Main content
Bearing Gifts
The history and politics of gift-giving
Not just for Christmas and birthdays - gift-giving has been an act of friendship, religious observance, and political patronage, throughout history.
"Gifts were a cornerstone of foreign diplomacy and the terminology is carefully phrased, so when the Romans paid-off the barbarians to keep them away, it was always phrased as 'generous gifts'" says archaeologist Ida Johansen.
±«Óătv World Service Archive
This programme was restored as part of the World Service archive project