Gone Bananas!
A Young Cape Skipper Introduces Bananas To America
Around 1870, something new arrived on Long Wharf in Boston-something so curious, yet delightful, that even the residents of Beantown were impressed. What's more, a wily, Wellfleet seadog by the name of Lorenzo Dow Baker brought it there. And what was this curious new import? Bananas.
Over a century ago, the young Cape skipper set off in the Telegraph to deliver equipment from New Jersey to the upper reaches of the Orinoco River in Venezuela. Among the load of bamboo he returned with, he tucked in some green bananas as an experiment. During the 25-day voyage, some of the fruit ripened and arrived bright yellow and delicious. However, most of the bananas spoiled.
The next year, Dow Baker sailed from Provincetown to Port Morant in Jamaica with an empty hold. There, he bought more unripe bananas for the journey home. The shorter 17-day voyage suited the fruit well. The cargo arrived ripe and ready for sale.
Eventually, the enterprising skipper established the United Fruit Company, a merchandising Empire. Later, he purchased the Mercantile Wharf and built a hotel. The Chequesset Inn, staffed by Jamaicans, soon become a summer retreat, and helped launch tourism in this tiny Cape town.
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