Chapter 1 of the unpublished autobiography written on Robben Island in 1976, covering the period between his birth and his passage of rite into manhood.
The item consists of a 1990 diary given to Mandela by JN and Radhi Singh when they visited him at Victor Verster Prison. Mandela made very few entries, and his last entry is on 13 January. He describes a group of ducks that had wandered into the house which served as his jail. Only the pages with writing on it has been digitised and the back and front cover and will be described in detail.
Letter sent by Mandela to the Chancellor of University of Massachusetts regarding the admittance of his daughter Maki Mandela and her husband Isaac Amuah.
Letter sent by Nelson Mandela to Kgalema Motlanthe, Secretary General of the African National Congress (ANC). It includes a handwritten draft, a typed version and a fax cover sheet.
The series consists to two letters sent by Nelson Mandela to Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations, in his role as facilitator of the Burundi Peace Mission.
Occasion - Drum asked several non-European leaders for answers to three questions concerning the planned deomstrations. These were Mr. Mandela's answers. Summary - The demonstrations will be peaceful and will include work stoppages, meetings and processions. The aim of the protest is to have grievances heard and, ideally, have a national convention to discuss a new constitution.
Two hardcover exercise books containing handwritten drafts of letters from Nelson Mandela to family, friends, and the authorities; and 1 loose sheet with record of family visits.
In the latter part of his imprisonment Nelson Mandela made overtures towards the apartheid regime when he thought the time was right. He was not negotiating, but he was talking to them about the conditions for actual talks between the ruling National Party and the African National Congress. Once he was released from prison on 11 February 1990 he and his colleagues began meeting with the regime. This paved the way for the full-blown multi-party talks at the Convention for a Democratic South Africa (Codesa) which began on 20 December 1991 and ended in 1993 when the date for South Africa’s first democratic elections was announced. Here he talks about the ending of the armed struggle in August 1990.
Occasion - Briefing to fifth session of the OAU Ad Hoc Committee on southern Africa Summary - In a speech to the fifth session of the OAU Ad Hoc Committee on Southern Africa,Nelson Mandela dealt with the wave of violence in South Africa, and said that certain elements in South Africa were behind the rise of a movement similar to that of Renamo which had caused enormous death and destruction in Mozambique. They had incited massacres in the Transvaal, irrespective of tribal origins and political affiliations. Death squads were prowling around the country. There was also violence from the state agencies. As a result of the failure of the government to take firm action against these elements, there was a widespread demand, especially from the youth, that the people should be armed. He continued as in transcript.
Extracts from the testimony by Mandela in 1960, responding as spokesman for the accused to questions from the bench, the prosecution and the defence lawyers on the content of ANC documents and question of violent intent on the part of those on trial.
Many people are unaware that Nelson Mandela was sent to prison on Robben Island twice. The first time was a brief period in 1963, about six months after he had been sentenced to five years in prison for leaving the country illegally and inciting a strike. Initially held at Pretoria Local Prison, Mr Mandela was sent to Robben Island in May 1963 and then, on 13 June 1963, he was inexplicably returned to Pretoria. After he had been there for about a month, his colleagues were arrested and they stood trial together for sabotage in the Rivonia Trial. Mr Mandela and seven others were sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 June 1964. He remained on Robben Island until the end of March 1982 after which he was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland. Then, after a few months in hospitals, he was sent to Victor Verster Prison in December 1988 from where he was freed on 11 February 1990.
The statement reviewed the successes and weaknesses of the three day stay-at-home in May 1961, as well as the responses to it from journalists, students, trade unions, and from opposing groups like the Pan-Africanist Congress. It also announced the policy of non-collaboration with the government and renewed the call for an intensified international boycott and the complete isolation of South Africa.
Nelson Mandela is renowned for his love of children and young people and often speaks of how important they are to the future of any country and the world as a whole. Here he relates an incident that occurred soon after his release from prison as he was en route from Canada to Ireland. In Canada’s Goose Bay he had a few minutes at the airport between flights and decided to go and talk to a group of young people. It turned out that they were members of Canada’s Inuit community and Mr Mandela is unashamed about his ignorance of their culture.
Robben Island prison had a library for each section of the prison. The libraries were staffed by prisoners and a fair amount of interesting literature escaped the censors who tried to ensure that subversive material did not get into the hands of the prisoners. One of Nelson Mandela’s close comrades, Ahmed Kathrada, was at one stage a librarian in B Section where he, Mr Mandela, and about two dozen other prisoners were held. If books arrived in the library they could be read. Books that just mentioned the name ‘Mandela’ for example did not make it. Here Mr Mandela talks about some of the books he read on Robben Island.
