The illusion of exchange: gift, trade, and theft in the nineteenth-century British voyage narrative

British voyage narratives in the 19th century centered around the concept of exchange, where apparent reciprocity attempted to disguise domination. Indigenous people often offered gifts to the officers and crew of British ships which traveled the Eastern Archipelago, yet the British saw themselves as belonging to a superior culture and race, precluding an exchange between equals. In addition to gifts, voyage narratives also depicted trade and theft, all three acting as a means for the British to define themselves in comparison to the native Others.