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The life of Nelson Mandela - Coggle Diagram
The life of Nelson Mandela
Early Life
Nelson Mandela was born on July 18th 1918 to the royal family of the Thembu Tribe in Mvezo or British South Africa
His original name was Rohiliala but he got his new name, Nelson, by his teacher at a Catholic school at the age of 7
He was a very hardworking student and would go on to become a law major at the university of Fort Hare and the University of Witwatersrand
Later on, he became a lawyer in Johannesburg during which he introduced himself to Anti-Colonial and African Nationalist movements
First years as an activist
In 1943, Mandela joined the ANC (African Nationalist Congress) and co-founded its Youth League in 1944
After the establishment of Apartheid which was a system that promoted white individuals in supression of black people
Then, the ANC, including Nelson Mandela, made it their life mission to over throw this injustice.
Mandela rose to the rank of president of the ANC recieving wide spread attention for his role in the 1952 Defiance Campaign and 1955 Congress of the people
Not surprisingly, he was unpopular among the white only authority
In 1956, he was arrested for treason and served 5 years in prison. After discharge in 1961, along with his fellow ANC members and the South African Communist Party (SACP), he co-founded the militant group called MKMVA.
Prison Life
Unfortunately, he was re-arrested in 1962 but this time sentenced to life-imprisonment for conspiring against the nation.
Nelson Mandela spent the next 27 years of his life in prison transferred from Robben Island Prison onto Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison.
During 18 years of staying at Robben Island Prison, he and his comrades were physically and verbally abused by the white guards.
Mandela's eyesight also permanently damaged due to having to work at the long line without glasses. None the less, his influence as a huge human rights activist grew despite all the terrible conditions he had to endure in Robben Island Prison.
Nelson rose to become a prominent figure among ANC prisoners on the island and expanded his influence beyond that by joining a group representing the whole Robben Island political prisoners called Ulundi.
Later he initated a movement called the "University of Robben Island" enabling prisoners to share their expertise and knowlegde with Nelson to himself debated socio-polictical topics with his comarads.
In 1982, he and some other ANC prisoners would be transferred to the Pollsmoor Prison. In Pollsmoor prison, he wrote and read tiressely reaching out to the black community and people of other races.
In the 1980s, South Africa burst out due to socio-political problems, violence burst out across the country. Due to the British prime minister, Nelson was released only if he rejected violence as a political weapon but Nelson declined which resulted in him being in
Solitary Confinement
in Victor Vester Prison.
Things got even better there. He had a personal chef and also was allowed to have many visitors where he got him self released by the president of Africa at that time.
Presidential Years
In 1991, Nelson became the president of the ANC and collaborated with the ex-president to end Apartheid peacefully and promising equal rights to everyone.
Their fight for the peace of South Africa earned both of them the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
His tiressly fighting for what is right eventually paid of in the 1994 general elections which granted the right to vote to all races in South Africa. The ANC won and Nelson Mandela became the
first black president
of the country.
In 1999, Nelson Mandela withdrew from polictics. In the same year he retired, he found the Nelson Mandela Organization.
In South Africa, he is also known as the "Father of the nation". His pass away in 2013 saddened the world and left many in tears but his status is a symbol of equality, peace and humanitarianism will stay forever
