| 1912 |  | | |
The African National Congress (ANC) is founded; its goal is to end white domination
and create a multi-racial South Africa. |
| | |
| July 18, 1918 | | | |
Rolihlahla Dalibhunga Mandela is born in a small village in the Transkei
province in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. (see map) The Madiba, his tribal
clan, is part of the Thembu people. His family has royal connections; his
great-grandfather was a Thembu king and Mandela's father is a respected
counselor to the Thembu royal family. His father has four wives and Mandela is
one of thirteen children. The family lives in a traditional thatched hut and
raises livestock. On his first day of school, Rolihlahla is given the English
name Nelson by an African teacher. |
| | |
| 1927 | | | |
Mandela's father dies, and at the age of nine Mandela becomes the ward of the
acting regent of the Thembu people, chief Jongintaba Dalindyebo. He is raised
lovingly, but with discipline, by the chief and his wife in the Thembu royal
household. |
| | |
| 1939-1940 | | | |
After receiving a good education at local boarding schools, Mandela enters Fort
Hare University and completes two years before deciding to leave for
Johannesburg to avoid a marriage arranged for him by his guardian, chief
Jongintaba. |
| | |
| 1941-43 | | | |
Mandela meets Walter Sisulu, who becomes a mentor and lifelong friend.
Sisulu introduces Mandela to the law firm Witkin,
Sidelsky and Eidelman, where he obtains a position. Mandela earns his B.A. degree, enrolls in law school and
joins the ANC. |
| | |
| 1944 | | | |
Believing that the ANC leadership is too staid, Mandela, Oliver Tambo and
Walter Sisulu form the ANC Youth League. They plan to organize mass support for
the ANC and make it a more activist organization.
Mandela marries Evelyn Mase, a nursing student living in Johannesburg, who grew
up in Mandela's home province. |
| | |
| 1948 | | | |
The National Party comes to power under Dr. Daniel Malan. His platform is
called apartheid, meaning "apartness." They implement new laws supporting
racial discrimination and oppression including the Separate Representation of
Voters Act and the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act. |
| | |
| 1949 | | | |
In response to the new apartheid policies, the ANC Youth League drafts a
Program of Action calling for mass strikes, boycotts, protests and passive
resistance. |
| | |
| 1950 | | | |
The National Party passes the Suppression of Communism Act, the Population and
Registration Act, and the Group Areas act, which strictly enforce apartheid
policies and are intended to crush any mass movement. |
| | |
| 1951 | | | |
Mandela becomes national president of the ANC Youth League. |
| | |
| June 1952 | | | |
After Malan rejects the ANC's calls for legitimate rights for blacks, the ANC
launches the Defiance Campaign, a nonviolent mass resistance. Mandela is its
volunteer-in-chief. In the next five months, over 8,500 take part in the
campaign. |
| | |
| July 1952 | | | |
Mandela is arrested and charged for violating the Suppression of Communism Act.
He and other ANC members are found guilty, but the sentence of nine months
imprisonment is suspended for two years. |
| | |
| September 1952 | | | |
Mandela is banned from attending meetings or gatherings for the next two years.
These bans continue on and off for the next nine years. |
| | |
| December 1952 | | | |
Mandela and Oliver Tambo open a law office in downtown Johannesburg and take on
a heavy load of cases involving blacks persecuted under the new apartheid
laws.
At the annual ANC conference, Mandela becomes its deputy president. He draws up
a plan for the ANC to work underground--the M-Plan. |
| | |
| June 1955 | | | |
The ANC creates the Congress of the People, representing members of all races,
to develop a set of principles for a new South Africa. They also establish the
Freedom Charter, which supports the abolition of racial discrimination and
oppression. |
| | |
| December 1956 | | | |
Mandela is arrested along with over 150 other people and tried for high
treason. The "Treason Trial" takes up most of Mandela's time over the next few years. |
| | |
| 1957 | | | |
Mandela divorces Evelyn; their three children stay with her. |
| | |
| June 1958 | | | |
Mandela marries Winnie Madikizela, a social worker from Bizana in Pondoland.
Winnie takes on a more politically active role while Mandela is tied down by
his trials. Over the next few years, two daughters are born, Zenani and
Zindzi. |
| | |
| September 1958 | | | |
Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd becomes prime minister and strictly enforces apartheid
policies. As former minister of native affairs, Verwoerd had been responsible
for much of the apartheid legislation. |
| | |
| 1959 | | | |
Parliament passes the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, which forces the
resettlement of blacks into eight separate "tribal homelands." The ANC
vigorously opposes the act. However, some tribal leaders adopt the Bantu
policy and work with the government. |
| | |
| April 1959 | | | |
A former ANC Youth League member, Robert Sobukwe, launches the Pan Africanist
Congress (PAC), a new political group that opposes including whites and
Indians in the anti-apartheid struggle. |
| | |
| March 21, 1960 | | | |
Sharpeville: Anti-apartheid protesters gather to challenge South Africa's pass laws that
prescribe where blacks can go. The police open fire and 69 people die--most of
them from bullet wounds in the back.
The government declares a State of Emergency and bans the ANC and other
opposition groups. Mandela is arrested. Oliver Tambo leaves the country under
orders to work for the ANC cause from exile. |
| | |
| March 1961 | | | |
Mandela and the other defendants in the Treason Trial are found not
guilty. It is a big victory for the ANC. |
| | |
| 1961 | | | |
The ANC responds to government's banning by endorsing an "armed struggle."
Mandela goes underground and launches the armed struggle by forming Umkhonto we
Sizwe (The Spear of the Nation)--or MK. MK's policy is to target only
government offices and symbols of apartheid, not people.
Mandela escapes the country and travels in Africa and Europe, studying
guerrilla warfare and building support for the ANC. |
| | |
| August 1962 | | | |
Returning to South Africa, Mandela is arrested, convicted and sentenced to five
years. He is held on Robben Island. |
| | |
| October 1963-1964 | | | |
Although already serving a sentence, Mandela is brought to trial again along
with other ANC leaders, and charged with sabotage and attempting to violently overthrow
the government. Known as the Rivonia Trial, the accused escape execution, but the judge sentences
them to life in prison. In the winter of 1964, Mandela and his comrades
are sent to Robben Island (see map).
|
| | |
| 1966 | | | |
Verwoerd is assassinated by a deranged white farmer; John Vorster succeeds him
as prime minister. |
| | |
| 1968-69 | | | |
Within a one-year period, Mandela's mother dies and his oldest son is killed in
a car crash. Mandela is not allowed to attend the funerals. |
| | |
| 1976 | | | |
Soweto students protest mandatory instruction in Afrikaans, the
language of the white rulers. Protests spread throughout Soweto. In crushing
it, the government kills 575 people over an eight month period, a fourth of
them under age 18. |
| | |
| 1977 | | | |
Winnie is banished to Brandfort, a remote township. Her daughter Zindzi goes
with her. Over the following years, Winnie will spend over a year in jail (including solitary
confinement) and face constant police harassment and humiliation. In
response, she becomes more aggressive and militant in opposing white rule.
|
| | |
| 1978 | | | |
Vorster resigns; P.W. Botha, who held various political appointments in the
National Party, takes over as prime minister. |
| | |
| 1980 | | | |
In exile, Oliver Tambo and the ANC launch the "Release Mandela" campaign.
In the following years, numerous countries and international groups sign
petitions, pass resolutions and hold rallies for Mandela's release. |
| | |
| March 1982 | | | |
After 18 years on Robben Island, Mandela is transferred to Pollsmoor Prison on
the mainland. |
| | |
| 1983-1984 | | | |
Angered by rent increases and Botha's plan for giving Indian and mixed-race
voters--but not blacks--token places in Parliament, black residents of
townships south of Johannesburg start an insurrection that spreads across the
country. The police respond brutally. In one township, Langa, 20 people are
fatally shot at a funeral procession.
The resistance escalates. Township operatives organize strikes and boycotts to
make black townships "ungovernable." MK guerrillas begin killing farmers,
policemen and accused collaborators. |
| | |
| 1985 | | | |
In January, United States Senator Edward Kennedy visits South Africa to show his
anti-apartheid support. He is hosted by Bishop Desmond Tutu the recipient
of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize; Kennedy also visits Winnie
Mandela.
South Africa's church leaders take up the anti-apartheid cause, led by Bishop
Tutu.
During the summer, anti-apartheid rallies and protests take place in New York
City, Atlanta and Washington.
World famous musicians, including Bruce
Springsteen and Miles Davis, release the anti-apartheid disk "Sun City.' The
song "Free Nelson Mandela" reaches the Top Ten on rock-music charts in
England.
Botha offers to free Mandela if he will renounce violence. Mandela's daughter
Zindzi reads his response rejecting the deal to a
packed stadium near Johannesburg.
In November, Minster of Justice Kobie Coetsee
makes an unexpected visit to
Mandela who is hospitalized for prostate surgery. Although a social visit, it
marks a turning point. On Mandela's return to prison, he is put in a separate
cell from his comrades so the government can have private access to him. |
| | |
| April 1986 | | | |
Winnie's increasingly controversial and militant activities culminate in a
speech at a funeral in which she endorses "necklace murders'--the death by
burning tires around the necks of those who collaborate with the government. Her speech is
widely reported in the foreign press as a call to violence; it is privately
denounced by the ANC. |
| | |
| June 1986 | | | |
The government declares a State of Emergency in response to widespread unrest
in the black townships. |
| | |
| July 1986 | | | |
Secret talks, approved by Botha and led by
Coetsee begin between Mandela and
the government. Mandela makes the decision without consulting other leaders of
the ANC organization. |
| | |
| August 1986 | | | |
A few months after the Reagan administration reassess its policy on South
Africa, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee votes overwhelmingly for strict
economic sanctions against South Africa. Over the next few years, major U.S.
companies start closing down operations (some only partially) in the country and U.S.
banks stop loaning money. |
| | |
| 1987 | | | |
As talks with the government continue in earnest, Mandela tells his ANC comrades
such as Govan Mbeki
and Ahmed
Kathrada about the negotiations. Their reactions range from outrage to strong support. Rumors start
within the ANC that Mandela has "sold out." |
| | |
| June 1988 | | | |
On the 24th anniversary of Mandela's imprisonment, a rock concert called
"Freedomfest - Nelson Mandela's 70th Birthday Celebration" is held outside
London and televised in 60 countries. |
| | |
| December 1988 | | | |
After being treated for tuberculosis, Mandela is transferred to Victor Verster
Prison. He is housed in an isolated cottage with a
pool, a chef (Jack Swart), and gardens.
His meetings with the government continue.
The same month, four young males, including 13-year-old Stompie Seipei, are
abducted by members of the Mandela United Football Club (a group of young men
acting as Winnie Mandela's bodyguards) and beaten inside Winnie's home. The other youths
escape, but Stompie disappears. His battered body is found weeks later;
Winnie is eventually implicated in the whole affair. |
| | |
| July 5, 1989 | | | |
After numerous delays, Mandela and Botha meet for tea at the president's
residence. The meeting is cordial and Mandela presses for the release of Walter
Sisulu from prison. |
| | |
| August 1989 | | | |
Botha resigns and F.W. de Klerk is sworn in as acting president.
Mandela is encouraged when de Klerk releases most of the Rivonia Trial prisoners,
including Sisulu, and begins to dismantle the apartheid structure. He abandons
the long-term master plan of congregating blacks into separate homelands, and
accepts the principle of "power sharing" with them. De Klerk recognizes that
apartheid is not working. Despite millions of arrests for violations of the
pass laws, blacks continue to migrate into banned areas. |
| | |
| December 13, 1989 | | | |
Mandela and de Klerk have the first of three initial meetings. |
| | |
| February 2, 1990 | | | |
In a dramatic speech to Parliament, de Klerk announces the lifting of the bans
against the ANC and other political organizations. |
| | |
| February 11, 1990 | | | |
After 27 years of imprisonment, Mandela is released. His new life is busy,
visiting old friends and supporters, becoming deputy president of the ANC, and
traveling with Winnie to the U.S., Europe and North Africa. In Sweden, he
visits his old friend Oliver Tambo. |
| | |
| May 1990 | | | |
The ANC and the National Party begin negotiations on forming a new multi-racial
democracy for South Africa. These talks will be off and on for months, with
delays due to the ANC's anger over the violence in the black townships. Mandela
and de Klerk continue to hold private meetings. |
| | |
| July 14, 1990 | | | |
Inkatha Freedom Party, a Zulu group led by Chief Buthelezi, is launched as a
political party. They are odds with the ANC, particularly over the armed
struggle. Although Mandela reaches out to Buthelezi to resolve their
differences, the Inkatha targets ANC strongholds in the Natal province and
widespread violence escalates, with support from the white police force. |
| | |
| August 6, 1990 | | | |
The ANC and the government sign the Pretoria Minute, in which both parties
agreed to end the armed struggle.
Mandela presses de Klerk to investigate police brutality and government support
of the violence in the Natal province. Their relationship is strained over the
issue of violence. |
| | |
| February 1991 | | | |
Winnie's trial starts for the kidnapping and assault of four youths by the
Mandela United Football Club. Throughout the years of the controversy Mandela
stood by his wife; he attends the trial. She is found guilty of kidnapping,
but not assault, and sentenced to six years in prison. In her appeal, she is
given a suspended sentenced and fined. |
| | |
| July 1991 | | | |
For the first time, the ANC holds its annual conference in South Africa.
Mandela is elected ANC president. |
| | |
| December 20, 1991 | | | |
The first formal negotiations with the government take place at the Convention
for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA 1). Mandela lashes out at de Klerk in a
speech, after de Klerk berated the ANC in an earlier speech. They don't meet
again for five months. |
| | |
| April 13, 1992 | | | |
Mandela announces his separation from Winnie. She resigns as head of Social
Welfare for the ANC, but not from the National Executive Committee.
Violence continues in townships with frequent clashes between police and
residents. Mandela is outraged and says the police are supporting the violence
rather than stopping it. Mandela holds de Klerk responsible; de Klerk is
adamant that he does not have the power to control the violence. |
| | |
| May 1992 | | | |
Another round of talks are held at CODESA 2 to construct a plan for a future
democracy. The talks end in stalemate, but both sides agree to continue to work
towards a solution. |
| | |
| June-September 1992 | | | |
Frustrated over the unsuccessful negotiations, the ANC decides on a policy of
"rolling mass action" consisting of strikes, protests and boycotts, to show the
government the support the ANC has across the country. Meanwhile, the violence
continues with an Inkatha raid on ANC members that leaves 46 dead in Boipatong
township.
The rolling mass action culminates in a general strike protesting the
violence. |
| | |
| September 1992 | | | |
The increasing death toll forces Mandela and de Klerk to
restart negotiations. They sign the Record of Understanding, which promises to
establish formal investigations into the violence and police actions. It also
establishes an elected constitutional assembly that will develop a new
constitution for the country. |
| | |
| April 10, 1993 | | | |
Chris Hani, a popular young ANC leader, is killed by a white extremist. Mandela
appears on television calling for restraint and successfully heads off
violence. |
| | |
| December 1993 | | | |
Mandela and de Klerk are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. |
| | |
| April 26-29, 1994 | | | |
For the first time in South Africa's history all races vote in democratic
elections. Mandela is elected president and the ANC wins 252 of the 400 seats
in the national assembly. |
| | |
| May 10, 1994 | | | |
Nelson Mandela is inaugurated as president of South Africa, with his daughter
Zenani beside him; de Klerk is sworn in as deputy president. |
| | |
| March 1996 | | | |
Mandela divorces Winnie; to the end, she tried to prevent the divorce. |
| | |
| July 18, 1998 | | | |
On his 80th birthday Mandela weds Graca Machel, the widow of a former president of
Mozambique. |
