Gift-giving was an important feature of cross-cultural diplomacy in the complex political landscape of the early modern Gold and Slave coasts. The article examines gift-giving practices that European trading companies used toward African rulers and elites, relating them to European courtly diplomacy. Tracing the repertoire of gift objects, it argues that the very function ascribed to gifts required learning about another’s rules, values, habits, or tastes. In consequence, a repertoire of gifts peculiar to the contact zone was established, consisting not least of objects adapted into local practices and production. These processes of adaptation were influenced by the materiality of the objects.

中文翻译：

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连接事物：17 和 18 世纪黄金和奴隶海岸的贸易公司和外交馈赠

在早期现代黄金和奴隶海岸复杂的政治格局中，送礼是跨文化外交的一个重要特征。这篇文章研究了欧洲贸易公司对非洲统治者和精英的送礼做法，并将其与欧洲的宫廷外交联系起来。追溯礼物对象的全部内容，它认为赋予礼物的功能需要了解他人的规则、价值观、习惯或品味。因此，建立了接触区特有的礼物清单，其中包括适应当地习俗和生产的物品。这些适应过程受到对象物质性的影响。