Assuming natives lacked economic systems justified colonial extraction misread as tribute
Evidence
Europeans assumed that, since the natives did not have such an economic system, they therefore had no system at all and offered gifts as a friendly and suppliant gesture to visitors whose natural superiority they instantly recognized. The Europeans therefore felt free to organize the continuous supply of such “gifts” for their own benefit. — Stuart Hall, Essential Essays, Volume 2, 627
Categorization
Category: Causal Relationships