Interesting Facts About Robben Island Where Nelson Mandela Spent 18 Years In Prison

If you are considering visiting an historic place, Nelson Mandela Robben Island is an ideal place for you.It is the place where former President of South Africa Nelson Mandela, before the fall of apartheid, served for eighteen years out of the 27 years that he spent behind bars.

Today, interestingly, the island has become a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as a South African National Heritage Site.

History Of Robben Island

The settlers of the Dutch Cape Colony were known for their affinity with the Robben island since 1654. This was when they placed a few rams and all their ewes there after building a shelter and a large shed.

This isolation was a strategy to protect themselves against wild animals. It was after then that it became a strategic place of banishment, imprisonment, and isolation for about four centuries.

The first prisoner Autshumato was locked up there in the mid-17th century. Political leaders from different Dutch colonies like Indonesia also lived there permanently.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, political prisoners were sent by the Dutch from the Dutch East Indies to the island. It was later fortified with the installation of 6-inch guns and BL 9.2-inch guns for defenses during the Second World War.

When the Brits ruled in the Cape, those who resisted them during the anti-apartheid movements in South Africa were imprisoned on the island. One of the first Cape Town’s imams who was exiled there in the mid-1740s was Sayed Abdurahman Moturu. He died there in 1754 and today has a sacred site there.

However, in 1991, the maximum-security prison on the island was closed down for political prisoners while that of criminal prisoners also shut down five years afterwards.

Since then, what was known as a place of banishment has turned into a museum. Now known as Robben Island museum, thousands of tourists visit the place to have a feel of what the past of South Africa was like and also look at the tiny cell where the heroic Nelson Mandela lived.

Robben Highland Fact

Having had an idea of what Robben island history is all about, here are some interesting facts that you should know about the place.

1. Former prisoners from Robben island prison have emerged as presidents in South Africa

What is Robben Island most famous for? Some of the prisoners who served behind bars on the island have come back to rule as presidents of the country.

Apart from the popular former President Nelson Mandela who spent eighteen years there, former Presidents Jacob Zuma and Kgalema Motlanthe were prisoners who lived there as well.

2. The place of banishment derived its name after its seals

As said earlier, when the Dutch arrived at the Cape, they used the secluded place as a port and also as a graze station for their cattle.

Then, considering the massive number of seals that populated the shores before, the name “Robben” was given. In Dutch, Robben means “seal”.

3. Prisoners from the island once had a football league

Even while people were banished to the island, life there was not all bleak. The reason is that the prisoners came up with an activity to engage themselves with.

They formed a football league among themselves that adhered to FIFA’s laws strictly. The league was called Makana Football Association, and the name “Makana” was given after a Xhosa prophet who, in the 19th century, was also incarcerated on the island.

4. Mentally deranged people and lepers had also been isolated there in the past

Although many people know Robben to be a place of confinement to those who were charged with crimes, there were those who got banished to the place without any crime committed. In the 19th century, people suffering from leprosy and mental illness were also isolated on Robben.

The reason is that, apart from the fact that they were removed far from society, the climate was also considered healthful for them.

5. Some prisoners on the island serve as tour guides today

While the period of confinement is over, interestingly, some of the former prisoners themselves serve as tour guides now. However, it is noteworthy that some of these people only do so because of the financial challenges they are faced with.

6. Nelson Mandela grew vegetables on Robben island

While he was on the island, as noted by prison guard Christo Brand, Nelson Mandela had a garden which he was so proud of. According to Christo, “He grew brinjals, tomatoes, onions and spinach, which, every Friday, the wardens would combine with meat to make a stew. Mandela always shared his stew with the wardens.”

When was Mandela released from prison? After serving for 27 years in prison, splitting among Victor Verster Prison, Pollsmoor Prison and Robben island, in 1990, President F. W. de Klerk released him.

7. It is home of a variety of species of birds

As part of the exceptional things about the place, 132 species of birds have been identified to have the location as their place of abode.

If you watch out well while visiting the place, you are likely to see Cape Fur Seals, black-crowned night heron, Crowned Cormorants, Southern Right Whales and a host of others.

And once you get to the island, you will see a variety of bucks like Eland and Springbok as well as different species of tortoises.