ABSTRACT
This chapter talks about the cultural appropriation of John Herschel's Cape voyage, in particular his astronomical observations. The theme around which the cultural impact can best be organized is that of appropriation. Herschel's voyage, and his astronomy, represented different things in different cultural contexts. Herschel's Cape voyage and his astronomical observations real or imagined were appropriated differently in different cultural contexts. In Britain, Herschel's voyage fueled the public imperial imagination. In the Cape colony, Herschel's presence was seen as a way to promote colonial self-esteem; he and his family at Feldhausen were also a model of British colonial domesticity. The chapter considers the years Herschel and his family spent at the Cape, with emphasis on the astronomical aspects of those years. By "astronomical aspects" is meant not only Herschel's actual astronomical observations, but also the public interest in Herschel's astronomical observations at the Cape. Herschel's arrival in the Cape colony was eagerly anticipated.
