Nelson Mandela Essay

In the 1960s, many of the colonial nations of Africa were gaining independence. The ANC was encouraged and campaigned for democracy in South Africa. They were mild campaigns at first, but as the government became more hostile, so did ANC protests. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. It authorized the limited use of arms and sabotage against the government, which got the government’s attention—and its anger! Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. It was a sad day for black South Africa.

The objective of this new regime was that whites (only 21% of the total population) retained their privileged position. Apartheid was basically the total separation between whites and blacks, even denying the existence of this last race. Blacks were banned from voting, shared rooms and spaces, and even black-and-white marriage. Nelson Mandela tried from the beginning of the establishment of apartheid of defender to the black race; First as an attorney giving legal assistance to the many blacks who could not afford it; And then as commander-in-chief of the Umkhonto guerrilla organization we Sizwe (MK) who turned armed activity into his Quid pro quo. The turn took place in the decade of the 60, after the death of 69 citizens in Sharpeville. It was a desperate gesture on a good man, who had always proclaimed himself a follower of

6) however, like Gandhi, he encouraged the volunteers not to retaliate. Mandela spent 26 years and 8 months in jail as punishment for his protesting however, he felt that “no sacrifice was too great in the struggle for freedom” (Doc. 9). He spent time in jail with other protesters that all felt that “whatever sentences [they] received, even the death sentence… [their] deaths would not be in vain” (Doc. 9). Freedom for the South African people from apartheid finally came in 1993. To Mandela this was not just the freedom of his people but “the freedom of all people, black and white” (Doc. 12). “South Africa’s New Democracy” rose after years of continuous nonviolence from the populace.

Mandela was a very important leader in the struggle against apartheid. Like many other struggle leaders, he was thrown in jail more than once and spent 27 years of his life in jail. He became an important symbol for human rights and anti-apartheid campaigns all over the world. In 1990 he was finally released from jail, and he became an important leader in the talks with President F.W. de Klerk about a South Africa free from apartheid.

“There is no easy walk to freedom anywhere, and many of us will have to pass through the valley of the shadow of death again and again before we reach the mountain top of our desires”. These are the words of a man, Nelson Mandela, who fought for something that many would shy away from. He led the anti-apartheid movement, became the president of the African National Congress Youth League, and later became the president of South Africa winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

‘Nelson Mandela: A Biography’ is a biographical account of the great South African leader Nelson Mandela. The book is written by Peter Limb is a timeline of events in the life of Nelson Mandela weaved in the compelling narrative penned by Limb. The book is divided into 10 chapters whereby each chapter progresses the reader through the early life of Mandela and latter tremulous years spent in fighting the apartheid. The reader walks through the life and time of Mandela by compelling write-up produced by Peter Limb. The book also sheds light on the contemporary times when Mandela finally served his jail term and was freed by the South African government. The paper is a review of the book penned by Peter Limb and will carry critique of the book and how the book accomplished an important task of shedding light on the life of Nelson Mandela. Section two of the paper reviews all chapters of the book and an analysis of each chapter connects with the following chapters. Section three will highlight the relevance and appropriateness of the book in deconstructing the legendary personality of Nelson Mandela.

These huge happenings both removed the global communist threat and freed people from injustices, which created an illusion that the entire world was listening in on South Africa, expecting a revolutionary change. From the very beginning protesters, especially Nelson Mandela himself, were influenced by Gandhi and his Satyagraha campaign in India as it was in several ways a similar fight. They both took place in countries that had been colonised by Great Britain, they both fought against the discrimination and oppression of the population and were both led by world-renowned leaders that shared fundamental ideas of unity and compassion. However, Gandhi’s philosophy wasn’t something Mandela followed meticulously. One of the major differences between their methods of ruling is that Mandela used violence at times, as it came to a point where he saw it as a necessity. It is important to note that without Gandhi’s fight in India, the protesters in South Africa may never have had motivation enough to see the potential they held, and what a difference they could make by

In 1960 South Africa’s policies were subject to international scrutiny and the Sharpeville massacre resulted in international condemnation. The United Nations conservative stance on the apartheid changed. The Sharpeville massacre had shaken the global community, with the apartheid regime threatening that it would possess violent behavior and lead into state terror to repress opposition to racial inequity. Apartheid was seen as a danger to the global community in

Once the resistance of the non-violent act came to an end soon followed the violent resistance. It had become of the biggest bloodletting acts in 1960. Here the resistance overthrew the government with the intention to support and shelter the civilians (Engler, 2013). With Mandela trying to support and shelter the civilians this became an act of violence with the justification of bringing in peace to civilians. Power is an influence which can lead to many outcomes. Having the ability to have a quarrel where civilians are not being injured can be an extraordinary outcome but with power one must always have an approach.

For years, South Africa’s Afrikaner Nationalist Party was conducting all types of racial attacks that were raising ethical issues. Along with the South African government, they reshaped racial laws and regulations, continuing with violence against blacks. Nonwhites outnumbered whites by about 5 to 1. Violence consisted of the Sharpeville massacre, the Soweto Street death demonstration, and the death of black leader who was in police custody. Through such acts, South Africa’s direct investment rose dramatically.

    Nelson Mandela was a great leader of South Africa. Nelson Rolihlahla  Mandela was born in South Africa on July 18, 1918. He was an anti-apartheid revolutionary, political leader, and philanthropist, who was the first black and democratically elected President. Before Mandela was elected president, South Africa was a country with a white supremacist government, ruled by apartheid. There were racial tensions between whites and blacks, both races hated each other. Blacks were uneducated and most of them were poor and had little food. Nelson Mandela had a positive impact towards South Africa because he ended apartheid, unified South Africa and helped those less

Nelson Mandela was a man who learned from his previously violent ways and thoroughly used peace to his advantage in his fight against apartheid, and in the leading of South Africa. Nelson Mandela grew up as a peaceful person and in 1943 went to law school for his degree. While in law school, he got very interested in politics and joined a radical protest group, the African National Congress (The ANC). The ANC got into a lot of trouble with the government for their ideas about a place without apartheid. Mandela was arrested in 1963 and sentenced to life in prison. The government let him out of

Nelson Mandela was the man who abolished Apartheid, freeing South Africa from the binds of racial segregation forever. However, it was not an easy road and Mandela needed patience, strength of character, focus, passion, understanding, perseverance, and most importantly, forgiveness, to achieve this. For more than forty years, black South Africans were subject to the harsh racial segregation of the Apartheid system; despite making up over 70% of South Africa’s population, they had little to no rights.

Imagine being systematically oppressed from the moment you exited the womb. All your civil rights, based on the amount of melanin in your skin. Drinking from the wrong water fountain, could even get you thrown into jail. Coincidently; this was the life, of black South Africans from the moment of Dutch colonization in 1652, to the first true democratic election in 1994. Apartheid, meaning “separateness” in Afrikaans; was legal segregation enforced by The National Party (NP) from 1948 to 1994. It legally imposed preexisting policies of racial discrimination on the Majority of the South African population. The entire basis of the racist policies, was the darker your complexion the less legal rights you had. Presumably this injustice, could have continued much longer if it weren’t for all involved in the fight against the NP, however the man who arguably contributed the most, was Nelson Mandela. He ended an apartheid, with both his philanthropy and political prowess. He united a nation that used to be segregated; which seemed a daunting task at the time, but through the sweat and bloodshed he achieved the impossible. This alone exhibited his heroic characteristics, but to be more precise: both his actions and inactions lead to his success. Furthermore, Mandela was both a strong leader and forgiving at the same-time. Being in the forefront of the abolishment movement, was an extremely risky move during the apartheid. He risked his life for what he believed in, and this personal

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.