Core Questions:

1. What were/are the effects of colonial/imperial control on local (native) populations? How have colonized regions organized themselves in reaction?
2. Are nationalist uprisings a strong force to oppose colonial control?  What were the historical examples of successful nationalist rebellions?  What were the failures?  What about ongoing struggles that have not yet resolved themselves?
3. Is the trend of globalization in fact a new form of imperial control (neo-colonialism)?  Are poorer nations of the world under a different type of colonial/imperial control coming from large multinational corporations and organizations such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO)?

Overview :  These lessons are a case study on the United Fruit Co. (Chiquita) and the role of multi-national corporations (MNCs) in globalization.

Time Required:4 - 6 classroom periods of 45 minutes. Assigning the research before teaching this unit is advised as it requires 1-2 library days, 1 additional in class preparation day, and 2 -3 class periods to present.

Suggested Grade Levels: Grades 7 –12.

Interdisciplinary Applications: Social Studies

NJ Core Content Standards: 6.3: 8-14; 6.4: 9-12; 6.5: 18; 6.6: 7-16; 6.7: 11-12; 6.8: 10,11,16,17; 6.9: 4-8.

Instructional Objectives:

1. Students will be able to define and describe "multi-national" or "trans-national" and their roles as key economic developers in developing countries.
2. Students will determine whether the trade-off between surrendering control of a country's economy to foreign companies and economic development is worth the political, social, and environmental risks and benefits to that developing country.
3. Students will analyze the influence of a multi-national company on the economies of Latin America.

Strategies:

1. Prepare maps of Latin America--specifically, in this case, Central America. Students should have basic geographic, climatic, topographic information relevant to growing bananas.
2. Survey the web sites that are linked below.  The info against is very politically charged, left wing. The pro multinational information comes from the successor to the United Fruit Co.-- Chiquita – and is very pro-corporate. Information from your Latin America texts on the 1954 Guatemala coup and the involvement of the United States would be a useful supplement although some is covered here. Collate the information into a packet after sorting information for and against multinational companies.
3. Small role-plays on the effects of bribery and money on independence could break the ice (example: give out play money or behavior bucks in exchange for the student surrendering autonomy).

Materials:

• Maps
• Research packet
• Essay assignment

Resources:

• Topographical maps of Central American countries.
• Investigation of these web sites will provide information from a variety of points of view. The CIA World Factbook on Panama.
• The CIA World Factbook on Costa Rica.
• A harsh look at the 1954 Guatemalan crisis from a pro-Maya point of view.
• An article from Workers World, a left-wing publication, on United Fruit Co./Chiquita's role in Guatemala.
• The United Fruit Co. and its workers--a paper presented at the University of Texas/Austin.
• The essay assignment

Assessment: A written assignment to have the students cast judgment on United Fruit/Chiquita, weighing the consequences of multinational involvement. Follow-up investigations on the roles of other multinationals in Latin America could include researching, through the Internet, the role of such corporate giants as General Motors, Ford Motor Co., Nike, and others by assigning companies to students and having them prepare both pro and con arguments, informational sources, and web sites.