Title The banana men : American mercenaries and entrepreneurs in Central America, 1880-1930 / Lester D. Langley, Thomas Schoonover

Published Lexington, Ky. : University Press of Kentucky, ©1995

Click on the following:
JSTOR eBooks

Copies

Description 1 online resource (219 pages) : illustrations Contents Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- The World of the Banana Men -- Banana Kingdoms -- The Central American Wars -- The Campaign for Nicaragua -- The Campaign for Honduras -- A Different World -- Epilogus -- Notes -- Bibliographic Note -- Index Summary Ambitious entrepreneurs, isthmian politicians, and mercenaries who dramatically altered Central America's political culture, economies, and even its traditional social values populate this lively story of a generation of North and Central Americans and their roles in the transformation of Central America from the late nineteenth century until the onset of the Depression. The Banana Men is a study of modernization, its benefits, and its often frightful costs. The colorful characters in this study are fascinating, if not always admirable. Sam "the Banana Man" Zemurray, a Bessarabian Jewish immigrant, made a fortune in Honduran bananas after he got into the business of "revolutin," and his exploits are now legendary. His hired mercenary Lee Christmas, a bellicose Mississippian, made a reputation in Honduras as a man who could use a weapon. The supporting cast includes Minor Keith, a railroad builder and banana baron; Manuel Bonilla, the Honduran mulatto whose cause Zemurray subsidized; and Jose Santos Zelaya, who ruled Nicaragua from 1893 to 1910. The political and social turmoil of the modern Central America cannot be understood without reference to the fifty-year epoch in which the United States imposed its political and economic influence on vulnerable Central American societies. The predicament of Central Americans today, as isthmian peoples know, is rooted in their past, and North Americans have had a great deal to do with the shaping of their history, for better or worse. -- Provided by publisher Analysis Americans History Central America Central America Civilization American influences Central America Relations United States United States Relations Central America Bibliography Includes bibliographical references (pages 204-208) and index Notes Master and use copy. Digital master created according to Benchmark for Faithful Digital Reproductions of Monographs and Serials, Version 1. Digital Library Federation, December 2002. http://purl.oclc.org/DLF/benchrepro0212 MiAaHDL Print version record digitized 2010 HathiTrust Digital Library committed to preserve pda MiAaHDL Subject Americans -- Central America -- History HISTORY -- Latin America -- Central America. HISTORY -- Latin America -- Mexico. Americans Civilization -- American influences International relations Außenpolitik Außenwirtschaft Amerikanen. Ondernemers. Huurlingen. Américains -- Amérique centrale -- Histoire. SUBJECT Central America -- Relations -- United States United States -- Relations -- Central America Central America -- Civilization -- American influences. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh94003542 Subject Central America United States Zentralamerika USA Amérique centrale -- Relations -- États-Unis. États-Unis -- Relations -- Amérique centrale. Amérique centrale -- Civilisation -- Influence étrangère. Genre/Form History Form Electronic book Author Schoonover, Thomas David, 1936- author. LC no. 94012864 ISBN 9780813145976 081314597X 9780813145983 0813145988

  Permalink