Robben Island (Afrikaans: Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (robben), hence the Dutch/Afrikaans name Robbeneiland, which translates to Seal(s) Island.
Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 kilometres (2 miles) long north–south, and 1.9 km (1+1⁄8 mi) wide, with an area of 5.08 km2 (1+31⁄32 sq mi).[2] It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. It was fortified and used as a prison from the late-seventeenth century until 1996, after the end of apartheid.
Political activist and lawyer Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on the island for 18 of the 27 years of his imprisonment before the fall of apartheid and introduction of full, multi-racial democracy. He was later awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and was elected in 1994 as President of South Africa, becoming the country's first black president and serving one term from 1994 to 1999. In addition, the majority of prisoners were detained here for political reasons. Two other former inmates of Robben Island, in addition to Mandela, have been elected to the presidency since the late-1990s: Kgalema Motlanthe (2008–2009)[3] and Jacob Zuma (2009–2018).
Robben Island is a South African National Heritage Site as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.[4][5]
^ abcd"Main Place Robben Island". Census 2011.
^"Avian Demography Unit: Robben Island". Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town.
^"New S. Africa president sworn in". BBC News. 25 September 2008. Retrieved 22 November 2008.
^"9/2/018/0004 - Robben Island, Table Bay". South African Heritage Resources Agency. Archived from the original on 22 April 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
RobbenIsland (Afrikaans: Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South...
The RobbenIsland Lighthouse is a lighthouse on RobbenIsland in Table Bay near Cape Town. It was completed in January 1865 and is located on the highest...
overthrow the state. Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between RobbenIsland, Pollsmoor Prison and Victor Verster Prison. Amid growing domestic and...
commanders. In 1964, he was an accused in the Rivonia Trial and sentenced to RobbenIsland. In 1939, Mbeki published his first book, Transkei in the Making. A...
Sobukwe was subsequently relocated to RobbenIsland for solitary confinement. At the end of his sixth year at RobbenIsland, he was released and placed under...
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term "iron curtain." UNESCO declared RobbenIsland in the Western Cape a World Heritage Site in 1999. RobbenIsland is located in Table Bay, some 6 km (3...
first DJ, ever to play a set on RobbenIsland. During the apartheid regime, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned on the island for 18 years. DJ Clock, NaakmusiQ...
replied: 'Why? Are you going to put me under house arrest or put me on RobbenIsland?' Suzman was resolute in her opposition to all forms of racial discrimination...
underground Umkhonto we Sizwe cells in Soweto, and was imprisoned on RobbenIsland from 1975 to 1981 for his participation in anti-apartheid activities...
country. Denis Goldberg went to Pretoria Central Prison instead of RobbenIsland (at that time the only security wing for white political prisoners in...
detained for 190 days. In 1967, he was imprisoned for two years on RobbenIsland under the Suppression of Communism Act for furthering the aims of the...
apartheid government, Mandela was regarded as a terrorist and jailed on RobbenIsland for his role as a leader of the then-outlawed African National Congress...
thirteen-year prison sentence from 1964 to 1977 at RobbenIsland Prison in South Africa. During his time at RobbenIsland, he educated Jacob Zuma and Dikgang Moseneke...
South Africa and the ex-wife of former President of South Africa and RobbenIsland prisoner Kgalema Motlanthe. Mapula Mopate came from Sophiatown and spoke...
long-term imprisonment following the Rivonia Trial, in which he was held at RobbenIsland and Pollsmoor Prison. Following his release in 1990, he was elected...
(1991–1994), he was Accused No.2 in the Rivonia Trial and was incarcerated on RobbenIsland where he served more than 25 years' imprisonment for his anti-Apartheid...
The RobbenIsland Marine Protected Area is an inshore and offshore conservation region around and near RobbenIsland in Table Bay in the territorial waters...
He joined the ANC at the age of 17 in 1959 and spent ten years in RobbenIsland Prison as a political prisoner. He went into exile in 1975 and was ultimately...
Klerk. He served the longest sentence of any political prisoner in RobbenIsland prison in South Africa. Masemola was a teacher in Atteridgeville township...
complete subjugation of the Ciskei Xhosa. Maqoma was imprisoned twice at RobbenIsland. During the first term, he was allowed company with his wife and son...
arrested and charged with treason, and sentenced to 20 years in prison on RobbenIsland. He served alongside figures such as Nelson Mandela for anti-apartheid...
Jongintshaba. In 1982, Mhlaba, who had been a political prisoner in RobbenIsland since 1964, was transferred to Pollsmoor Prison where he received special...
those, 56,000 belonged to the Dassen Island colony and 14,000 to the RobbenIsland colony. The colony at Dyer Island in South Africa fell from 46,000 in...
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