Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was a legendary leader, freedom fighter, and one of the most respected figures in modern history.

Nelson Mandela

Early Life of Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela was the son of Chief Henry Mandela of the Madiba clan of the Xhosa-speaking Tembu people. After his father’s death, young Nelson was raised by Jong Intaba, the regent of the Tembu. Nelson renounced his claim to the chieftainship to become a lawyer. He attended South African Native College (later the University of Fort Hare) and studied law at the University of the Witwatersrand; he later passed the qualification exam to become a lawyer. In 1944 he joined the African National Congress (ANC), a Black-liberation group, and became a leader of its Youth League. That same year he met and married Evelyn Ntoko Mase. 

Mandela subsequently held other ANC leadership positions, through which he helped revitalize the organization and oppose the apartheid policies of the ruling National Party.  

In 1952 in Johannesburg, with fellow ANC leader Oliver Tambo, Mandela established South Africa’s first Black law practice, specializing in cases resulting from the post-1948 apartheid legislation. Also that year, Mandela played an important role in launching a campaign of defiance against South Africa’s pass laws, which required nonwhites to carry documents (known as passes, pass books, or reference books) authorizing their presence in areas that the government deemed “restricted” (i.e., generally reserved for the white population). He traveled throughout the country as part of the campaign, trying to build support for nonviolent means of protest against the discriminatory laws. In 1955, he drafted the Freedom Charter, a document calling for nonracial social democracy in South Africa.

Mandela’s anti-apartheid activism made him a frequent target of the authorities. Starting in 1952, he was intermittently banned (severely restricted in travel, association, and speech). In December 1956, he was arrested with more than 100 other people on charges of treason designed to harass anti-apartheid activists. Mandela went on trial that same year and eventually was acquitted in 1961. During the extended court proceedings, he divorced his first wife and married Nomzamo Winifred Madikizela (Winnie Madikizela-Mandela).

Family Background

Mandela belonged to the Thembu royal family, a subgroup of the Xhosa people. His father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa, was a local chief and adviser to the Thembu king. His mother, Nosekeni Fanny, was the third of his father’s four wives. Mandela grew up in a traditional rural environment and was heavily influenced by tribal customs and storytelling.

Education

After his father's death when Mandela was about nine years old, he was placed under the guardianship of Chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo, the acting regent of the Thembu people. This move marked a turning point in his life, giving him access to a better education.

Mandela attended several mission schools and eventually enrolled at Healdtown, a Wesleyan secondary school. He went on to study at Fort Hare University, a prestigious institution for black Africans at the time. However, he was expelled for participating in a student protest.

Move to Johannesburg

After leaving Fort Hare, Mandela moved to Johannesburg in 1941 to escape an arranged marriage. In the city, he worked various jobs and continued his education part-time. He eventually completed his law degree and became one of the first black South Africans to open a law firm.

This period laid the foundation for his political awakening and eventual involvement in the anti-apartheid movement.

Rivonia Trial 1963 - 1964

Often referred to as "the trial that changed South Africa,” in October 1963, ten leading opponents of apartheid went on trial for their lives on charges of sabotage. In the most profound moment in the trial, Nelson Mandela made a speech in the dock in which he condemned the very court in which he was appearing as 'illegitimate'. He then argued that the laws in place were equally draconian and that defiance of these laws was justified.  The Rivonia Trial and the arrest of the MK high Command highlight a conundrum faced by those in the liberation struggle: the way that justice was often at odds with legality.

 Liberation movements, while rejecting the legitimacy of the racial minority state, were forced to deal with the legal system – when activists were apprehended they simply could not disregard it.  In the Rivonia Trial, the ‘accused’ addressed this problem by using the courts as a site of struggle. They argued that the law was drawn up without the consent of the majority; it was enforced to ensure the perpetuation of an unjust system, and therefore the struggle would be waged to establish a new system, including a legal system that would embody the values of a non-racial constitution that protected human rights.

Nelson Mandela Underground activity

In the 1950s and early 1960s, South Africa’s apartheid government banned political organizations like the African National Congress (ANC), and it became illegal for Mandela and others to protest openly. 

So Mandela went underground—operating in secret to continue the struggle for freedom.

Became "The Black Pimpernel" 

• Mandela disguised himself and moved secretly around South Africa.  
• He wore different clothes, used fake names, and even dressed as a chauffeur.  
• The police couldn’t catch him for a long time—that’s why the media called him The Black Pimpernel.

Started Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) 

• In 1961, Mandela co-founded a secret armed group called Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation").  
• This group was the military wing of the ANC, created to fight apartheid with sabotage—not to hurt people, but to target government buildings, power stations, and symbols of oppression.  
• They believed non-violent protest alone wasn't working anymore.

Trained Abroad