenango . They retreated to Zaculeu as a refuge during the Spanish attacks because of its fortifications. The refuge

5995-479: The author himself grew up in close proximity to the incident. The climax of García Márquez 's novel One Hundred Years of Solitude is based on the events in Ciénaga. General Cortés Vargas issued the order to shoot, arguing later that he had done so because of information that US boats were poised to land troops on Colombian coasts to defend American personnel and the interests of the United Fruit Company. Vargas issued

6104-569: The banana and the effects of these practices created noticeable environmental degradation when it was a thriving company. Infrastructure built by the company was constructed by clearing out forests, filling in low, swampy areas, and installing sewage, drainage, and water systems. Ecosystems that existed on these lands were destroyed, devastating biodiversity. With a loss in biodiversity, other natural processes within nature necessary for plant and animal survival are shut down. Techniques used for farming were at fault for loss of biodiversity and harm to

6213-508: The banana import business in the United States, then their main source of income. The company catapulted into financial success. Bradley Palmer overnight became a much-sought-after expert in business law, as well as a wealthy man. He later became a consultant to presidents and an adviser to Congress. In 1900, the United Fruit Company produced The Golden Caribbean: A Winter Visit to the Republics of Colombia, Costa Rica, Spanish Honduras, Belize and

6322-515: The bankruptcy and ceasing of production in 1984. Since 1880 with the first initial U.S investment in 4% of the country's territory, the UFCO grew in Costa Rica to develop around 7% of their labor force. With a growing labor force and plantations expanding, camps for farmers and families emerged. With the emergence of the workforce came the construction of commissaries, schools, electric plants, sewage systems, hospitals, and recreation facilities all funded by

6431-427: The bass population greatly impacted the native fish population, and continued to grow. The 55-gallon drums imported by the UFCO has led this American export to grow and become genetically superior in the warmer and longer growing seasons. Although UFCO sometimes promoted the development of the nations where it operated, its long-term effects on their economy and infrastructure were often devastating. In Central America,

6540-471: The city to the Spanish in October 1525. When the Spanish entered the city, they found 1,800 dead Indians, with the survivors eating the corpses of the dead. The Spanish forced the abandonment of Zaculeu after they built the new city of Huehuetenango some 5 kilometres (3.1 mi) away. American explorer John Lloyd Stephens and English architect Frederick Catherwood visited the site in 1840, at which time it

6649-479: The city. Deep ravines bordering the site to the south and east protected its access. The only access to the site is via a narrow land bridge to the north, which unites the plateau to the general level of the valley floor. The Zaculeu plateau measures 11,178 square varas (4191 square metres). Zaculeu was first occupied in the Early Classic Period (AD 250–600), and the buildings from this era show

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6758-720: The company and renamed it Chiquita Brands International. The headquarters was moved to Cincinnati in 1985. By 2019, the company's main offices left the United States and relocated to Switzerland. Throughout most of its history, United Fruit's main competitor was the Standard Fruit Company , now the Dole Food Company . The United Fruit Company is reported to have been involved in bribing government officials in exchange for preferential treatment and working to consolidate monopolies. Latin American journalists sometimes referred to

6867-718: The company as el pulpo ("the octopus"), and leftist parties in Latin America encouraged the company's workers to strike. Criticism of the United Fruit Company became a staple of the discourse of the communist parties in several Latin American countries, where its activities were often interpreted as illustrating Vladimir Lenin 's theory of capitalist imperialism . Major far-left writers in Latin America, such as Carlos Luis Fallas of Costa Rica, Ramón Amaya Amador of Honduras, Miguel Ángel Asturias and Augusto Monterroso of Guatemala, Gabriel García Márquez of Colombia, Carmen Lyra of Costa Rica, and Pablo Neruda of Chile, denounced

6976-408: The company had to be politically involved in the region even though it was an American company. In fact, the heavy-handed involvement of the company in often-corrupt governments created the term " banana republic ", which represents a servile dictatorship. The term "Banana Republic" was coined by American writer O. Henry . The United Fruit Company's entire process of creating a plantation to farming

7085-444: The company in their literature: The Fruit Company, Inc. reserved for itself the most succulent piece, the central coast of my own land, the delicate waist of America. It rechristened its territories 'Banana Republics', and over the sleeping dead, over the restless heroes who brought about the greatness, the liberty, and the flags, it established the comic opera: it abolished free will, gave out imperial crowns, encouraged envy, attracted

7194-419: The company sold off the last of its Guatemalan holdings after over a decade of decline. Even as the Árbenz government was being overthrown, in 1954 a general strike against the company organized by workers in Honduras rapidly paralyzed that country, and, due to the United States' concern about the events in Guatemala, was settled more favorably for the workers in order for the United States to gain leverage for

7303-402: The control of one of the Kʼicheʼ noble lineages. Based on the style of Structure 4, archeologists believe that Zaculeu was likely controlled by the Nija'ib.' The Ilocab, who had conquered much of the region, are another possibility. The Kʼicheʼ tended to place their newly installed ruling elite in a mountain-top fortress securing the population in the valleys below. However, substantial portions of

7412-451: The democratically elected government of Guatemala and installed a pro-business military dictatorship. In 1967, it acquired the A&;W Restaurants . Corporate raider Eli M. Black bought 733,000 shares of United Fruit in 1968, becoming the company's largest shareholder. In June 1970, Black merged United Fruit with his own public company, AMK (owner of meat packer John Morrell ), to create

7521-405: The dictatorship of flies ... flies sticky with submissive blood and marmalade, drunken flies that buzz over the tombs of the people, circus flies, wise flies expert at tyranny. The business practices of United Fruit were also frequently criticized by journalists, politicians, and artists in the United States. Little Steven released a song in 1987 called "Bitter Fruit", with lyrics that referred to

7630-418: The fruit business. By then, the company held a major role in the national economies of several countries and eventually became a symbol of the exploitative export economy. This led to serious labor disputes by the Costa Rican peasants, involving more than 30 separate unions and 100,000 workers, in the 1934 Great Banana Strike , one of the most significant actions of the era by trade unions in Costa Rica . By

7739-552: The fusing of the local and intrusive elite lineages. Excavations have uncovered examples of metalwork at Zaculeu. These were small ornamental pieces. An example is a representation of a butterfly worked from tumbaga , an alloy of gold and copper , dated to the Postclassic period. Although hostilities existed between the Mam and the Kʼicheʼ of Qʼumarkaj after the rebellion of the Kaqchikel people against their Kʼicheʼ allies,

7848-430: The jade beads had been carved to represent human and parrot faces. The tomb contained the bones of four or more individuals. The ceramic offerings included decorated tripod vessels, polychrome bowls and a polychrome cylindrical vase that had a painted band of hieroglyphs . One ceramic bowl is painted in a negative painting style that is similar to finds from Nebaj . The site core is laid out around eight plazas. Some of

7957-485: The land as well. To create farmland, the United Fruit Company would either clear forests (as mentioned) or would drain marshlands to reduce avian habitats and to create "good" soil for banana plant growth. The most common practice in farming was called the "shifting plantation agriculture" . This is done by using produced soil fertility and hydrological resources in the most intense manner, then relocating when yields fell, and pathogens followed banana plants. In addition to

8066-410: The land was intended to be developed for the greater good of the public with a possibility of being the granted "full private ownership" versus dominio pleno was the immediate granting of full private ownership with the right to sell . Based on the 1898 Honduran agrarian law, without being sanctioned the right their communal lands, Honduran villages and towns could only regain these lands if granted by

8175-507: The loss of biodiversity, many new species were introduced into the environment including the largemouth bass. Largemouth Bass, a popular fish in the United States has made it all over the globe through exports. Lake Yojoa in Honduras was home to many largemouth bass not native to the region. Stemming from a United Fruit Company social club event, a group of North American employees wanting to indulge in their love for fishing, introduced 1,800 largemouth bass from Florida. From 1954-55 to about 1970,

8284-410: The most severe violence was directed at workers on the plantations of the United Fruit Company. Despite UFCO's government connections and conflicts of interest, the overthrow of Árbenz failed to benefit the company. Its stock market value declined along with its profit margin. The Eisenhower administration proceeded with antitrust action against the company, which forced it to divest in 1958. In 1972,

8393-459: The new laws. In 1952, the government of Guatemala began expropriating unused United Fruit Company land to landless peasants. The company responded by intensively lobbying the U.S. government to intervene and mounting a misinformation campaign to portray the Guatemalan government as communist . In 1954, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency armed, funded, and trained a military force that deposed

8502-403: The north, facing southwards and the ballcourt to the southwest. This Kʼicheʼ layout was somewhat distorted by the reuse of the earlier architecture, because the typical Mam settlement layout was built along an axis running from southeast to northwest. As the Kʼicheʼ did not completely redesign the entire site along a Kʼicheʼ pattern, the juxtaposition of Mam- and Kʼicheʼ-style complexes demonstrates

8611-422: The northeast side of Plaza 4 and is unrestored although some original stonework is evident. It is a very long building accessed via three stairways ascending from the plaza. The structure has been investigated by archaeologists and was found to have multiple doorways opening into a single long room. Structures 11 and 12 are small platforms in the middle of Plaza 1. They have both been restored. Structure 13

8720-466: The northwest side of the temple. The entrance to outermost room once had two columns, although now only the lower portions of the walls and columns remain. Structure 21 is a low platform in Plaza 5, it is partially restored and has a stairway on the northwest side. The Ballcourt consists of Structures 22 and 23 , it was used for the ceremonial Mesoamerican ballgame . It is an I-shaped sunken ballcourt with sloping walls. The two structures forming

8829-569: The number of casualties vary from 47 to 3,000. The military justified this action stating that the strike was subversive, and its organizers were Communist revolutionaries. Congressman Jorge Eliécer Gaitán claimed that the army had acted under instructions from the United Fruit Company. The ensuing scandal contributed to President Miguel Abadía Méndez 's Conservative Party being voted out of office in 1930, putting an end to 44 years of Conservative rule in Colombia. The first novel of Álvaro Cepeda Samudio , La Casa Grande , focuses on this event, and

8938-688: The order so the United States would not invade Colombia. The telegram from Bogotá Embassy to the U.S. Secretary of State, dated December 5, 1928, stated: I have been following Santa Marta fruit strike through United Fruit Company representative here; also through Minister of Foreign Affairs who on Saturday told me government would send additional troops and would arrest all strike leaders and transport them to prison at Cartagena ; that government would give adequate protection to American interests involved. The telegram from Bogotá Embassy to Secretary of State, date December 7, 1928, stated: Situation outside Santa Marta City unquestionably very serious: outside zone

9047-426: The original Mam population remained in place in the plateau area. The Kʼicheʼ rebuilt over earlier Classic period structures in a distinctively Kʼicheʼ style. The basic Kʼicheʼ layout consists of a westward-facing temple with a steep talud-tablero facade, flanked by two unequally sized wings. This was likely to have been the temple of Awilix , patron goddess of the Nija'ib' Kʼicheʼ. A longer palace structure lies to

9156-427: The original stonework and plaster coating is visible. 15°20′1.66″N 91°29′33.88″W  /  15.3337944°N 91.4927444°W  / 15.3337944; -91.4927444 United Fruit Company United Fruit had a deep and long-lasting effect on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism , and they described it as

9265-459: The partnership his plantations in the West Indies , a fleet of steamships, and his market in the U.S. Northeast. Keith brought his plantations and railroads in Central America and his market in the U.S. South and Southeast. At its founding, United Fruit was capitalized at $ 11.23 million. The company at Palmer's direction proceeded to buy, or buy a share in, 14 competitors, assuring them of 80% of

9374-481: The present. Zaculeu came under the influence of central Mexico again in the Late Classic. The architectural influence is so distinct that it suggests that a foreign Mexican elite may have settled at the city and continued in occupation there until the Kʼicheʼ conquered the site in the Postclassic. The Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj conquered Zaculeu in the Postclassic. Traditionally that has been calculated as during

9483-406: The railroad, plus a 99-year lease on the operation of the train route. The railroad was completed in 1890, but the flow of passengers proved insufficient to finance Keith's debt. However, the sale of bananas grown in his lands and transported first by train to Limón, then by ship to the United States, proved very lucrative. Keith eventually came to dominate the banana trade in Central America and along

9592-454: The railroads under its control. UFCO also destroyed at least one of those railroads upon leaving its area of operation. In 1954, the Guatemalan government of Colonel Jacobo Árbenz , elected in 1950, was toppled by forces led by Colonel Carlos Castillo Armas who invaded from Honduras . Commissioned by the Eisenhower administration, this military operation was armed, trained and organized by

9701-463: The sides of the ballcourt once supported buildings, now only the lower sections of their walls remain. The ballcourt is oriented northwest to southeast and is 48 metres (157 ft) long. Structure 37 is not associated with any of the eight plazas of the site core, standing about 50 metres (160 ft) northeast of Structure 4 and a similar distance east of Structure 1. It was investigated by archaeologists but has not been restored, although some of

9810-403: The site includes talud-tablero style buildings with double stairways. The facades of some of the buildings have cylindrical columns, a feature found in other parts of Mesoamerica . Artefacts recovered from the site include items fashioned from turquoise and precious metals. The metal artefacts crafted from gold , silver and copper and their alloys demonstrate the city's participation in

9919-535: The site was declared a National Precolumbian Monument by accord of the Guatemalan Ministry of Education (MINEDUC). Zaculeu was likely originally developed because of its proximity to the Seleguá River , providing a permanent water supply and transportation waterway, together with its easily defensible hilltop location. Zaculeu has 43 structures. The majority of construction activity took place in one burst in

10028-472: The site was renamed as Zaculeu. The government gave a license to excavate to the United Fruit Company, which immediately began archaeological excavations and related restorations of the structures under the direction of John M. Dimick. This later included re-coating a number of the buildings with white plaster , as it was known that many were originally finished that way. This has seldom been done in other restorations of Pre-Columbian buildings. On 12 June 1970

10137-454: The southeast. It is a platform with a twin stairway facing northwest onto the plaza. Structure 3 is on the southeast side of Plaza 8, facing onto the plaza opposite Structure 2. It is immediately south of the ballcourt. Structure 4 is an unusual combination of temple and palace. It is situated on the southeast side of Plaza 2. The structure consists of a central pyramidal base flanked by two attached range structures. The pyramidal base

10246-440: The structures were restored by the United Fruit Company; most of these border Plazas 1 and 2. Structures 1 and 2 are pyramid temples. Structures 4, 6 and 10 are palace structures, long buildings with internal chambers and benches used as residences and for administrative purposes. Plaza 1 is the main plaza at the site. It measures 54 by 38 metres (177 by 125 ft) and is closed on all four sides by pyramid temples. Plaza 2

10355-522: The summit. Only the lower sections of the walls and columns of the shrine remain. Structure 9 is a large mound on the northwest side of Plaza 1. The last phase of construction shows evidence of the interruption of construction by the Spanish Conquest. Terraces were absent on three sides of the structure with only the lowest level having been built on the fourth. Early Classic ceramic caches were discovered under Structure 9. Structure 10 borders

10464-400: The tomb from the main plaza. The tomb interior was painted red and the floor was scattered with the remains of more than 100 ceramic vessels. These were crushed when the roof of the tomb collapsed. Also found were the remains of 34 pyrite mirrors of a type similar to those found at Kaminaljuyu . A sizeable quantity of jade was recovered from the tomb, including beads and earplugs . Some of

10573-401: The way of stone sculpture. The architecture completely lacks stone sculpture. Burials from the Early Classic yielded a rich array of finds, but Late Classic burials were accompanied by a lesser variety of grave offerings. An Early Classic tomb was inserted under the main pyramid at Zaculeu; it had been tunnelled from the volcanic ash underlying the structure. A broad stairway descended to

10682-405: The welcoming Honduran nation. All the while Honduran bureaucrats would continue to take away the indigenous communal lands to trade for capital investment contracts as well as neglect the fair rights of Honduran laborers. After the peak of the banana republic era, resistance eventually began to grown on the part of small-scale producers and production laborers, due to the exponential rate in growth of

10791-590: The wider trade networks of the Postclassic Period. These metal artefacts were either influenced by or imported from Mexico and southern Central America . The structures at Zaculeu were grouped around small plazas and were generally built from masonry , coated with a thick layer of plaster. Fragments bear floral and geometric designs, indicating the structures were originally brightly painted. Stones were undressed and cemented in adobe mortar. No evidence of corbel vaulting has been found and very little in

10900-584: The yacht "Hornet", formerly known as the USS Hornet and recently purchased by Zemurray in New Orleans. With a gang of New Orleans mercenaries and plenty of arms and ammunition, they sailed to Roatan to attack, then seize the northern Honduran ports of Trujillo and La Ceiba . Unbeknownst to Zemurray, he was being watched by the US Secret Service . Having captured the aging fort at Roatan, he quickly sold

11009-451: Was United Fruit's principal lobbyist, was married to President Eisenhower's personal secretary, Ann C. Whitman . Many individuals who directly influenced U.S. policy towards Guatemala in the 1950s also had direct ties to UFCO. After the overthrow of Árbenz, a military dictatorship was established under Carlos Castillo Armas. Soon after coming to power, the new government launched a concerted campaign against trade unionists, in which some of

11118-421: Was a confused jumble of overgrown ruins. Stephens published a description of the archaeological remains a year later. Catherwood did not draw any of the structures due to the poor state of the remains. The two excavated one of the mounds and recovered some ceramic vessels, which Catherwood drew. On 24 April 1931, Guatemala declared the site as a National Monument under the name of Tzaculeu . On 23 February 1946,

11227-474: Was also a member of the law firm, Sullivan and Cromwell , which had represented United Fruit. His brother Allen Dulles , director of the CIA, was also a board member of United Fruit. United Fruit Company is the only company known to have a CIA cryptonym . The brother of the Assistant Secretary of State for InterAmerican Affairs, John Moors Cabot , had once been president of United Fruit. Ed Whitman, who

11336-447: Was an important step that would eventually lead to the formation of effective trade unions in Costa Rica since the company was required to sign a collective agreement with its workers in 1938. Labor laws in most banana production countries began to be tightened in the 1930s. United Fruit Company saw itself as being specifically targeted by the reforms, and often refused to negotiate with strikers, despite frequently being in violation of

11445-449: Was attacked by Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras , brother of conquistador Pedro de Alvarado, in 1525, with 120 soldiers, and some 2,000 Mexican and Kʼicheʼ allies. The city was defended by Kayb'il B'alam commanding some 5,000 people (the chronicles are not clear if this is the number of soldiers or the total population of Zaculeu). After a siege lasting several months, the Mam were reduced to starvation. Kayb'il B'alam finally surrendered

11554-543: Was head of the CIA under Eisenhower, also did legal work for United Fruit. The Dulles brothers and Sullivan & Cromwell were on the United Fruit payroll for thirty-eight years. Recent research has uncovered the names of multiple other government officials who received benefits from United Fruit: John Foster Dulles, who represented United Fruit while he was a law partner at Sullivan & Cromwell – he negotiated that crucial United Fruit deal with Guatemalan officials in

11663-414: Was that UFCO was able to prevent the government from distributing land to peasants who wanted a share of the banana trade. The fact that the UFCO relied so heavily on manipulating land use rights to maintain their market dominance had a number of long-term consequences for the region. For the company to maintain its unequal land holdings it often required government concessions. And this in turn meant that

11772-547: Was the capital of the Postclassic Mam kingdom, and was conquered by the Kʼicheʼ Kingdom of Qʼumarkaj . It displays a mixture of Mam and Kʼicheʼ style architecture. In AD 1525 the city was attacked by Spanish conquistadors under Gonzalo de Alvarado y Contreras during a siege that lasted several months. Kayb'il B'alam , the city's last ruler, finally surrendered to the Spanish due to starvation. The site contains

11881-484: Was the largest landowner and employer in Guatemala, and the Árbenz government's land reform program included the expropriation of 40% of UFCO land. U.S. officials had little proof to back their claims of a growing communist threat in Guatemala; however, the relationship between the Eisenhower administration and UFCO demonstrated the influence of corporate interest on U.S. foreign policy. United States Secretary of State John Foster Dulles , an avowed opponent of communism,

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