Description: The first decades of the twentieth century were a time of political and economic change. In 1899, the first boatload of bananas was shipped from Honduras to the United States. The fruit found a ready market, and the trade grew rapidly. The American-based banana companies constructed railroad lines and roads to serve the expanding banana production. Perhaps even more significant, Honduras began to attract the attention of the U.S. government. Until the early twentieth century, the U.S. played only a very limited role in internal Honduran political clashes. With its investments growing, however, the U.S. showed increased concern over Honduras’s political instability. Although United States marines never occupied Honduras as they did neighboring Nicaragua, the U.S. frequently dispatched warships to waters near Honduras as a warning that intervention in Honduras was indeed a possibility if American business interests were threatened or domestic conflict escalated.

Dates of Coverage: 1910-1930

Concurrent Users: unlimited

Other info: always proxy off-campus, provides full text

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