A banana republic idiom meaning

The correct answer is- 'A small or poor country with a weak government. Key Points. Additional Information.

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A banana republic idiom meaning

In political science , the term banana republic describes a politically and economically unstable country with an economy dependent upon the export of natural resources. In , the American author O. Henry coined the term [1] [2] to describe Guatemala and Honduras under economic exploitation by U. Typically, a banana republic has a society of extremely stratified social classes , usually a large impoverished working class and a ruling class plutocracy , composed of the business, political, and military elites. A banana republic is a country with an economy of state capitalism , whereby the country is operated as a private commercial enterprise for the exclusive profit of the ruling class. Such exploitation is enabled by collusion between the state and favored economic monopolies , in which the profit, derived from the private exploitation of public lands, is private property, while the debts incurred thereby are the financial responsibility of the public treasury. Such an imbalanced economy remains limited by the uneven economic development of town and country and usually reduces the national currency into devalued banknotes paper money , thereby rendering the country ineligible for international development credit. In the 19th century, the American writer O. Henry William Sydney Porter, — coined the term banana republic to describe the fictional Republic of Anchuria in the book Cabbages and Kings , [1] a collection of thematically related short stories inspired by his experiences in Honduras , whose economy was heavily dependent on the export of bananas. He lived there for six months until January , hiding in a hotel while he was wanted in the United States for embezzlement from a bank. In the early 20th century, the United Fruit Company , a multinational corporation, was instrumental in the creation of the banana republic phenomenon. Keith , established banana plantations along the railroads they built in Costa Rica; recognizing the profitability of exporting bananas, they began exporting the fruit to the Southeastern United States.

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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'banana republic. Send us feedback about these examples. Banana River. Accessed 7 Mar. Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Matthew Wilson does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The term originated as a way to describe the experiences of many countries in Central America , whose economies and politics were dominated by U. And in the wake of the Jan. Capitol, a surge of tweets did the same. Political instability within the U. So why is the term being used? In the s, the Boston Fruit Company, which later became the United Fruit Company and then Chiquita, began importing bananas from Jamaica and launched a successful campaign to popularize them in the U. As demand for bananas grew, large companies made deals with governments across Central America to fund infrastructure projects in exchange for land and policies that would allow them to expand production.

A banana republic idiom meaning

A banana republic is a politically unstable country with an economy dependent entirely on revenue from exporting a single product or resource, such as bananas or minerals. It is generally considered a derogatory term describing countries whose economies are controlled by foreign-owned companies or industries. The societies of banana republics are typically highly stratified, consisting of a small ruling-class of business, political, and military leaders, and a larger impoverished working-class. Banana republics typically feature highly stratified social orders, with depressed economies dependent solely on a few export crops. Both agricultural land and personal wealth are unequally distributed. During the early s, multinational American corporations, sometimes aided by the United States government took advantage of these conditions to build banana republics in Central American countries such as Honduras and Guatemala. In , the American-owned Cuyamel Fruit Company bought 15, acres of agricultural land on the Caribbean coast of Honduras. Lee Christmas, orchestrated a successful coup d'etat that replaced the elected government of Honduras with a military government headed by General Manuel Bonilla—a friend of foreign businesses. The coup d'etat froze the Honduran economy.

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Direction: Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option. Portuguese English to Portuguese. Avoiding common mistakes with verb patterns 2 March 06, English—Indonesian Indonesian—English. Usage explanations of natural written and spoken English. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. To top. Can you solve 4 words at once? Retrieved 25 July See more. Interlink Books. Choose the word that is opposite in meaning to the highlighted word given below: Imagine how barren our lands would be if there were no rivers? Forms of Government Quiz How do people take and hold power? Countries that obtained independence from colonial powers in the 20th century have at times thereafter tended to share traits of banana republics due to influence of large private corporations in their politics; [38] for example, Maldives resort companies [39] and the Philippines tobacco industry, U. Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?

The origins of this phrase can be found in the work of a popular American writer, although his role in coining this phrase and giving it to the world is not as well-known as it should be.

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