Stargazing Knight Errant, beware of the day
When the Hottentots catch thee observing away!
Be sure they will pluck thy eyes out of their sockets
To prevent thee from stuffing the stars in thy pockets
If Herschel should find a new star at the Cape,
His perils no longer would pain us
He will salt the star's tail to prevent its escape
And call it ‘The Hottentot Venus’.
Astronomy has long been recognized as a tool of empire. Its service
to navigation and
geography have made it indispensable to European expansion. Britain in
particular
excelled at this brand of control; each day when the sun set on the British
empire, its
telescopes continued to enhance imperial power.
While the above claims are no longer controversial, we have hardly begun
to understand
the extent to which imperialism subsequently changed the nature of the
physical sciences.