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John Herschel's Cape Voyage - Private Science, Public Imagination and the Ambitions of Empire (Paperback)
Loot Price: R1,330
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John Herschel's Cape Voyage - Private Science, Public Imagination and the Ambitions of Empire (Paperback)
Series: Science, Technology and Culture, 1700-1945
Expected to ship within 12 - 17 working days
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In 1833 John Herschel sailed from London to Cape Town, southern
Africa, to undertake (at his own expense) an astronomical
exploration of the southern heavens, as well as a terrestrial
exploration of the area around Cape Town. After his return to
England in 1838, and as a result of his voyage, he was highly
esteemed and became Britain's most recognized man of science. In
1847 his southern hemisphere astronomical observations were
published as the Cape Results. The main argument of Ruskin's book
is that Herschel's voyage and the publication of the Cape Results,
in addition to their contemporary scientific importance, were also
significant for nineteenth-century culture and politics. In this
book it is demonstrated that the reason for Herschel's widespread
cultural renown was the popular notion that his voyage to the Cape
was a project aligned with the imperial ambitions of the British
government. By leaving England for one of its colonies, and
pursuing there a significant scientific project, Herschel was seen
in the same light as other British men of science (like James Cook
and Richard Lander) who had also undertaken voyages of exploration
and discovery at the behest of their nation. It is then
demonstrated that the production of the Cape Results, in part
because of Herschel's status as Britain's scientific figurehead,
was a significant political event. Herschel's decision to journey
to the Cape for the purpose of surveying the southern heavens was
of great significance to almost all of Britain and much of the
continent. It is the purpose of this book to make a case for the
scientific, cultural, and political significance of Herschel's Cape
voyage and astronomical observations, as a means of demonstrating
the relationship of scientific practice to broader aspects of
imperial culture and politics in the nineteenth century.
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