The dark history of bananas - John Soluri
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- Опубліковано 1 лис 2020
- Explore the history of the notorious United Fruit Company and how its influence over the banana industry impacted Central America.
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In December 1910, the exiled former leader Manuel Bonilla boarded a borrowed yacht and set sail for Honduras in hopes of reclaiming power by whatever means necessary. Bonilla had a powerful backer: the notorious organization known throughout Latin America as “El Pulpo.” It was a U.S. corporation trafficking in, of all things, bananas. John Soluri investigates the United Fruit Company.
Lesson by John Soluri, directed by Sofia Pashaei.
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the fact that a single company ruined several nations is sickening...
Chiquita is still selling those nanners.
Yeah, and it ruined entire rainforests, stupidity has always been prominent in humanity's history.
East India company
@@tanmaygusain1316 Yeah, Almost every well established company back then. It wasn't the case that science had not developed, and that climate change wasn't predicted back then, it was only that they didn't value it. Even today this mindset persists, everyone thinks of what they wanna do with their life, what do they wanna give to their children and grandchildren, and that's it. Nobody thinks of what will happen 200 years from now. If people would understand it, no one would wish to harm the planet.
@@brahadkokad5424 because why would you care for 200 years from now if you can't afford to eat today, Human will survive, civilization will rise and fall no matter what you do. You're just a little speck of dust, why bother? Love those that loves you, because what's matter today is those that exists today. You may think my answer is wrong, but there's going to be a point in your life where you will question to yourself, "was it worth it?" and your answers will be based on what you did in the past, not what you're going to do in the future.
So this is how we got the term “banana republic”...
indeed
cough East India Company cough
@@pb_and_jj it was pretty bad too. And, they went in to 2 wars
@@pb_and_jj which British. French, Dutch, Swedish, Portuguese, Danish east india company?
Yes
Fun fact:
Gros Michel bananas are the basis of artificial banana favour, made to taste as similar to the real banana, but because of the switch to the modern Cavandish banana from the Panama disease epidemic, and artificial flavouring not needing to switch, banana flavouring in stuff like candy taste different to modern fruit bananas. If you ever felt that banana flavouring was ‘off’, this is why.
damn the og stuff taste good asf
@@decidiumz175 fr
It's less of a fact and more of a theory)
@@psuedo_leviwdym? We still have gros michel bananas here in Costa Rica (in fact they're only ones we eat)
@@danielzumbado6564 I mean that the reason the artificial flavor is different from natural bananas is debated on, I'm not doubting the existence of the banana species hahhaahah
What's been forgotten in this brief over-view: the human cost of the United Fruit Company, who had plantation workers massacred for striking with backing by the US and CIA. Don't forget the labor history aspect, don't just leave it at a mention of a Honduran union.
This is still an ongoing issue in Colombia where Chiquita has paid out money to paramilitary groups to terrorize its workers. They claim it's protection from extortion. The people do not believe them.
"Illegal bannana importation" is something that i never thought would exist.
This comment suits with your dp
You'd be surprised.
1 world country things
Russia banned all food imported from Europe. But I can tell you that you can still buy almost anything anyways because smuggling. Here anything can be illegal.
@@nuclearcoil i read "Russia Bananed all food" for a sec.
Me, eating a banana as the notification pops up: **chuckles** *im in danger*
Ha ha ha 😂
🤣
ha
I am the danger
ha
lmao the video should be called "The dark history of US foreign intervention"
"Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?"
That would be an extremely long video.
New chapter is happening right here and now.
South East Asia is their next bloodstained playground.
Protest, riot, government and coup insight.
Dragon and Eagle will soon swing and fight.
woah an hour long special video from ted ed? yes please
They would need a complete series of one hour long episodes to cover the US foreign atrocities
Anyone who had read Cien Años de Soledad (100 years of Solitude) might remember the chapters about the massacre perpetuated by the military over a strike for better working conditions at the plantations. This event was real and we call it "La Masacre de las Bananeras". In the book the protagonist wakes up in a train carrying countless wagons full of corpses, and he climbs the corpses to survive and leave the train. This is the author trying to convey the way the military "hid" the bodies, by moving them on a train to shove them in the Atlantic sea, therefore the exact count of bodies is unknown but it's estimated around the 400 or even more, although they reported only 9 deaths. The Colombian goverment murdered it's own people because the United Fruit Company demanded their workers to conform and behave.
There is a great book called “Prision Verde” written by someone who worked for the UFC, that gives you a deeper perspective of this.
Ok book worm
Literatura bananera is all over Central America as well as Colombia and other countries. In Costa Rica we have Mamita Yunai. Fue mucho el daño de la United en esta región 😓
@@akshayakaivalya3452 Ok internet karen
Nice comment.
Is there a version translated in English?
I'm from Guatemala and this is such an important part of our history and sadly we still have to live with many repercussions of this 💔 they owned 40% of arable land of my country, had control over the regional transportation networks (the railway and the ports + they had the "Great White Fleet") and they owned the Telegraph company. The working conditions were deplorable and when the workers asked for 8 hours working days and a raise the UFCO obviously refused and asked for the support of the corrupt government (over which they had control) and this resulted in a big death toll, injured and imprisonments. The UFCO helped establish a military dictatorship and the major victims of that were the workers of the company. The UFCO destroyed ecosystems by ravaging whole forests and draining swamps + destroying the soil in which they had the plantations, making it infertile after the plantation is relocated (basically what is happening today with palm oil). It was until 1972 that the company sold the last of the land they owned.
):
Sad. The UFCO may also be mostly if indirectly responsible for the Baird’s Tapir being extinct in El Salvador as well.
Tysm for sharing
Sorry about that. Even though I don't think that Canada had a part in that
Thats start in Martinique !😰
This is pretty flattering to UFC Believe it or not. Doesn’t really mention their hand in massacres and the realities around what it takes to over throw governments and quell civil uprisings.
So does that mean the CEO of the UFCO is a war criminal like his predecessors?
@@SlapstickGenius23 He knew what company he was working for.
Yeah why did they skip over the massacres in Colombia that even Garcia Marquez mentioned.
Wait, we talking about banana companies or the Catholic Church?
Word. That sort of thing still can't be narrated in detail in a video without running the risk of getting banned or being labeled as fake news or fined for blasfemy even though it's true.
It's just mind-blowing how the US has keep their grasp on everyone and everything they want to control, no checks and balances, no regulations , no remorse for everything they put other countries through ,as long as they are profiting and their bubble does not get popped. I hope future Americans make the correct the wrongdoings of their fathers and grandfathers, although the system is riged. and we may need more than that. becuase the other superpowers suffer from the same problem
“Leaving the banana trade ripe for another pandemic”, this is a nice presentation for the Ted-Ed both in terms of narration and original animation!
What's biological diversity
@@henrytownshend8862 it means different types of bannana in this case like in 1:12
Most commercial types of bananas are hopeless breeders because they don’t have seeds, even though they can be propagated by humans.
"Due to overcrowding and extensive cultivating, gros michele banana plantations in Central America have fallen to Panama disease. So what have you learnt from that?"
Companies: "Ummm go to some other forest and destroy it to repeat everything again?"
No motive like the profit motive!
Ignorance at it's best
no it not
Yeah, it’s Profit.
head empty no thought only money
Woah the graphic, music, and narration were amazing. Great job Mr. Soluri!!
A novel written by a Costa Rican man called Carlos Luis Fallas, titled " Mamita Yunai" explains about all struggles people had to face while working at these farms. Very interesting and realistic as well.
Banana companies also killed a lot of people across Latin America. In One Hundred Years of Solitude, Garcia Marquez tells the story of one of those massacres that happened here in Colombia. It's the story of a crime that "never" happened.
Colonel Aurelliano hated the Banana Company right from the start..
@Jean Arenas My guy, do you know the story?
@Jean Arenas destroyed lands, damaged ecosystem and the effects are still there today
@@nickarjoma5350 Even though most Sub Saharan Africans can still have hope, China’s current administration is pretty much hindering Afrofuturism rather badly in the continent of Africa because of what it does best; stifling creativity and worsening the corruption.
The masacre of the bananeras
Every time Central American migrants are said to be “invading” the US. Talk to them about this and US imperialism in Latin America
Why not invade further south.
@Jean Arenas
I know right how dare they suffer from political terrorism of the US and dare try to find a better place to live.
@@OutSideTheBoxFormat Because the standard of living is always better in the north, this is true for all the planet. Also there's an impenetrable jungle connecting Panamá and Venezuela, it's called "tapon de darien"
@Jean Arenas Wait? So you mean America makes contact with them, as the democrat god of this world installs a dictatorship stealing all the countries money, but when one of the people that lives there tries to work to get his own stolen money back hes the bad guy?
Damn devils they are to the righteous America!
In fact, every time someone complains about immigrants, just tell them about all the times america has encroached on land.
Back in the 70s when I was a kid, we never heard about the ravages of United Fruit, and only "communists" talked about it.
I'm very very glad to see that it's common knowledge now, and calmly discussed on a platform such as this one.
In Costa Rica we all read a book in middle school called Mamita Yunai about the horrors caused by the United Fruit in our country from the perspective of a plantation worker. The power that company had in these countries, supported by the US government, is increible
fULL OF LIES AND MISS INFORMATION OF COURSE, AS ALLWAYS...
@@BladimirDuran what are you referring to? the book?
@@andrewdurhamenglish9977 he's a bloody Yanks
Of course he support the US creation of Chaos in Central America
Title: The dark history of bananas
Music: bright and warm.
you have to listen the whole lesson. Even the music gets "darker". And beautiful!
As a Panamanian I’m glad that this video exists, because more people should know the story and the damage United Fruit had over my and my neighbor’s countries.
Damage? Did you even live in that time? My family worked there for generations, and the living conditions were amazing. The real damage was made after the company left
i mean they did not too much. You country is failing because of your people.
@@josearauz841who lied to you?
@@lilysenpai8604 my parents?
@@josearauz841 even if they were great, the majority would agree no.
I don´t know if they intentionally skipped it or if they didn´t knew about it but this company also influenced and caused "La masacre de las bananeras" in my country, Colombia, under order of the back then president Miguel Abadía Méndez, 1800 workers were killed in favor of the company's finances since they were not working because of the terrible laboral conditions on the first place
The animation is really good! It helps to understand in much better way...
Who knew a simple banana had such long history...
The more U.S. History I learn the more 2020 makes sense.
sadly true
This is why History is much more than recording the past.
*h a m i l t o n*
Of course, the U.S. is the only misbehaving nation on earth right? Lefties and their predictable hatred of their own.
Nick Hyland--God, I hate it that you're right!😣😖😵
I already knew about this story, but it always amazes me how Americans have affected the world in just a couple of centuries
a couple ? 450 years. But in Braziou people adore america.
It's not the Americans. It's people who first came to Americas (remember what social categories those people belonged to?) and ruined it. And after that started ruining the rest of the world))
And before that Western Europe. And before them the Mongols.
So on and so forth down the ladder of world powers…
Think of it less as 'Americans', and more as 'capitalists', capitalists being the critical factor.
WHITE AMERICANS
As everytime animation and narration is simple, yet elegant.
It’s crazy how versatile this channel is with its content
*Ted Ed posts video*
Students:well, time for online classs.
Everyone*
These videos are better than those online classes of no use 😂
I feel like Ted-Ed is basically the school that you _want_ to go to
*Online classes start *
*Students who bunk:* Well, time for Ted Ed
Excuse me, I couldn't resist the urge to say,
The history of Bananas, *is BANANAS!* 👀
I'll see myself out.
Get out
Wait what
The exit is over there!
Can you come inside?
I want to show you out once more.
Please do
I guess at those times, bananas drove people bananas
"La masacre de las bananeras" A very unknown story caused and acted by the unites fruit company in Colombia. They massacred houndreds of colombian workers that were protesting for better work conditions. I think you would talk about that too.
*"COMMIEEEE COMMIEEEE COMMIEEEE"*
-Idk Eisenhower probably?
Samonella reference, I like it
Eisenhower was actually slightly less hysterical than many anti-communists of his generation. Not that that's saying much.
World Star
Boogie Mann: More like Joseph McCarthy. But good line.
Ah yes, a fellow cultured swine
The animation and art of these videos is beautiful.
I know right?
"There must have been three thousand of them" Jose Arcadio Segundo Buendia
Im on a binge and I particularly like this narrator 🔥
Gabriel García Marquez's Nobel Prize winning novel "100 años de soledad" or "One Hundred Years of Solitude" mentions the story of an event that marked our history as colombians. "La masacre de las bananeras" or "Banana Massacre" in which the United Fruit Company, aided by the government and the military massacred a group (some people say up to 2000) workers who were on strike against unfair working conditions. I deeply appreciate this video.
That’s why I looked this video up. I just read that chapter.
Interesting video, it reminds things related with Colombia's history: The claims of senator Jorge Eliecer Gaitán about the massacre of banana workers, this massacre is mentioned in 100 years of Solitude and also the payments of Chiquita to paramilitaries in Caribbean coast (2000's decade)
I was just about to mention 100 years of Solitude too. When they said DARK History of BANANAS I thought "hey, The Banana Massacre"
As a Guatemalan with a good lifestyle and knowledge about this, I like that people are knowing the truth of America cruel but learning hisroty.
A few years ago i found out my 3rd great grandfather, whos name was Burton left Connecticut after divorcing his wife, and went too work in Louisiana, then later joining the Cuyamel Fruit Company (which was a big fruit company in central america) (that ran before the United Fruit Company) (as they had purchased it) lived in San Pedro Sula, Cortes, Honduras, living around that general area for 20+ years. Giving most of his earnings too his mother Julia. i believe i found a record from the 1930s which said he came back too live as a boarder in someones house in connecticut but he was remarried, im not sure if he ever went back too Honduras or if his wife was Honduran, orr even if that man was him! he may have died in Honduras but i dont know. No one knows where he is buried, but one thing i can say is, he lived a very odd and adventurous life thats for sure. Dont come at me though lol, he was just a innocent worker who wanted too make a living somehow, dont know why he went all the way down their and then honduras though.
*"Commieeeee!! Commieeeee!!! "*
"Yeah,go get him Dwight"
*"Reeeeeeeeee!!!."*
Salmonella academy references
Wow you've killed him...
*W O R L D S T A R !*
Develop a passion of seeing Ted-Ed videos. If you do so, you will never cease to grow.
I agree
I’m 15 and I love ted Ed!
This was also mentioned in "One Hundred Years of Solitude"
The banana company destroyed the entire town of Moncado
y'all learned about this in India ? chiiiiiile !
Ted Ed is as educational as reading a book.I am grateful for the video’s.
I’m always amazed by the quality and the variety of the animation in each TED videos. Great great stuffs and kudos to TED and the animators!
Ted:
*The insanity behind the smiley face*
Me:
*Sure, TED never disappoints*
from the producers of "the man behind the slaughter"
Now there is:
I love your Chanel it’s amazing
For people interested in diving into this topic, a good book to read is “ The Fish that ate the Whale: The life and times of America’s Banana King” by Rich Cohen. Astonishing true, yet it reads like a novel.
Wow this is the earliest I've ever been to a video. I started watching it 40 seconds after it was posted
Waiting for the next episode:
"The dark history of Ananas" (Pineapples)
The funny thing is that ananas (pineapples) do have a similar dark historie today in Central American countries.
ananas are dark.
@@alanjones8573
I thought they are yellow...
In Hindi Pineapples are called Ananas!
@@theimperialtelevision lol that anaras
I thought this was gonna be about the "Masacre de las bananeras", happened in Colombia, also caused by united frout company
The animation is so cool and unique! 👍🏻
me before the video: Is it capitalist imperialism?
me after the video: I should try the lottery
🤣🤣Given American and British track records, I should think it was more or less obvious🤣🤣
Me before reading your comment: Is this another ignoramus complaining on youtube about capitalism when he/she has no knowledge whatsoever about economics and history?
Me after reading your comment: i should try the lottery
@@nickarjoma5350 The people chose him so he was democratically elected. The U.S.S.R supported a lot left wing governments at the time most of which have all been deposed by the U.S. anyways. And the ones that arent i.e Cuba are being embargoed to death to this day.
Luring me in with catchy titles and leaving me feel educated. Thanks TED ✨
Interesting. God bless and have a wonderful day
"oh Eisenhower!"
"oh what's up?"
"This Jacabo guy, is, is, making us paying minimum wages!!"
-Sam O'Nella Academy
Contents of video: 💀🩸🍌⛓🥀
Music in background: 🥰✨💃🌷
Who would've thought US was the antagonist all along?
**cough cough, the ussr**
Everyone with 2 neurones in South America
Countries in South America literally safeguarded fugitive Nazis. You think America is the bad guy?
@@goldamazonite2127 This history isn't hard to find dude
@@tommyfletcher1357 The video literally discribes the influence of America. They paid off corrupt governments to give Nazi's a safe haven.
So yes even this, is America's doing.
@@Dotsetc no, they paid off South American governments to fight communism. Learn your history dude
Great title. Made me want to watch it.
I love the instrumental in this video
Amazing usage of the soundtrack! My regards to the composer, players, and editors.
Title: the DARK history of bananas...
song: very WARMING and BRIGHT😂
I think you just copy this comment
Ted Ed is awesome!
Giving rise to the phrase “Banana Republic”… it makes SOOOO much sense now.
The intro music gives me a serene sense of calmness...
I thought you guys were gonna add La Masacre de las Bananeras (the Banana Massacre) caused by the United Fruit Company in the video too. It was a real tragedy in Colombia.
Yeah, I was too. It's wierd how something that's so important in history classes in one country is not even mentioned in a dedicated "not so fun facts" video about the specific subjetct! It's not even about if they teach it in US history classes, it's that it wasn't included in a video like this.
@@marianabonilla3511 they like to ignore it cuz that would leave usa as a bad guy
How can i enjoy the ted group to make video? I love your videos so much
Nice jobs,thanks share
For a more in-depth dive into the history of the banana I recommend Banana: The fate of the fruit that changed the world by Dan Koeppel. Excellent read. And not the only food with a problematic history.
Avocados, sugarcanes and soybeans too.
They should do videos about those too
Ted Ed: *makes this*
Me who just watched the video by Sam’O’Nella: A S C E N D E D M O D E
In Colombia, we find the famous "Banana Massacre" where around 2000 people lost their lives at the hands of the United Fruit Company and the public force, just for protesting and demanding their rights
Really shows how much power the people have when they unite. Their downfall only came after the workers went on strike
*Banana Fact🍌 :*
Mosquitoes are strongly attracted to people who have recently eaten bananas 😅 !!
Because people have higher levels of serotonin and norepinephrine in their blood after eating bananas. Mosquitoes love the smell of these metabolites and get attracted !!
~ Facts by Curious JB
Wow
@Koen 145 They are junkies
@Koen 145 Because they are emo's
mosquitoes are the depressed emo-vampires of the insect world..
Great animation like always!
I'm from Honduras
There's a book called El oro verde written by Ramón Amaya.
It recounts the events of that time concerning the exploitation of the workers by the landowners.
thank you from Vietnam ❤
A random thought crosses my mind
me: oh there will be a ted ed video about it
This story is also known as The banana republics. I first heard it from a wise man called Sam O'nella.
This is my most favourite video
Funny,I watched this History event of bananas from Johnny Harris' UA-cam page yesterday
Brazilian banana wandering spider: Hold my venom
Somewhere the founders of East India company are looking at this and saying “Well done child”
Do you mean the British East India Company? It is definitely the most notorious of the East India companies out there.
Good stuff
I like the animations a lot
I love how Ted Ed's animation style always matches perfectly the video's topic.
Zoom class: Lets discuss the yellow wallpaper!
Me:
Love the background 🎼
Never thought I'd be seeing this today
Basically America the west it’s allies are the worst but producing “human rights” campaigns today
In this case the problem is corporations, not the American government. Though to be clear the American government has supported countless dictators and done terrible things in south america, but here we're really talking about the downsides of huge corporations
Edit: Aaaaand I just finished watching the video lol rip me you're 100% right
Blame all the humans
Not just one country
@@alkasoli4002 How convenient. When a wrong is done by a particular group of people, it's a pity case or a general human problem. When it's done by other group of people, suddenly it's criminal and horrific.
@@ahmaddeedatibrahim6631 Are you telling people from other countries are pure souls etc..??Not at all..human psychology works alike irrespective of gender or nationality or continent
@@alkasoli4002 Did I say that? Read it again.
As a Guatemalan I feel the involvement of the CIA was brushed off and the story Jacobo Arbenz Guzmán could have had a few more details, I mean he was one of the best presidents we have had to this day. But it's nice to see more people getting to know our past and how things came to be.
I'm from Costa Rica and you can tell how devastairing these plantations are, by seen the thousands of acres banana plantations are at the borderland with Panama. But those are not the only ones...pineapple plantations and oil palm plantations are taking hundreds of acres every year. I don't know which variety of banana is shipping nowdays to U.S.A. and Europe. I have different banana plants in my backyard and I can tell, the one is ment for International Market has the worse taste of all.
Do you have an idea how to get a fruit that meets international market standards? It has to be shiny of course, with no imperfections (which is almost anti natural) and a certain size. And if it doesn't meet those requierments, the fruit is left for inner market or just trow away. To be able to get only one fruit like that, dozens more are wasted. And it takes a lot of pesticides to bring one shiny fruit to someones table. That's really a shame that somebody thinks a fruit with no single spot is better than an organic one, with all its natural taste and imperfections.
Many times the animation confuse me to understand the narration
But this time Teded nailed this
American banana companies during the Football War:
This ain’t dark for me...
Surprised you didn't mention the Banana Massacre by the United Fruit company.
(An event I only know about because of 100 Years Of Solitude which I read after seeing it recommended on this channel.)
Just appreciate the animation
BANANA!
You need more likes
Agustin III Bogay haha thank u :)
Agustin III Bogay and ur reply needs more likes too ;)
Never heard of a banana museum
The creators of this video forgot the "Banana massacre" in Ciénaga grande, in Colombia. In 1928, the workers of banana plantations stopped working in demand for dignified working conditions. Their demands were pretty much sensible, yet the company asked for intervention of the US government, who threatened to invade Colombia if the president of that time wouldn't protect the company's interests. The result was the intervention of colombian armed forces, and the killing of a number of workers still unknown. Some say there were thousands of unarmed workers murdered.
Till this day, the same fruit company still has plenty of lands in the country, just located in another department (province/state).
thank u for telling this story. im from guatemala and its nice to see it in a kind of neutral way. thanks
The drawing is grea 💕💕