BANKS’ CONQUEST

I’ve just read the interesting article on Sir Joseph Banks and his Florilegium

(AG 145).The use of the word “conquest” on page 59 is interesting. The word, to my mind, conjures up such events as the Roman army arriving on the shores of Britain, subsequently defeating the Britons in battle and then conquering most of the island; and William the Conqueror also arriving on the shores of Britain with his army, subsequently defeating the Saxon army and then conquering most of the island – quite a different scenario from the conquest of Australia. Incidentally, I wonder if the Italian government has apologised for their invasion, or if the French government similarly has apologised. KEN COWAN, BILOELA, QLD