What is a banana republic?

What is a banana republic?

At the beginning of the twentieth century, several fruit companies received large tracts of land in Central America at bargain rates, paying little or no tax. The bananas grown there were among the countries' major exports, but the profits mostly ended up lining the pockets of government officials. In his book of short stories Cabbages and Kings, O. Henry called his fictional Central American country a banana republic (not to be confused with the clothing company) — a term that people adopted to describe corrupt countries that were controlled by private companies. Americans were formally introduced to bananas sometime around this date in 1876, at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. There was a 40-acre exhibit of tropical plants and one enterprising man sold bananas wrapped in tinfoil for 10 cents apiece.

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From our Archives: Today's Highlights, June 5, 2010