Editing United Fruit Company (section)

===Attempt at state capture===
{{further|State capture}}
[[File:La ceiba.jpg|thumb|Main railroad station in La Ceiba, Honduras, in 1920]]
Following the Honduran declaration of independence in 1838 from the [[Federal Republic of Central America|Central American Federation]], Honduras was in a state of economic and political strife due to constant conflict with neighboring countries for territorial expansion{{clarify|date=December 2018}} and control.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Honduras Becomes the "Banana Republic"|last=Shields|first=Charles J.|publisher=Mason Crest Publishers|year=2003|isbn=9781590840962|location=Broomall, PA|pages=[https://archive.org/details/honduras00shie/page/18 18]|url=https://archive.org/details/honduras00shie/page/18}}</ref> Liberal President [[Marco Aurelio Soto]] (1876–1883) saw instating the Agrarian Law of 1877 as a way to make Honduras more appealing to international companies looking to invest capital into a promising host export-driven economy. The Agrarian Law would grant international, multinational companies leniency in tax regulations along with other financial incentives.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book|title=Banana Cultures|url=https://archive.org/details/bananaculturesag00solu|url-access=limited|last=Soluri|first=John|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2005|isbn=978-0-292-70957-7|location=Austin, Texas|pages=[https://archive.org/details/bananaculturesag00solu/page/n35 19], 40–43, 76–85, 104–127}}</ref> Acquiring the first railroad concession from liberal President [[Miguel R. Dávila]] in 1910, the [[Standard Fruit Company|Vaccaro brothers and Company]] helped set the foundation on which the [[banana republic]] would struggle to balance and regulate the relationships between American capitalism and Honduran politics.

[[Samuel Zemurray]], a small-sized American banana entrepreneur, rose to be another contender looking to invest in the Honduran agricultural trade. In [[New Orleans]], Zemurray found himself strategizing with the newly exiled General [[Manuel Bonilla]] (nationalist ex-president of Honduras 1903–1907, 1912–1913) and fomented a coup d'état against President Dávila. On Christmas Eve, December 1910, in clear opposition of the Dávila administration, Samuel Zemurray, U.S. General [[Lee Christmas]], and Honduran General [[Manuel Bonilla]] boarded the yacht "Hornet", formerly known as the [[USS Hornet (1898)|USS ''Hornet'']] and recently purchased by Zemurray in New Orleans. With a gang of New Orleans mercenaries and plenty of arms and ammunition, they sailed to [[Roatan]] to attack, then seize the northern Honduran ports of [[Trujillo, Honduras|Trujillo]] and [[La Ceiba]].<ref name=":13">{{Cite book|title=A Camera in the Garden of Eden|last=Coleman|first=Kevin|publisher=University of Texas Press|year=2016|isbn=978-1-4773-0854-7|location=Austin, Texas|pages=39–42, 51–52}}</ref><ref name = Flagler>{{cite web |title=The Amazing Story of Henry Flagler's Yacht Alicia |url=https://www.flaglermuseum.us/history/flaglers-yacht-alicia |website=Henry Morrison Flagler Museum |access-date=7 December 2019}}</ref> Unbeknownst to Zemurray, he was being watched by the [[US Secret Service]]. Having captured the aging fort at Roatan, he quickly sold the ''Hornet'' to a Honduran [[straw buyer]] on the island to avoid falling foul of the [[Neutrality Act of 1794|Neutrality Act]]. After successfully attacking the port of Trujillo, the ''Hornet'' unexpectedly encountered the U.S. gunboat [[USS Tacoma (CL-20)|''Tacoma'']] and was towed back to New Orleans. The nascent revolution continued apace, Zemurray's media contacts having spread the word in advance.<ref name = Flagler/> President Dávila was forced to step down, with [[Francisco Bertrand]] becoming interim president until General Bonilla handily won the November 1911 Honduran presidential elections.

In 1912, General Bonilla quickly granted the second railroad concession to the newly incorporated [[Cuyamel Fruit Company]] owned by Zemurray. The period of some of these exclusive railroad land concessions was up to 99 years. The first railroad concession leased the national railroad of Honduras to the Vaccaro Bros. and Co. (once [[Standard Fruit Company]] and currently [[Dole Food Company]]). Zemurray granted his concession to the Tela Railroad Company—another division within his own company. Cuyamel Fruit Company's concession would also be awarded to the Tela Railroad Company. United Fruit Company (currently [[Chiquita Brands International]]) would partner with President Bonilla in the exchange of access and control of Honduran natural resources plus tax and financial incentives. In return, President Bonilla would receive cooperation, protection and a substantial amount of U.S. capital to build a progressive infrastructure in Honduras.<ref name=":02" />