Nelson Mandela | Biography, Life, Education, Apartheid ... - Britannica

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Underground activity and the Rivonia Trial

After the massacre of unarmed Black South Africans by police forces at Sharpeville in 1960 and the subsequent banning of the ANC, Mandela abandoned his nonviolent stance and began advocating acts of sabotage against the South African regime. He went underground (during which time he became known as the Black Pimpernel for his ability to evade capture) and was one of the founders of Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”), the military wing of the ANC. In 1962 he went to Algeria for training in guerrilla warfare and sabotage, returning to South Africa later that year. On August 5, shortly after his return, Mandela was arrested at a road block in Natal; he was subsequently sentenced to five years in prison.

Quick Facts In full: Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (Show more) Byname: Madiba (Show more) Born: July 18, 1918, Mvezo, South Africa (Show more) Died: December 5, 2013, Johannesburg (aged 95) (Show more) Title / Office: president (1994-1999), South Africa (Show more) Political Affiliation: African National Congress Umkhonto we Sizwe (Show more) Awards And Honors: Nobel Prize (1993) (Show more) Notable Works: “Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years” “Long Walk to Freedom” (Show more) Notable Family Members: spouse Winnie Madikizela-Mandela (Show more) See all related content Show More Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - president of Liberia - at the official release of the No Ceilings Full Participation Report which coincides with the start of the 59th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on March 9, 2015 in New York City. Global and community leaders participated in the program which looked to highlight the findings showing 20 years of global data compiled by No Ceilings reveals that there is more to done to achieve "full and equal participation" of women and girls worldwide. Britannica Quiz African Leaders: Part One
Nelson Mandela
Nelson MandelaFrom 1964 to 1982 Mandela was imprisoned on Robben Island, off Cape Town.(more)

In October 1963 the imprisoned Mandela and several other men were tried for sabotage, treason, and violent conspiracy in the infamous Rivonia Trial, named after a fashionable suburb of Johannesburg where raiding police had discovered quantities of arms and equipment at the headquarters of the underground Umkhonto we Sizwe. Mandela’s speech from the dock, in which he admitted the truth of some of the charges made against him, was a classic defense of liberty and defiance of tyranny. (His speech garnered international attention and acclaim and was published later that year as I Am Prepared to Die.) On June 12, 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment, narrowly escaping the death penalty.

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