Obituary: Professor Eric Axelson
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.ANTONIO DE Figueiredo's obituary of Professor Eric Axelson [7 November] is a necessary tribute to a most able and distinguished scholar, writes Professor H. V. Livermore. It contains one inaccuracy. It was in Rhodesia that archivists were a rarity, and Axelson's accompanist was not a member of the PIDE (Portuguese state police), as de Figueiredo states, but a sergeant from the Rhodesian crime squad selected for this more agreeable service.
Axelson was his own archaeologist. On returning from Lisbon to Natal in December 1937, he was able to locate at once from accounts the spot where a beacon or padrao had been erected to mark the limit of Bartolomeu Dias's voyage which discovered and rounded the Cape in 1488. It had stood at False Island or Kwaai Hoek, and had been broken. Part was underground and part had fallen into the sea. Axelson and his brother retrieved the fragments and had them pieced together, and it now forms part of the collection of the Sociedade de Geografa in Lisbon.
Incidentally, Bartolomeu Dias's statue now adorns South Africa House, and he is the only Portuguese to be so commemorated in London.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments