There’s evidently been a bit of a to do Down Under following the decision by lecturers at the University of New South Wales in Sydney to no longer refer to Captain Cook’s voyage of exploration and its aftermath as a “discovery” but as an “invasion”. Some have accused the University of  political correctness but I’m not so sure.

I think we in the West can occasionally be guilty of viewing our past through rose-tinted spectacles although it is a natural human trait to try and paint ourselves in the best possible light. Using the British as an example (though it applies equally to France, Holland, Germany, the USA or any other imperialist power) we were taught that when things happened to us it was bad and when we did it to others it was good.

Thus, the Romans did not “discover” Britain, they “invaded” it. The Vikings did not “discover” the British Isles, they “conquered” large parts of the land following their sea-borne raids. However when the British sailed across the world to Australia or parts of Africa and then settled the land following their military defeat of indigenous peoples it was referred to as “discovery”.

It is no more than mere semantics with different words used to describe the same action and effect. It is also rank hypocrisy and political correctness has got nothing to do with it.