Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela [xoli? a ' He was the head of the state of the leather the first black country and the first elected in a fully representative democratic election. His government focused on dismantling the heritage of apartheid by tackling institutionalized racism and promoting racial reconciliation. Ideologically an African nationalist and socialist, he served as President of the African National Congress (ANC) party from 1991 to 1997.
Xhosa, Mandela was born from the royal family of Thembu in Mvezo, England, South Africa. He studied law at the University of Fort Hare and the University of the Witwatersrand before working as a lawyer in Johannesburg. There he became involved in anti-colonial and African nationalist politics, joined the ANC in 1943 and co-founded the Youth League in 1944. After the white-only government of the National Party established apartheid, a racial segregation system that privileged the white man, he and the ANC is committed to its overthrow. Mandela was appointed President of the ANC Transvaal branch, which became notable for his involvement in the 1952 Campaign of Disobedience and the People's Congress of 1955. He was repeatedly arrested for inciting and unsuccessful activities prosecuted in the Treason's Tribunal of 1956. Influenced by Marxism, he secretly joining the banned South African Communist Party (SACP). Although initially committed to nonviolent protests, in conjunction with SACP he founded Umkhonto we Sizwe militant in 1961 and led a campaign of sabotage against the government. In 1962, he was arrested for conspiring to overthrow the state and sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rivonia Court.
Mandela served 27 years in prison, initially on Robben Island, and later at Pollsmoor Jail and Victor Verster Prison. Amid rising domestic and international pressure, and with fears of racial civil war, President FW de Klerk freed him in 1990. Mandela and de Klerk negotiated an end to apartheid and organized a 1994 multiracial election in which Mandela led the ANC to victory and became President. Leading a broad coalition government that declared a new constitution, Mandela emphasized reconciliation between the country's racial groups and created the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate past human rights abuses. Economically, the Mandela government maintains its predecessor's liberal framework despite its own socialist beliefs, as well as introducing measures to promote land reform, fight poverty, and expand healthcare. Internationally, he acted as a mediator in the bombing of 103 Pan Am flight and served as Secretary General of the Non-Aligned Movement from 1998 to 1999. He rejected a second term and in 1999 was succeeded by his deputy, Thabo Mbeki. Mandela became an older statesman and focused on fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS through the generous Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Mandela is a controversial figure for most of his life. Although critics on the right are denouncing him as a communist terrorist and the people on the radical left consider him too eager to negotiate and reconcile with apartheid supporters, he gains international recognition for his activism. Widely recognized as an icon of democracy and social justice, he received over 250 awards - including the Nobel Peace Prize - and became the subject of a cult of personality. He is highly respected in South Africa, where he is often referred to as the Xhosa clan, Madiba , and is described as "Father of the Nation".
Video Nelson Mandela
Initial life
Smaller age: 1918-34
Mandela was born on July 18, 1918 in the village of Mvezo in Umtata, then part of Cape Province of South Africa. Given Rolihlahla's first name, the term Xhosa means daily "troublemaker," in later years he is known by his clan name, Madiba. Her patrilineal grandfather, Ngubengcuka, was the king of the Thembu in the modern South African Transcontinental Region in the Eastern Cape province. One of Ngubengcuka's sons, named Mandela, is Nelson's grandfather and the source of his last name. Since Mandela was the son of the king by the wife of the Ixhiba clan, called the "Left Hand", the descendant of the cadet branch of the royal family is inorganic, unqualified to inherit the throne but is recognized as a hereditary royal council.
Nelson Mandela's father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa Mandela, was the local chief and member of the king's council; he was appointed to a position in 1915, after his predecessor was accused of corruption by a judging white judge. In 1926, Gadla was also dismissed for corruption, but Nelson was told that his father had lost his job because of unreasonable charges by the judge. A devotee of the god Qamata, Gadla is a polygamist with four wives, four sons and nine daughters, who live in different villages. Nelson's mother is Gadla's third wife, Nosekeni Fanny, daughter of Nkedama from Right House and an clan member amaMpemvu from Xhosa.
Mandela then states that his early life was dominated by traditional Thembu customs and taboos. He grew up with two sisters in his mother's kraal in Qunu village, where he reared cattle as a calf and spent a lot of time outside with other boys. His parents were illiterate, but as a devout Christian, his mother sent him to the Methodist local school when he was about seven years old. Baptizing a Methodist, Mandela was given the English name of "Nelson" by his teacher. When Mandela was about nine years old, his father came to stay at Qunu, where he died of an undiagnosed disease that Mandela trusted as a lung disease. Feeling "disjointed," he later said that he inherited his father's "proud rebellion" and "a stubborn sense of justice."
Mandela's mother took her to the palace of "Great Place" in Mqhekezweni, where she was entrusted to the trust of Thembu regent, Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo. Although he had not seen his mother again for years, Mandela felt that Jongintaba and his wife Noengland treated him as their own child, raising him with their son, Judge, and daughter, Nomafu. When Mandela attended church services every Sunday with the saints, Christianity became an important part of his life. He attended the Methodist miss school located next to the palace, where he studied English, Xhosa, history and geography. He developed a love of African history, listened to stories told by old visitors to the palace, and was influenced by the anti-imperialist rhetoric of a guest-head, Joyi. At that time he still considered the European colonizers not as oppressors but as benefactors who had brought education and other benefits to southern Africa. At the age of 16, he, Hakim, and several other boys went to Tyhalarha to undergo a ritual of circumcision ulwaluko symbolically marking their transition from boy to man; after which he was named Dalibunga .
Clarkebury, Healdtown, and Fort Hare: 1934 -40
In 1933 Mandela began his secondary education at Clarkebury Methodist High School in Engcobo, a Western-style institution that is the largest school for black Africans in Thembuland. Created to socialize with other students on the basis of equality, he claims that he lost his "trapped" attitude, became a friend with a girl for the first time; he started playing sports and developed his passion for gardening for life. He completed the Junior Certificate in two years, and in 1937 moved to Healdtown, the Methodist college in Fort Beaufort attended by most of Thembu nobles, including Justice. The principal stressed the superiority of British culture and government, but Mandela became increasingly interested in African native culture, making her first non-Xhanya friend, a Sotho speaker, and came under the influence of one of her favorite teachers, Xhosa who broke taboos by marrying a Sotho. Mandela spent much of his spare time at Healdtown as a long-distance runner and boxer, and in his second year he became a prefect.
With Jongintaba's support, in 1939 Mandela began work on a BA degree at Fort Hare University, a black elite institution in Alice, Eastern Cape, with about 150 students. There he studied English, anthropology, politics, native administration, and Roman law in his first year, wanted to be an interpreter or scribe in the Department of Original Affairs. Mandela lives in the Wesley House dorm, making friends with his own brother, K. D. Matanzima, and Oliver Tambo, who became close friends and friends for decades to come. She follows ballroom dancing, performs in community dramas about Abraham Lincoln, and provides Bible classes in the local community as part of the Student Christian Association. Although he has friends who are connected to the African National Congress (ANC) who wants South Africa to be independent of the British Empire, Mandela avoids involvement with the anti-imperialist movement, and becomes a vocal supporter of the British war effort when the Second World War broke out. She helped found a first-year home committee that challenged second-year dominance, and by the end of the first year was involved in a boycott of the Student Representative Council (SRC) on food quality, which she suspended from university; he never returned to finish his title.
Arriving in Johannesburg: 1941-43
Returning to Mqhekezweni in December 1940, Mandela discovers that Jongintaba has arranged marriages for him and Justice; disappointed, they fled to Johannesburg via Queenstown, arriving in April 1941. Mandela found work as a night watchman at the Crown Mines, "first sight of South African capitalism in action", but was fired when induna village) found that he was a runaway. She lives with a cousin in George Goch Township, which introduced Mandela to the broker and ANC activist Walter Sisulu. The latter secured Mandela's job as a scribe at the Witkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman law firms, a company run by Lazar Sidelsky, a liberal Jew who sympathized with the ANC objectives. At the firm, Mandela befriends Gaur Radebe - an Xhosa member of the ANC and the Communist Party - and Nat Bregman, a Jewish communist who became his first white friend. Mandela attended the Communist Party meeting, where he was impressed that the Europeans, Africans, Indians, and Coloured mixed equally. He then declared that he did not join the Party because his atheism was against his Christian faith, and because he saw the South African struggle as racially based rather than as a class war. To continue his higher education, Mandela enrolled in a South African University correspondence course, working on a bachelor's degree at night.
With a small income, Mandela rented a room in the Xhoma family home in Alexandra city; Though full of poverty, crime and pollution, Alexandra always remains a special place for her. Despite being embarrassed by poverty, he dated a woman named Swazi before failing to pit his landlord's daughter. To save money and get closer to downtown Johannesburg, Mandela moved into the Witwatersrand Native Labor Association complex, living among miners of various tribes; because the complex was visited by various chiefs, he had met with the Regent of Queen Seok Basutoland. In late 1941, Jongintaba visited Johannesburg - there excusing Mandela for running away - before returning to Thembuland, where he died in the winter of 1942. Mandela and Hakim arrived one day late for the funeral. After passing the BA exam in early 1943, Mandela returned to Johannesburg to follow the political path as a lawyer rather than to be a board member in Thembuland. He then states that he does not experience enlightenment, but that he "just finds [himself] doing it, and can not do otherwise."
Maps Nelson Mandela
Revolutionary activity
Legal and Youth League ANC: 1943-49 >
Mandela began studying law at the University of Witwatersrand, where he was the only African black student and faced with racism. There he made friends with liberal and communist European, Jewish, and Indian students, among them Joe Slovo and Ruth First. Becoming increasingly politicized, in August 1943 Mandela lined up to support a successful bus boycott to reverse the tariff increase. Joining the ANC, he is increasingly influenced by Sisulu, spending time with other activists at the Sisulu Orlando house, including his old friend Oliver Tambo. In 1943, Mandela met Anton Lembede, an ANC member affiliated with the African "Africanist" African nationalism, who cruelly opposed a racial united front against colonialism and imperialism or to an alliance with the communists. Though friends with non-blacks and communists, Mandela embraced the Lembede view, believing that black Africans should be fully independent in their struggle for political determination. Deciding on the need for youth wings to mobilize the mass of Africa in opposition to their conquest, Mandela was one of the delegates who approached ANC President Alfred Bitini Xuma on this issue at his home in Sophiatown; The African National Congress Youth League (ANCYL) was established on Easter Sunday 1944 at the Bantu Social Center, with Lembede as President and Mandela as a member of its executive committee.
At Sisulu's house, Mandela meets Evelyn Mase, trainee nurse and ANC activist from Engcobo, Transkei. Entering a relationship and marrying in October 1944, they initially lived with relatives until moving to a rented house in the township of Orlando in early 1946. Their first child, Madiba "Thembi" Thembekile, born February 1945; a daughter, Makaziwe, born in 1947 but died of meningitis nine months later. Mandela enjoys home life, welcomes her mother and sister, Leabie, to stay with her. In early 1947, his three-year article ended in Witkin, Sidelsky and Eidelman, and he decided to become a full-time student, living on loan from Bantu Welfare Trust.
In July 1947, Mandela invaded the sickened Lembede, to the hospital, where he died; he was replaced as an ANCYL president by a more moderate Peter Mda, who agreed to cooperate with communists and non-blacks, appointed Mandela ANCYL secretary. Mandela disagreed with Mda's approach, and in December 1947 supported an unsuccessful attempt to expel the communists from the ANCYL, given their ideology was not African. In 1947, Mandela was elected to the executive committee of the branch of the ANC Transvaal Province, serving under regional president C. S. Ramohanoe. When Ramohanoe acted against the wishes of the committee in collaboration with India and the communists, Mandela was one of those who forced his resignation.
In the South African elections of 1948, where only whites were allowed to vote, the Afrikaner-dominated Party of Herenigde Nasionale under Daniel FranÃÆ'§ois Malan took power, immediately joining the Afrikaner Party to form the National Party. Racially openly, the party codified and expanded racial segregation with the new apartheid law. With increasing influence in the ANC, Mandela and his cadre allies began to advocate direct action against apartheid, such as boycotts and strikes, influenced by the tactics already used by South Indian Indians. Xuma did not support these steps and was removed from the presidency in a no-confidence motion, replaced by James Moroka and a more militant executive committee containing Sisulu, Mda, Tambo and Godfrey Pitje. Mandela later recounted that he and his colleagues had "guided the ANC to a more radical and revolutionary path." After devoting his time to politics, Mandela failed in his final year at Witwatersrand three times; he was eventually denied the title in December 1949.
Defense and Attendance Campaign ANC Transvaal: 1950-54
Mandela took Xuma's place on the ANC national executive in March 1950, and in the same year was elected as the ANCYL national president. In March, the Defense Free Reading Convention was held in Johannesburg, bringing together African, Indian and communist activists to call a May Day general strike in protest against apartheid and white minority rule. Mandela opposed the multi-racial strike and not the leader of the ANC, but the majority of black workers participated, resulting in increased police repression and the introduction of the Communist Opposition Act 1950, which affected the actions of all protest groups. At the ANC national conference in December 1951, he continued to argue against racial unity fronts, but lost votes.
After that, Mandela rejected Lembede Africa and embraced the idea of ​​a multi-racial front against apartheid. Influenced by friends like Musa Kotane and by Soviet support for the national liberation war, his distrust of communism degenerated and he began to read letters by Karl Marx, Vladimir Lenin, and Mao Zedong, ultimately embracing the philosophy of Marxist dialectical materialism. Commenting on communism, he later stated that he "found [himself] very interested in the idea of ​​a classless society which, to [his mind], resembles the traditional African culture in which life is divided and communal." In April 1952, Mandela began work at H.M. Basner's law firm, owned by a communist, despite his increased commitment to work and activism meant he spent less time with his family.
In 1952, the ANC began preparations for a Common Dissent Campaign against apartheid with Indian and communist groups, setting up a National Voluntary Council to recruit volunteers. The campaign is designed to follow the path of non-violent resistance that is influenced by Mahatma Gandhi; some support this for ethical reasons, but Mandela even thinks it's pragmatic. At a Durban rally on June 22, Mandela addressed 10,000 assembled people, initiated a campaign protest, in which he was arrested and interned in Marshall Square prison. These events set Mandela as one of the most famous black political figures in South Africa. With further protests, ANC membership grew from 20,000 to 100,000; the government responded with mass arrests and introduced the Public Security Act, 1953 to allow for martial law. In May, authorities banned the ANC President Transvaal J. B. Marks to make a public appearance; Unable to maintain his position, he recommended Mandela as his successor. Despite Africa's opposition to his candidacy, Mandela was elected as regional president in October.
In July 1952, Mandela was arrested under the Communist Oppressions Act and tried as one of 21 defendants - among them Moroka, Sisulu, and Yusuf Dadoo - in Johannesburg. Found guilty of "legal communism", a term used by the government to portray most opposition to apartheid, their nine-month hard work penalty was suspended for two years. In December, Mandela was given a six-month ban from attending meetings or talking to more than one person at a time, making the Transvaal ANC presidency impractical, and during this period the Defense Campaign subsided. In September 1953, Andrew Kunene read Mandela's "Not Easy to Go to Independence" speech at the ANC Transvaal meeting; the title is taken from a quote by Indian independence leader Jawaharlal Nehru, a seminal influence on Mandela's thinking. The speech devised a contingency plan for scenarios in which the ANC was banned. This Mandela plan, or M-Plan, involves dividing the organization into a cell structure with more centralized leadership.
Mandela got a job as a lawyer for the Terblanche and Briggish companies, before moving to liberal-run Helman and Michel, passing a qualifying exam to become a full-time lawyer. In August 1953, Mandela and Tambo opened their own law firm, Mandela and Tambo, operating in downtown Johannesburg. The only African-run law firm in the country, very popular with the aggrieved blacks, often deals with cases of police brutality. Disliked by the authorities, companies are forced to move to remote locations after their office permits are removed under the Group Area Act; as a result, their customers are reduced. As an aristocratic inheritance lawyer, Mandela is part of Johannesburg's black elite middle class, and is given much respect from the black community. Although her second daughter, Makaziwe Phumia, was born in May 1954, Mandela's relationship with Evelyn became tense, and she accused her of having an affair. He may have been in contact with ANC member Lillian Ngoyi and secretary Ruth Mompati; various individuals close to Mandela in this period have stated that the latter gave birth to a child. Disgusted by his son's behavior, Nosekeni returned to the Transkei, while Evelyn embraced Jehovah's Witnesses and refused Mandela's preoccupation with politics.
Following the end of the second ban in September 1955, Mandela went on holiday to the Transkei to discuss the implications of the Bantu Authority Act, 1951 with local tribal leaders, also visited his mother and Noengland before proceeding to Cape Town. In March 1956 he received a third ban on public appearances, limiting him to Johannesburg for five years, but he often opposed it. Mandela's marriage failed and Evelyn left her, bringing their children to live with her brother. Starting the divorce process in May 1956, he claimed that Mandela had physically abused her; he denied the allegations, and fought for custody of their children. He withdrew his appeal in November, but Mandela filed for divorce in January 1958; The divorce was settled in March, with the children placed in Evelyn's care. During the divorce process, he began targeting the social worker Winnie Madikizela, whom he married at Bizana in June 1958. He was later involved in ANC activities, spending several weeks in jail. Together they have two children: Zenani, born in February 1959, and Zindziswa, born in December 1960.
In December 1956, Mandela was arrested along with most of the ANC national executive, and was accused of "high treason" against the state. Held in Johannesburg Prison amid mass protests, they underwent a preliminary hearing before being bailed out. The denial refusal began in January 1957, overseen by attorney attorney Vernon Berrangà © Å ©, and continued until the case was postponed in September. In January 1958, Oswald Pirow was appointed to try the case, and in February the judge ruled that there were "sufficient grounds" for the defendants to be tried in the Transvaal High Court. The Official Trial Trial started in Pretoria in August 1958, with the defendants successfully applying for three judges - all linked to the ruling National Party - to be replaced. In August, one allegation was dropped, and in October the prosecutor withdrew his indictment, submitting a reformulated version in November stating that the ANC leadership committed high treason by advocating a violent revolution, a charge rejected by the defendant.
In April 1959, Africans dissatisfied with the ANC's united front approach established Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC); Mandela disagrees with the exclusive views of the PAC race, describing them as "immature" and "naÃÆ'¯ve". The two sides took part in an anti-pass campaign in early 1960, in which Africans burned tickets they were legally obliged to carry. One of the demonstrations organized by PAC was fired upon by police, which resulted in the deaths of 69 protesters in the Sharpeville massacre. The incident raised international condemnation of the government and resulted in riots across South Africa, with Mandela openly burning his bait in solidarity.
In response to the riots, the government implemented emergencies, declared martial law and banned ANC and PAC; in March, they arrested Mandela and other activists, imprisoning them for five months at unhealthy charges at the Pretoria Local Prison. The prison posed a problem for Mandela and other defendants in the Betrayal Court; their lawyers could not reach them, so it was decided that the lawyer would retreat in protest until the defendant was released from prison when the emergency was lifted at the end of August 1960. Over the next few months, Mandela used his spare time to organize the Integrated African Conference near Pietermaritzburg, 1961, where 1,400 anti-apartheid delegates met, approving a home strike to mark May 31, the day South Africa became a republic. On March 29, 1961, six years after the treason trial began, the judges produced an innocent verdict, stating that there was insufficient evidence to convict the accused of "high treason", for they did not advocate communism or the violent revolution; the result embarrassing the government.
MK, SACP, and touring Africa: 1961 -62
Disguised as a driver, Mandela toured the undercover countries, arranged the ANC's new cell structure and the planned mass strike at home. Referred to as "Black Pimpernel" in the media - a reference to Emma Orczy's 1905 novel The Scarlet Pimpernel - his arrest warrants were issued by the police. Mandela held secret meetings with journalists, and after the government failed to prevent strikes, he warned them that many anti-apartheid activists would soon resort to violence through groups such as PAC Poqo. He believed that the ANC should form an armed group to channel some of this violence in a controlled direction, convincing the two ANC leaders Albert Luthuli - who were morally opposed to violence - and supported activist groups of importance.
Inspired by the action of the 26 July Movement at Fidel Castro in the Cuban Revolution, in 1961 Mandela, Sisulu, and Slovo founded Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Nation Spear", abbreviated MK). Being the head of the militant group, Mandela gained ideas from the literature on guerrilla warfare by Marxist militants Mao and Che Guevara as well as from military theorist Carl von Clausewitz. Although initially declared officially separate from the ANC so as not to contaminate the latter's reputation, the Constitutional Court then was widely recognized as the party's armed wing. Most of the early MK members were white communists who were able to hide Mandela in their homes; After hiding in the communist flats of Wolfie Kodesh in Berea, Mandela moved to the Communist Liliesleaf Plantation in Rivonia, where he joined Raymond Mhlaba, Slovo, and Bernstein, who drafted the Constitution of the Constitution. Although Mandela later denied, for political reasons, ever a member of the Communist Party, historical research published in 2011 strongly suggested that he had joined in the late 1950s or early 1960s. This was confirmed by SACP and ANC after Mandela's death. According to SACP, he is not only a party member, but also serves on his Central Committee.
Operating through a cell structure, the Constitutional Court plans to take acts of sabotage that will put maximum pressure on the government with minimum casualties; they attempted to bomb military installations, power plants, telephone lines and transport links at night, when civilians were absent. Mandela claimed that they chose sabotage because it was the most innocuous act, did not involve killing, and offered the best hope for racial reconciliation afterwards; he still admits that if this fails, guerrilla warfare may be necessary. As soon as the ANC leader Luthuli was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the Constitutional Court publicly announced its existence with 57 bombings on Dingane Day (December 16) 1961, followed by further attacks on New Year's Eve.
The ANC decided to send Mandela as a delegate to the February 1962 meeting of the Pan-African Freedom Movement for East, Central and Southern Africa (PAFMECSA) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Leaving South Africa secretly through Bechuanaland, on his way Mandela visited Tanganyika and met his president, Julius Nyerere. Upon arriving in Ethiopia, Mandela met with Emperor Haile Selassie I, and gave his speech after Selassie at the conference. After the symposium, he traveled to Cairo, Egypt, admired President Gamal Abdel Nasser's political reform, and then went to Tunis, Tunisia, where President Habib Bourguiba gave him £ 5,000 for weaponry. He went on to Morocco, Mali, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Senegal, receiving funds from Liberian President William Tubman and President Guinean Ahmed SÃ © Ã… © kou TourÃÆ'Â ©. Departing from Africa to London, England, he met prominent anti-apartheid activists, journalists and politicians. Back in Ethiopia, he started a six-month course in guerrilla warfare, but was completed just two months before being withdrawn to South Africa by the ANC leadership.
src: www.biography.com
Prison
Rivonia's capture and trials: 1962-64
On August 5, 1962, police arrested Mandela along with fellow activist Cecil Williams near Howick. Many members of the Constitutional Court suspected that the authorities had been notified of Mandela's whereabouts, although Mandela himself gave these ideas a bit of confidence. In recent years, a former American diplomat revealed that the Central Intelligence Agency, which worries about Mandela's association with the communists, has told South African police about its location. Imprisoned in Johannesburg's Marshall Square prison, Mandela is accused of inciting workers strikes and leaving the country without permission. Representing himself with Slovo as legal counsel, Mandela intends to use the proceedings to showcase "ANC's moral opposition to racism" while supporters demonstrate outside the court. Moving to Pretoria, where Winnie could visit, she began a correspondence study for a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) degree from the University of London International Programs. His hearing began in October, but he interrupted the process by wearing a traditional body, refusing to summon witnesses, and turning his petition into a political speech. Found guilty, he was sentenced to five years in prison; when he left the courtroom, supporters sang "Nkosi Sikelel iAfrika".
In July 1963, police raided the Liliesleaf Plantation, arresting those found there and found documents documenting the Constitutional Court's activities, some of which mention Mandela. The Rivonia trial began at the Pretoria High Court in October, with Mandela and his associates accused of four counts of sabotage and conspiracy to vigorously overthrow the government; their chief prosecutor is Percy Yutar. Judge Quartus de Wet immediately dismissed the prosecution case for insufficient evidence, but Yutar redefined the allegations, filed a new case from December 1963 to February 1964, called 173 witnesses and brought thousands of documents and photographs to the proceedings.
Although four of the defendants denied involvement with the Constitutional Court, Mandela and five other suspects admitted sabotage but denied that they ever agreed to start a guerrilla war against the government. They use the proceedings to highlight their political causes; at the opening of the defense process, Mandela gave his speech three "I Am Prepared to Die". The speech - which was inspired by Castro's "History Will Free" - was widely reported in the mass media despite official censorship. The trial received international attention; there was a global call for the release of defendants from the UN and the World Peace Council, while the University of London Union chose Mandela as its president. On June 12, 1964, De Wet's justice found Mandela and two of his colleagues found guilty of four charges; although prosecutors demanded the death penalty to be applied, the judges instead cursed them for life imprisonment.
Robben Island: 1964-82
Mandela and his colleagues were transferred from Pretoria to the prison on Robben Island, remaining there for the next 18 years. Apart from non-political detainees in Part B, Mandela was imprisoned in a wet concrete cell measuring 8 feet (2.4 m) by 7 feet (2.1 m), with a straw mat for sleeping. Physically and physically abused by some white prison wardens, Rivon Trial prisoners spent their days breaking stone into gravel, until it was finally reassigned in January 1965 to work in a limestone quarry. Mandela was initially forbidden to wear sunglasses, and the glare of lime permanently damaged his vision. At night he worked on an LLB degree he obtained from the University of London through a correspondence course with Wolsey Hall, Oxford, but newspapers were banned, and he was confined in solitary confinement on several occasions for having smuggled news clippings.. He was originally classified as the lowest class prisoner, Class D, meaning that he was allowed one visit and one letter every six months, although all letters were highly censored.
Political prisoners took part in the strike and famine - the last one deemed ineffective by Mandela - to improve prison conditions, seeing this as a microcosm of the anti-apartheid struggle. The ANC prisoner chose him to be their "High Organ" four people along with Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, and Raymond Mhlaba, and he engaged himself in a group representing all political prisoners (including Eddie Daniels) on the island, Ulundi, where he forged a relationship with members of PAC and Yu Chi Chan Club. Starting "University of Robben Island", where inmates lecture on their own field of expertise, he debates sociopolitical topics with his peers.
Despite attending a Christian Sunday service, Mandela studied Islam. He also studied Afrikaans, hoping to build mutual respect with the guards and convert them to their destination. Official visitors met with Mandela, the most significant being the liberal parliamentary representative, Helen Suzman of the Progressive Party, who fought for Mandela's interests outside of prison. In September 1970, he met British Labor politician Dennis Healey. South Africa's Justice Minister, Jimmy Kruger, visited in December 1974, but he and Mandela did not get along with each other. His mother visited in 1968, dying afterwards, and his first son Thembi died in a car accident the following year; Mandela is prohibited from attending a funeral. His wife was rarely able to see him, regularly imprisoned for political activities, and his daughters first visited in December 1975. Winnie was released from prison in 1977 but was forced to stay at Brandfort and still could not see him.
From 1967 onwards, prison conditions improved; black prisoners were given trousers rather than shorts, games were allowed, and their standard of food was raised. In 1969, the escape plan for Mandela was developed by Gordon Bruce, but was abandoned after the conspiracy was infiltrated by the South African State Security Bureau (BOSS) agent, who hoped to see Mandela was shot during the run. In 1970, Commander Piet Badenhorst became commander. Mandela, seeing increased physical and mental abuse of prisoners, complained to the guest judge, who had been assigned Badenhorst. He was replaced by Commander Willie Willemse, who developed a cooperative relationship with Mandela and wanted to raise the standard of prison.
In 1975, Mandela had become a Class A detainee, allowing him to make more visits and letters. He corresponded with anti-apartheid activists such as Mangosuthu Buthelezi and Desmond Tutu. That year, he began his autobiography, which was smuggled into London, but remained unpublished at the time; the prison authorities found several pages, and the LLB's learning rights were lifted for four years. Instead, he devoted his spare time to gardening and reading until the authorities allowed him to continue his LLB degree studies in 1980.
In the late 1960s, Mandela's fame was defeated by Steve Biko and the Black Awareness Movement (BCM). Seeing the ANC ineffective, BCM called for militant action, but after the Soweto uprising of 1976, many BCM activists were imprisoned on Robben Island. Mandela tried to build relationships with these radical youths, though he was critical of racism and their contempt for white anti-apartheid activists. The renewed international interest in his distress came in July 1978, when he celebrated his 60th birthday. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in Lesotho, Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding in India in 1979, and the Freedom of Glasgow City, Scotland in 1981. In March 1980, the slogan "Mandela Gratis!" developed by journalist Percy Qoboza, sparked an international campaign that led the UN Security Council to call for his release. Despite mounting foreign pressure, the government refused, relying on its Cold War allies, US President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher; both consider the ANC Mandela a terrorist organization sympathetic to communism, and support its oppression. Pollsmoor Prison: 1982-88
In April 1982, Mandela was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in Tokai, Cape Town, along with senior ANC leaders Walter Sisulu Andrew Mlangeni Ahmed Kathrada and Raymond Mhlaba; they believe they are isolated to wipe out their influence on young activists at Robben Island. Conditions at Pollsmoor are better than in Robben Island, though Mandela longs for the friendship and scenery of the island. Lasting well with the Pollsmoor commander, Brigadier Munro, Mandela was allowed to create a roof garden; he also reads voraciously and broadly, now allowing 52 letters a year. He was appointed protector of the multi-racial Front Democracy (UDF), which was established to combat reforms undertaken by South African President P. W. Botha. Botha National Party Government has allowed white and Indian citizens to vote for their own parliament, which has control over education, health and housing, but black Africans are expelled from the system; like Mandela, the UDF sees this as an attempt to divide the anti apartheid movement on the racial line.
The early 1980s witnessed an escalation of violence across the country, and many predicted the civil war. This is accompanied by economic stagnation as multinational banks - under pressure from international lobbying - have stopped investing in South Africa. Many banks and Thatcher asked Botha to release Mandela - then at the peak of her international fame - to defuse the turbulent situation. Despite considering Mandela as a dangerous "Marxist", in February 1985 Botha offered him release from prison if he "rejected unconditional violence as a political weapon". Mandela declined the offer, releasing a statement through his daughter, Zindzi, who declared, "What freedom is offered to me when the organization of [ANC] people remains banned? Only free people are able to negotiate, a prisoner can not make a contract. "
In 1985, Mandela underwent surgery on the enlarged prostate gland, before being given a new resting place on the ground floor. He was greeted by "seven leading men", an international delegation sent to negotiate a settlement, but the Botha government refused to cooperate, called for an emergency in June and initiated a police crackdown on the unrest. The anti-apartheid resistance fought, with the ANC conducting 231 attacks in 1986 and 235 in 1987. Violence intensified as the government used troops and police to fight the resistance, and gave secret support to vigilante groups and the Zulu nationalist movement, Inkatha. , who were engaged in an increasingly violent struggle with the ANC. Mandela requested talks with Botha but was rejected instead of secretly meeting with Justice Minister Kobie Coetsee in 1987, and had 11 further meetings over the next three years. Coetsee organized negotiations between Mandela and a team of four government figures from May 1988; the team agreed to release political prisoners and the legalization of the ANC on condition that they permanently abandon violence, sever ties with the Communist Party, and not impose a majority rule. Mandela rejected this condition, insisting that the ANC would only end its weapons activities when the government abandoned the violence.
Mandela's 70th birthday in July 1988 attracted international attention, including an awards concert at London's Wembley Stadium which was televised and watched by some 200 million viewers. Although presented globally as a heroic figure, he faces personal problems when the ANC leader informs him that Winnie has established himself as the head of the gang, "Mandela United Football Club", which is responsible for torturing and killing opponents - including children. - in Soweto. Although some people encouraged her to divorce her, she decided to remain faithful until she was found guilty through the courts.
Prison Victor Verster and release: 1988-90
Recovering from tuberculosis aggravated by a damp condition in his cell, in December 1988, Mandela was transferred to Victor Verster Prison near Paarl. She is accommodated in the relative comfort of the warden's house with her personal chef, and uses her time to complete her LLB degree. While there, he was allowed many visitors and set up secret communications with the ousted ANC leader Oliver Tambo.
In 1989, Botha suffered a stroke; although he will defend the state's presidency, he resigns as the leader of the National Party, to be replaced by F. W. de Klerk. In a startling move, Botha invited Mandela to a tea meeting in July 1989, an invitation that Mandela deemed to be friendly. Botha was replaced as state president by de Klerk six weeks later; the new president believes that apartheid is unsustainable and releases some ANC prisoners. Following the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989, de Klerk summoned his cabinet together to debate the ban on the ANC and release Mandela. Although some strongly opposed his plans, de Klerk met with Mandela in December to discuss the situation, a well-regarded meeting by both men, before legalizing all previously prohibited political parties in February 1990 and announcing Mandela's unconditional release. Shortly thereafter, for the first time in 20 years, Mandela's photographs were allowed to be published in South Africa.
Leaving the Victor Verster Prison on February 11, Mandela held Winnie's hand in front of the crowd and the press; the event is broadcast live all over the world. Driving to Cape Town Town Hall through the crowd, he gave a speech declaring his commitment to peace and reconciliation with a white minority, but insisted that the ANC armed struggle was not over, and would continue as "pure defensive action against violence from apartheid". He expressed hope that the government would approve the negotiations, so "there may be no more need for armed struggle", and insisted that its main focus was to bring peace to the black majority and give them the right to vote in the national. and local elections. Living in Tutu's house, in the following days Mandela met with friends, activists, and the press, giving a speech to about 100,000 people in Johannesburg's Soccer City.
End of apartheid
Initial negotiation: 1990-91
Mandela went on an African tour, meeting with supporters and politicians in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Libya and Algeria, and continuing to Sweden, where he met again with Tambo, and London, where he appeared in Nelson Mandela: International Award for African Concert South Free at Wembley Stadium at Wembley Park. Encouraging foreign countries to support sanctions against the apartheid government, in France he was welcomed by President FranÃÆ'§ois Mitterrand, in Vatican City by Pope John Paul II, and in Britain by Thatcher. In the United States, he meets President George H.W. Bush, speaking to both councils of Congress and visiting eight cities, is very popular among the African-American community. In Cuba, he befriended President Castro, whom he had long admired. He met President R. Venkataraman in India, President Suharto in Indonesia, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in Malaysia, and Prime Minister Bob Hawke in Australia. He visited Japan, but not the Soviet Union, a longtime supporter of the ANC.
In May 1990, Mandela led an ANC multinacial delegation to preliminary negotiations with a government delegation of 11 Afrikaner men. Mandela impressed them with a discussion of the history of Afrikaner, and the negotiations led to Groot Schuur Minute, where the government raised the emergency. In August, Mandela - acknowledged the severe ANC military weakness - offered a ceasefire, the Pretoria Minute, which he criticized many of the MK activists. He spent a lot of time trying to unite and build the ANC, which appeared at a conference in Johannesburg in December attended by 1600 delegates, many of whom found him more moderate than expected. At ANC's July 1991 national conference in Durban, Mandela acknowledged that the party made a mistake and announced its intention to build "a strong and well-oiled task force" to secure majority rule. At the conference, he was elected President of the ANC, replacing the ailing Tambo, and a 50-strong national multiracial executive, a select gender blend.
Mandela was given an office at the newly purchased ANC headquarters in Shell House, Johannesburg, and moved to Winnie's big Soweto house. Their marriage became more tense when he learned of his affair with Dali Mpofu, but he supported him during the trial for kidnapping and assault. He obtained funding for his defense of the International Defense and Relief Fund for South Africa and from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, but in June 1991 he was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison, reduced to two appeals. On April 13, 1992, Mandela publicly announced his separation with Winnie. The ANC forced him to withdraw from national executives for misusing ANC funds; Mandela moved to Johannesburg, a mostly white suburb of Houghton. Mandela's prospects for a peaceful transition are further undermined by the rise of "black" violence, particularly between ANC and Inkatha supporters in KwaZulu-Natal, which resulted in thousands of deaths. Mandela met with leader Inkatha Buthelezi, but the ANC prevented further negotiations on the issue. Mandela argued that there was a "third force" in the state intelligence service that sparked the "massacre of the people" and blatantly blamed de Klerk - which he increasingly distrusted - for the Sebokeng massacre. In September 1991, a national peace conference was held in Johannesburg where Mandela, Buthelezi and de Klerk signed a peace treaty, although the violence continued.
CODESA talk: 1991-92
The Convention for Democracy of South Africa (CODESA) began in December 1991 at the Johannesburg World Trade Center, attended by 228 delegates from 19 political parties. Although Cyril Ramaphosa was leading the ANC delegation, Mandela remained a key figure, and after de Klerk used his closing speech to condemn the ANC violence, he went on stage to denounce de Klerk as "the head of an unauthorized and discredited minority regime." Dominated by the National Party and the ANC, small negotiations are reached. CODESA 2 was held in May 1992, in which de Klerk insisted that post-apartheid South Africa should use the federal system with rotating presidency to ensure the protection of ethnic minorities; Mandela opposes this, demanding a system of unity governed by majority rule. Following the slaughter of ANC's Boipatong activists by government-backed Inkatha guerrillas, Mandela canceled negotiations, before attending a meeting of the African Union Organization in Senegal, where he called for a special session of the UN Security Council and proposed that UN peacekeepers stationed in South Africa to prevent "state terrorism ". Asking for domestic action, in August the ANC organized the biggest strike ever in South African history, and its supporters marched in Pretoria.
After the Bisho massacre, in which 28 ANC supporters and one soldier were shot dead by the Ciskei Defense Force during the protest march, Mandela realized that mass action had caused further violence and resumed negotiations in September. He agreed to do so on condition that all political prisoners be released, that Zulu traditional weapons were forbidden, and that Zulu hostels would be fenced off, the latter two measures intended to prevent further Inkatha attacks; de Klerk reluctantly agreed. Negotiations agree that multiracial elections will be held, resulting in a five-year national coalition government and constitutional assemblies that influence the National Party. The ANC also recognizes to keep the work of white civil servants; Such concessions bring fierce internal criticism. The duo approved a provisional constitution based on a liberal democratic model, ensured the separation of powers, created a constitutional court, and included a bill of US rights; it also divides the country into nine provinces, each with its own prime minister and civil service, a concession between de Klerk's desire for federalism and Mandela for a unity government.
The democratic process is threatened by the Caring South Africa Group (COSAG), an alliance of black-separatist ethnic groups such as the Inkatha and the far-right Afrikaner parties; in June 1993, one of the last - Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging (AWB) - attacked the Kempton Park World Trade Center. After the assassination of ANC activist Chris Hani, Mandela made a publicized speech to calm the riot, soon after appearing at a mass grave in Soweto for Tambo, who died of a stroke. In July 1993, both Mandela and de Klerk visited the US, independently met with President Bill Clinton and each received the Liberty Medal. Soon afterwards, Mandela and de Klerk were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway. Influenced by Thabo Mbeki, Mandela began to meet big business figures, and downplayed his support for nationalization, fearing he would frighten away much-needed foreign investment. Despite criticism from members of the socialist ANC, he has been encouraged to embrace private companies by members of the Chinese Communist Party and Vietnam at the World Economic Forum in January 1992 in Switzerland.
Elections: 1994
With elections set for April 27, 1994, the ANC began campaigning, opening 100 election offices and orchestrating the People's Forum across the country where Mandela could emerge, as a popular figure with great status among black South Africans. ANC campaigned for the Reconstruction and Development Program (RDP) to build one million homes in five years, introducing universal free education and expanding access to water and electricity. The party slogan is "a better life for all", although it is not explained how this development will be funded. With the exception of the Weekly Mail and New Countries , the South African press opposes Mandela's election, fearing continued ethnic strife, in favor of a National or Democratic Party. Mandela devotes much time to fundraising for the ANC, a tour of North America, Europe and Asia to meet rich donors, including former supporters of the apartheid regime. He also urged the reduction of voter age from 18 to 14; rejected by the ANC, this policy becomes a mockery.
Concerned that COSAG would spoil elections, especially in the midst of conflict in Bophuthatswana and the Shell Building Massacre - violent incidents involving AWB and Inkatha, respectively - Mandela met African politicians and generals, including PW Botha, Pik Botha and Constand Viljoen, persuade many people to work in a democratic system. With de Klerk, he also convinced Buthelezi Inkatha to enter the election rather than launch a war of secession. As the leader of the two major parties, de Klerk and Mandela appeared in a televised debate; although de Klerk was widely regarded as a better speaker at the event, Mandela's offer to shake his hand surprised him, prompting some commentators to regard Mandela's victory. The election continued with little violence, though an AWB cell killed 20 people with a car bomb. As widely expected, the ANC won a major victory, taking 63% of the vote, only a two-thirds majority of the votes required to change the constitution unilaterally. The ANC also won in seven provinces, with Inkatha and the National Party each taking the others. Mandela chose at Ohlange High School in Durban, and although the ANC victory assured his election as President, he openly accepted that the election had been marred by fraud and sabotage cases.
The South African Presidency: 1994-99
The first act of the newly elected National Assembly was formally selecting Mandela as South Africa's first black chief executive. His inauguration took place in Pretoria on May 10, 1994, broadcast to a billion viewers globally. The event was attended by four thousand guests, including world leaders from various geographical and ideological backgrounds. Mandela led the National Unity Government dominated by the ANC - which has no self-governing experience - but contains representatives from the National and Inkatha Party. Under the Interim Constitution, Inkatha and the National Party are entitled to seats in government by winning at least 20 seats. In accordance with the previous agreement, both de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki were given the position of Vice President. Although Mbeki was not his first choice for the job, Mandela grew heavily dependent on him throughout his presidency, allowing him to form policy details. Moving to the presidential office at Tuynhuys in Cape Town, Mandela allowed de Klerk to defend the president's residence in the Groote Schuur area, instead of settling in the nearby Westbrooke manor, which he renamed "Genadendal", which means "Valley of Belas" in Afrikaans. Maintaining his home in Houghton, he also has a house built in his native village, Qunu, which he visits regularly, walks around the area, meets with locals, and assesses tribal disputes.
Aged 76, he faced various illnesses, and despite showing his sustained energy, he felt isolated and lonely. He often entertained celebrities, such as Michael Jackson, Whoopi Goldberg, and Spice Girls, and made friends with very wealthy businessmen, such as Harry Oppenheimer of Anglo-American and Queen Elizabeth II on his state visit in March 1995 to South Africa, which resulted in criticism hard from anti-capitalist ANC. Despite his luxurious surroundings, Mandela lives modestly, donating one-third of his annual income of R 552,000 to the Children's Fund of Nelson Mandela, which he founded in 1995. Despite the exposure of press censorship, speaking for press freedom, and making friends with many people. journalist Mandela is very critical of many media in the country, noting that it is highly owned and run by middle-class white skin and believes that it is too focused on wasting crime.
In December 1994, Mandela published Long Walk to Freedom, an autobiography based on a manuscript he wrote in prison, plus an interview conducted with American journalist Richard Stengel. In late 1994, he attended the 49th ANC conference in Bloemfontein, where a more militant national executive was elected, including Winnie Mandela; although he expressed interest in making peace, Nelson began the divorce process in August 1995. In 1995, he had a relationship with GraÃÆ'§a Machel, a Mozambican political activist 27 years younger than him who was the widow of former president Samora Machel. They first met in July 1990 when he was still mourning, but their friendship grew into a partnership, with Machel accompanying him on many foreign visits. He rejected Mandela's first marriage proposal, which wanted to maintain independence and divide his time between Mozambique and Johannesburg.
National reconciliation
By leading the transition from the minority government of apartheid to a multicultural democracy, Mandela sees national reconciliation as the main task of his presidency. After seeing another post-colonial African economy undermined by the whitewash of the white elite, Mandela worked to convince South Africans that they were protected and represented in the "Rainbow Nation". Although the National Unity Government will be dominated by the ANC, it seeks to create a broad coalition by appointing de Klerk as Vice President and appointing other National Party officials as ministers of Agriculture, Energy, Environment, and Minerals and Energy, and naming Buthelezi as Minister of the Interior. Other cabinet positions were taken by ANC members, many of whom - like Joe Modise, Alfred Nzo, Joe Slovo, Mac Maharaj and Dullah Omar - have long been Mandela's friends, though others, like Tito Mboweni and Jeff Radebe, are much younger. Mandela's relationship with de Klerk was tense; Mandela thought that de Klerk was deliberately provocative, and de Klerk felt that he was deliberately humiliated by the president. In January 1995, Mandela
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