José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta

Due to his fierce independence and eccentric character, however, he did not adapt well and moved to the Escola Politécnica de Lisboa (Polytechnic School of Lisbon).

Following what he thought was his vocation, he studied medicine in Lisbon, London and Paris, but could not complete the course, and returned to Africa again, this time to Angola, one of the largest West African Portuguese colonies.

Most of his collections were lost when his canoe foundered in a river, but he donated what remained to the natural history museum of the Polytechnic School.

He stayed on his own in the region of Benguela, establishing a laboratory inside the ruins of a church, and exploring and collecting animals, until, in 1867, the Portuguese government hired him, ostensibly as a naturalist.

But what is most probable is that Anchieta was recruited as a secret agent and informer[1] in the Caconda region of Angola, one of the most extreme points of its territory.