I enjoyed reading your work. While I understand your point about expansion strategies, I believe that Minor Cooper Keith's business left behind a contentious significant heritage that played a significant role in the economic experiences in Central America and the Caribbean, a considerable part of US expansionism and colonialism. Keith's construction project won a formal agreement to build a railroad from San José to Limón in Costa Rica. The project resulted in the loss of over 4,000 lives and took nearly 20 years to complete. He changed the course of history for the people of Jamaica by utilizing their expertise; they were knowledgeable and experienced in the tropical climate and capable of withstanding the high temperatures and humidity of Costa Rica. To support his workers, he used the land along the railroad to cultivate bananas, which served as a cheap and easy food source. When the Costa Rican government defaulted on its payments, Keith's company received tax-free land and a 99-year lease on the railroad.
Keith's railroad business, the Costa Rica Railway, and his involvement in the banana trade and other enterprises significantly impacted the regional economies. In 1899, banana marketing was heavily influenced by the United Fruit Company (UFCO), which emerged as the most significant agricultural enterprise in the world. UFCO exploited local resources, labor, and markets to dominate Central and South America. Analytical, the UFC's actions in Costa Rica during the Liberalism period took on a form of modern-day colonialism, impacting the socio-economic dynamics of the nation.
The cycle of history is rarely broken. The belief is that some lives are worth less and some territories easier to dominate. What we see today is not an ethical stance but a continuation of dominance. The colonial mindset that justified empire-building still thrives even in subtler forms. The same indifference to the suffering of the "other" remains woven into the policies, actions, and even consumer choices that uphold these systems of oppression. We are not separate from the past, we are the descendants of it.
Keith's railroad business, the Costa Rica Railway, and his involvement in the banana trade and other enterprises significantly impacted the regional economies. In 1899, banana marketing was heavily influenced by the United Fruit Company (UFCO), which emerged as the most significant agricultural enterprise in the world. UFCO exploited local resources, labor, and markets to dominate Central and South America. Analytical, the UFC's actions in Costa Rica during the Liberalism period took on a form of modern-day colonialism, impacting the socio-economic dynamics of the nation.
The cycle of history is rarely broken. The belief is that some lives are worth less and some territories easier to dominate. What we see today is not an ethical stance but a continuation of dominance. The colonial mindset that justified empire-building still thrives even in subtler forms. The same indifference to the suffering of the "other" remains woven into the policies, actions, and even consumer choices that uphold these systems of oppression. We are not separate from the past, we are the descendants of it.