Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was born in South Africa on July 18, 1918. He was given his English name ‘Nelson’ by his primary school teacher.

Mandela was educated at the university of Fort Hare and qualified in law in 1942.

 He joined the African National Congress known as the ANC in 1943 and was a leader of an underground group speaking out for the rights of black people.

He took part in many dramatic demonstrations against the white ruled government.

The ANC was banned in 1960 and Mandela went into hiding.

Tensions with the apartheid system grew in 1960, when 69 black people were shot dead by the white police.

This marked the end of peaceful fight and Mandela, already a national vice-president of the ANC, started a campaign to damage the country's economy.

For this reason, Nelson Mandela got arrested in 1964 and charged with trying to violently overthrow the government. In the court Mandela used the stand to express his belief about freedom and equality.

This is where he famously said "I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities, it is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."

 However Nelson Mandela was sentenced to life in 1964.

His mother and son both passed away while he was in prison, but he was not allowed to attend the funerals.

He remained in prison on Robben Island for 18 years before being transferred to Pollsmoor Prison in 1982.

 As Mandela suffered in prison, the black youths of South Africa did their best to fight against the white rules.

Hundreds were killed and thousands were injured.

Even in prison Mandela continued to be a light of hope for his people, famously saying “Education is the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world.”