# Nelson Mandela: They Offered Him Freedom. He Said No. A two-minute illustrated biography of Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first Black president (1918–2013). One Life. Mahachi Academy. - Years: 1918–2013 - Place on the map: Johannesburg, South Africa - Film: 1:58, coming soon - Web page: https://mahachi.org/academy/nelson-mandela/ - In other languages: [Español](https://mahachi.org/academy/es/nelson-mandela/index.md), [Português](https://mahachi.org/academy/pt/nelson-mandela/index.md), [العربية](https://mahachi.org/academy/ar/nelson-mandela/index.md), [हिन्दी](https://mahachi.org/academy/hi/nelson-mandela/index.md) After more than twenty years in prison he was offered freedom if he would reject violence. He said no. Five years later he walked out on his own terms, and four years after that he was president. ## The story in brief Nelson Mandela was raised at a royal court in South Africa to advise a future king. He fled an arranged marriage for Johannesburg and became a lawyer fighting apartheid: race laws that kept nearly all Black people from voting. He led peaceful protests until police killed sixty-nine people at Sharpeville in 1960 and his movement was banned. Then he led its new armed group, whose bombs, he said, were meant for property, not people. Jailed in 1962, he faced the death penalty at a new trial and, in 1964, got life. On Robben Island he broke rock in a limestone quarry for thirteen years. Outside, the armed group fought on, and some of its bombs killed civilians. In 1985 the government offered him freedom if he would reject violence. He said no. Then, without telling his own side, he opened secret talks to end apartheid. In 1990, after twenty-seven years in prison, a new president, F. W. de Klerk, set him free. In 1994, in the first election open to all races, he cast his first vote, on a ballot carrying his own face, and became president. After one term he stepped down. He died at home in 2013. Yet so many remember him dying in prison that the false memory bears his name: the Mandela effect. ## In his own words > It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. On a democratic and free society, from the dock at his trial, 1964 [4] > Only free men can negotiate. Prisoners cannot enter into contracts. His reply to the offer of freedom, read by his daughter Zindzi, 1985 [6] > I never was one, even on the basis of the earthly definition of a saint as a sinner who keeps trying. On being seen as a saint, from his papers, Conversations with Myself (2010) [7] ## Sources 1. Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom (1994), and its Robben Island manuscript (Nelson Mandela Foundation) 2. Nelson Mandela Foundation, biography, timeline and prison chronology 3. South African History Online, Mandela biography and “Sharpeville massacre” 4. Mandela’s statement from the dock, Rivonia Trial, Pretoria, 20 April 1964 (UN text) 5. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, Report (1998) 6. Mandela’s reply to P. W. Botha’s offer, read by his daughter Zindzi, Soweto, 10 February 1985 (South African History Online) https://sahistory.org.za/archive/i-am-not-prepared-sell-birthright-people-be-free 7. Nelson Mandela, Conversations with Myself (2010), excerpts by AFP in the Mail & Guardian, 10 October 2010 8. The Christian Science Monitor, 25 April 1994, on the ballot, and Psychology Today on the Mandela effect ## Transcript They offered him his freedom. He said no. Nelson Mandela had led a secret armed group, and spent 27 years in prison. Then the country that jailed him made him its president. Why did he say no? Raised to advise a king, he ran away at 22 from an arranged marriage. As a lawyer in Johannesburg, he fought apartheid: race laws that kept nearly all Black people from voting. He led peaceful protests, until police killed 69 people at Sharpeville, and his movement was banned. So he led its new armed group. Its bombs, he said, were meant for property, not people. Caught in disguise, he was jailed. At his next trial, he faced the death penalty, and got life. On Robben Island, his cell was 3 paces long. For 13 years, he broke rock in a limestone quarry. The limestone, his surgeon said, burned out his tear glands. He learned Afrikaans, his jailers' language, to understand his enemy. Outside, the armed group fought on. Some of its bombs killed civilians. The government offered him freedom, if he would reject violence. His answer: "Only free men can negotiate. Your freedom and mine cannot be separated. I will return." Then, without telling his own side, he opened secret talks to end apartheid. A new president set him free. At 71, he walked out with his fist raised. At 75, in the first election open to all races, he voted for the first time in his life. The ballot carried his own face. Elected president, he invited the prosecutor from his trial to lunch. The man came away calling him saintly. He could have stayed on. After one term, he stepped down. He died at home, at 95. Yet so many remember him dying in prison that the false memory bears his name: the Mandela effect. ## Next, somewhere else - [Muammar Gaddafi: A Friend to Mandela. A Mad Dog to Reagan.](https://mahachi.org/academy/muammar-gaddafi/index.md): He beat the world’s biggest oil companies, and his government hanged students in public. Mandela called him a friend. 6,800 km north, in Libya - [Lee Kuan Yew: Too Small to Survive. Richer Than Britain.](https://mahachi.org/academy/lee-kuan-yew/index.md): In 1965 he wept because he thought Singapore could not survive alone. It grew richer per person than Britain. 8,700 km east, in Singapore - [Muhammad Ali: He Lost His Title Without Losing a Fight](https://mahachi.org/academy/muhammad-ali/index.md): The unbeaten champion lost his title for standing still, and won it back seven years later by leaning on the ropes. 13,800 km north-west, in the United States Mahachi Academy is a Mahachi Family Foundation project. https://mahachi.org/academy/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mahachiacademy TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@mahachiacademy