Specifically, in drawings throughout the late 18th century, Europeans viewed non-white people as closer to apes, hence uncivilized. Prior to photography, audio recording, and quick transcontinental transportation, local Europeans relied on drawings and journals from European explorers to understand the world beyond their immediate borders. So the question then becomes, how do Western European’s representation of observational drawings relating to apes and indigenous people propagate Europe’s colonial endeavors in Southeast Asia in the late 18th century?