Nobody knows how many died in the 1928 banana massacre because only interested parties counted
Hook
Estimates of the dead in the 1928 banana strike massacre in Colombia run from 47 to 2,000. Nearly every count came from someone with an interest.
Claim
Disputed numbers are part of the story. When only interested parties count, nobody knows.
Story
On the 1928 strike against United Fruit in Colombia, Wikipedia says estimates of the dead “vary from 47 to 2,000”. The U.S. embassy dispatches it cites relay figures from company representatives: about 50 strikers killed or wounded on 7 December 1928, 500 to 600 on 29 December, and more than 1,000 on 16 January 1929. These are company claims relayed in dispatches, not independent counts.
Sources
- United Fruit Company, Wikipedia (range 47 to 2,000, embassy dispatches)
Check before posting
- Only the wide range itself is verified. Post the range, never one number.
- Needs a person-level story from the strike itself.
Counterargument
The range is a measurement problem, not a settled fact, so it cannot support any claim about who was to blame.
Post angles
Facebook (Croatian)
- Za pokolj iz 1928. u Kolumbiji procjene broja mrtvih kreću se od 47 do 2.000. Razlog je što su gotovo sve brojke dolazile od strana koje su imale interes.
- Zato je neovisna javna statistika temelj demokracije. Tko je brojao i tko ima koristi od te brojke?
LinkedIn (English)
- The 1928 banana massacre: estimates of the dead run from 47 to 2,000, because the only counts came from interested parties. I would rather post the range than pick a number.
- A question for any claim in public life: who counted, and who benefits from the count?