Cape Town's Big Six: Robben Island


by Juanique Pretorius - Date: 2006-12-04 - Word Count: 259 Share This!

Named after the colony of seals that inhabited the island and surrounded by the great whites that prey upon them, it's astounding how such a desolate location can bear testimony to conquest and victory.

In the early 1500's when the Portuguese, British and Dutch used the island as a prison to rid themselves of the native people who questioned having their land and cows interfered with, in return for little or no explanation. This was the beginning of a tendency the island was to bear for many years to come, an outpost for those brave enough to stand up to various outlandish forms of oppression.

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela

One such man broke the island's spell upon his release on 11 February 1990 and today his story carries universal appeal. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela pledged to die for the ideals of equal opportunities and a true democratic, free society. After many years of struggle, Mandela was sentenced to life imprisonment on Robben Island for standing up to the government in favour of these ideals.

Through the years he stood fast to Einstein's view that the same mindset that created a problem cannot be the one that solves it. As a result, his forgiveness, fairness and equality resulted in his inauguration as the first democratically elected State President of South Africa on 10 May four years after his release.

World Heritage site

The buildings on the Island are the only remnants of its history, the rest lives on in the people who were imprisoned there, and to them it remains a triumph of the human spirit over adversity.


Related Tags: cape town, south africa, robben island, mandela

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