A ritual based on gift exchange found among Native Americans of the north-west Pacific region. Potlatches were ritual feasts in which competitors for positions of status sought to outdo each other by giving ever more lavish gifts. The arrival of Europeans in the area during the 19th century, and the changes this brought to the local economy, caused a huge escalation in the scale of potlatches. Large quantities of European trade goods such as blankets were not only given away but were also publicly destroyed to force a rival to equal the gesture.