Business of Empire

Jason M. Colby is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Victoria, British Columbia.

Colby builds upon earlier extensive scholarship on the subject to integrate, for the first time, corporate expansion and labor migration into the story of U.S. imperialism in the region. As a result, he shows how domestic racial paradigms shaped transnational US firms, highlights connections between the U.S. government and corporate colonialism, and illustrates the pervasiveness of labor control strategies in the region.(Choice) Colby writes both a comparative and a transnational history. He presents a deeply researched, richly textured comparative study of the UFC in Costa Rica and Guatemala. The Business of Empire makes a worthwhile contribution to the social and cultural history of the UFC, the history of British Caribbean migrants in Central America, Central American labor history, and the inception of particular racialized forms of nationalism in Central America that, Colby convincingly argues, were logical reactions to U.S. 'corporate colonialism.'.(American Historical Review) Colby's tightly focused research on race adds a new layer of understanding to the subject of U.S. domination in Central America. Concentrating on the varied environments of the Panama Canal Zone, self-defined 'white' Costa Rica, and Guatemala, with its large Mayan Indian population. Colby observes the different tactics and vocabulary employed by governments and company officials. Many actions that are seen as indicative of United States foreign policy, he argues, were, in fact, creations of the United Fruit Company.(Times Literary Supplement) In the United States this book will be seen as an important contribution to the 'America in the World' approach; in Central America it will be read as an influential revision of the impact of the 'Octopus' on internal processes. Without a hint of dependency theory (it used to be mandatory to refer to dependency when writing about UFCO), Colby's perspective sheds new light on the fruit company's impact on the economies, societies, politics and foreign relations of Central American countries.- Héctor Lindo-Fuentes (Journal of Latin American Studies) Jason M. Colby has researched and analyzed his topic—the business of empire—well. He exposes the intertwining of imperialism, expansion, racism, and corporate power. The Business of Empire is an insightful story about the interaction of U.S. overseas business and the U.S. and Central American governments. It will prove useful to scholars of U.S. imperialism, international business history, and U.S.–Central American relations for generations.(Journal of American History)

• IntroductionPart I. Foundations of Empire1. Enterprise and Expansion, 1848–18852. Joining the Imperial World, 1885–1904Part II. Race and Labor3. Corporate Colonialism, 1904–19124. Divided Workers, 1912–1921Part III. Imperial Transitions5. The Rise of Hispanic Nationalism, 1921–19296. Reframing the Empire, 1929–1940EpilogueNotesBibliographyIndex