Nelson Mandela: From the Fight Against Apartheid to South African Reconciliation

Nelson Mandela remains one of the great figures in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. An activist in the African National Congress (ANC), a lawyer, a political prisoner for 27 years, and then the country’s first Black president, he embodied a fight for equal rights and the building of a multiracial democracy.

His journey cannot be reduced to his release, which became a global event in 1990. It is also the story of a man educated in a South Africa that was already deeply unequal, committed to political resistance, confronted with underground activity and imprisonment, and then placed at the heart of the negotiations that ended the apartheid system.

A childhood shaped by history and education

Nelson Mandela was born on July 18, 1918, in Mvezo, South Africa, under the name Rolihlahla Mandela. He belonged to a royal family of the Thembu people, part of the Xhosa ethnic group. He was also called Madiba, a name used as a mark of respect.

At the age of 7, he entered an English-speaking Protestant school. A teacher then gave him the first name Nelson, following a common practice at the time. Two years later, his father died of tuberculosis. His education was subsequently entrusted to the Thembu regent, Jongintaba.

Mandela continued his schooling through university, an opportunity that was rare for a young Black South African. In 1939, he enrolled at the University of Fort Hare, where he studied law and history. There he met Oliver Tambo, who would become his friend and fellow activist. However, his involvement in a student protest led to his expulsion in 1940.

A South Africa structured around dispossession

Nelson Mandela’s path unfolded in a country where racial discrimination had been established long before the official advent of apartheid. After Dutch colonization beginning in 1652, followed by the British takeover in 1806, South Africa became a self-governing state within the British Empire in 1910.

In 1913, the Native Land Act confined the Black majority to less than 10% of the territory, while the white minority controlled most of the land. It was in this context that the ANC was founded, with the aim of defending the interests of the Black population against institutional injustice.

After moving to Johannesburg in 1941, Mandela discovered the living conditions of Black residents in poor neighborhoods. He initially held several jobs before resuming his law studies. With Oliver Tambo, he opened a practice in 1951 that became the country’s first Black law firm. They notably defended many activists prosecuted by the authorities.

Commitment within the ANC against apartheid

Mandela joined the ANC in 1943, encouraged by Walter Sisulu. In 1944, with Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, and other activists, he helped establish the ANC Youth League. It promoted a more active line based on civil disobedience, boycotts, and strikes.

In 1948, the National Party came to power through the votes of white voters alone. It instituted apartheid, an Afrikaans term meaning “separation.” This system made segregation compulsory: movement controlled by passes, separate public spaces, political exclusion, and the forced displacement of nonwhite populations.

Mandela then made the struggle against apartheid the focus of his commitment. He took part in civil disobedience campaigns and became deputy president of the ANC in 1952. Prosecuted on several occasions, he was notably accused of communism, a label he rejected.

Repression reached a dramatic point on March 21, 1960, in Sharpeville. A peaceful protest against passes was suppressed by police: 69 people were killed and more than 180 injured. After this massacre, a state of emergency was imposed and the ANC was banned.

From sabotage to the Rivonia Trial

After Sharpeville, Mandela concluded that nonviolent strategy was no longer sufficient in the face of the regime’s violence. In 1961, he helped create Umkhonto we Sizwe, often known by its initials MK, the underground armed wing linked to the ANC. Its members carried out acts of sabotage against industrial, electrical, and military infrastructure. At that time, these actions caused no direct casualties.

In 1962, Mandela traveled to several African countries and to London to raise awareness of the situation in South Africa and draw inspiration from other liberation movements. In Morocco, he received training from the armed wing of the Algerian National Liberation Front.

Arrested on August 5, 1962, upon his return to South Africa, he was sentenced to five years in prison for inciting a strike and leaving the country illegally. The following year, the arrest of ANC and MK activists in Rivonia led to a major trial. Mandela and his co-defendants faced the death penalty for conspiracy, treason, and sabotage.

During the trial, Mandela stated that he had fought against both white domination and Black domination, and defended the ideal of a democratic society in which everyone would live together with equal opportunities. The defendants escaped the death penalty but were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Robben Island: 27 years in detention

Mandela spent 18 years on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, under prisoner number 46664. Conditions of detention were harsh: forced labor, inadequate food, censored mail, and very limited visits. Nevertheless, he studied, read, and learned, in particular, the language and history of the Afrikaners.

He also endured bereavements without being able to attend the funerals. His mother died in 1968, then his eldest son, Thembekile, was killed in a car accident in 1969. Meanwhile, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, whom he had married in 1958, remained involved in the struggle and was herself subjected to surveillance, arrest, and torture.

Mobilization against apartheid grew in the country and internationally. In 1976, the repression of a demonstration by high school students in Soweto caused the deaths of 575 teenagers, according to the official toll cited. In 1977, activist Steve Biko died after being tortured at a police station.

Nelson Mandela gradually became an international symbol of the antiracist struggle. External pressure contributed to his transfer to a prison in Cape Town in 1982. He later refused an offer of release conditional on abandoning his political commitment.

Release and the end of apartheid

In 1989, Pieter Botha stepped down from the South African presidency. Frederik de Klerk succeeded him and initiated decisive political change. On February 2, 1990, he lifted the ban on the ANC. Nelson Mandela was released on February 11, 1990, after 27 years in prison.

Upon his release, Mandela called for the struggle for equality, peace, and national reconciliation to continue. Elected president of the ANC in 1991, he led negotiations with the government aimed at dismantling apartheid. The system was abolished, and Mandela received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 alongside Frederik de Klerk.

The first multiracial universal suffrage elections were held in April 1994. More than 15 million people who had until then been excluded from citizenship became voters. The ANC came first with 62% of the vote. On May 10, 1994, Nelson Mandela became South Africa’s first Black president.

The presidency and the idea of the “rainbow nation”

At the head of the country, Mandela emphasized reconciliation between Black and white South Africans. He popularized the expression “rainbow nation” to describe a society called upon to free itself from its racial divisions, without denying their persistence in social practices.

The 1995 Rugby World Cup became one of the symbols of this policy. Rugby and the Springboks team were then associated with the Afrikaner population and rejected by part of the Black population. Mandela nevertheless supported the national team and encouraged its rapprochement with township residents. The Springboks’ victory prompted shared celebrations.

In 1996, a new Constitution was promulgated. Mandela served only one term, in keeping with his commitment, and left the presidency in 1999. He subsequently continued his work, notably through a foundation focused on scientific research and AIDS prevention. His son Makgatho died of HIV in 2005.

Nelson Mandela died on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95. His history remains inseparable from the fall of apartheid, but also from a political imperative: to defend a democracy in which no group dominates another. To learn more about struggles against segregation in the United States, also read the life of Martin Luther King Jr.. The question of civic equality also gains historical perspective through the story of Jean-Baptiste Belley, France’s first Black member of parliament.

FAQ about Nelson Mandela

Why was Nelson Mandela imprisoned?

He was first sentenced in 1962 for inciting a strike and leaving the country illegally. At the Rivonia Trial, he was then sentenced to life imprisonment with other activists, notably for conspiracy, treason, and sabotage.

How long did Nelson Mandela spend in prison?

Nelson Mandela was detained for 27 years. He notably spent 18 years on Robben Island before being transferred to other prisons.

When did Nelson Mandela become president of South Africa?

He became president on May 10, 1994, following the first South African elections held under multiracial universal suffrage.