12 June 1964: Nelson Mandela sentenced to life in prison
On this day in 1964, Nelson Mandela's five-year sentence was raised to life imprisonment, beginning 27 years of incarceration on Robben Island.
Throughout South Africa's early history as Dutch (Orange Free State) and British (Cape) colonies, native Africans were discriminated against. Slavery was formally abolished throughout the British Empire in 1833, but indentured servitude persisted for decades. Even in 1936, nearly all non-whites were effectively banned from voting in South Africa. This discrimination grew worse after the National Party came to power in 1948.
The government's apartheid laws enforced political and social separation of the country's racial groups. Apartheid discriminated against non-whites, who were forced into slums on the edge of towns, pushed into menial jobs, and had inferior schools and hospitals. Millions were stripped of South African citizenship and moved to tiny "homelands", or Bantustans. The backlash led to a growing civil rights movement, spearheaded by the African National Congress (ANC).
Fearing the ANC's growing popularity, the government in Pretoria arrested its leaders, including Nelson Mandela. Mandela was acquitted of high treason in 1961, but convicted at a later trial in 1962. His five-year sentence was raised to life imprisonment in June 1964, after another trial on separate charges. He spent 27 years on Robben Island, before being released after huge global pressure in 1990.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Mandela was elected president in South Africa's first multi-racial elections four years later. In office, he combined modest redistribution with pro-business policies and national reconciliation. However, while the per-head incomes of black South Africans (around 80% of the population) have gone up by 169% in the last decade, they are still a sixth of those of whites.
Sign up to Money Morning
Our team, led by award winning editors, is dedicated to delivering you the top news, analysis, and guides to help you manage your money, grow your investments and build wealth.
Matthew graduated from the University of Durham in 2004; he then gained an MSc, followed by a PhD at the London School of Economics.
He has previously written for a wide range of publications, including the Guardian and the Economist, and also helped to run a newsletter on terrorism. He has spent time at Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and the consultancy Lombard Street Research.
Matthew is the author of Superinvestors: Lessons from the greatest investors in history, published by Harriman House, which has been translated into several languages. His second book, Investing Explained: The Accessible Guide to Building an Investment Portfolio, is published by Kogan Page.
As senior writer, he writes the shares and politics & economics pages, as well as weekly Blowing It and Great Frauds in History columns He also writes a fortnightly reviews page and trading tips, as well as regular cover stories and multi-page investment focus features.
Follow Matthew on Twitter: @DrMatthewPartri
-
Four AI ETFs to buy
Is now a good time to buy AI ETFs? We examine four AI ETFs that investors might want to add to their portfolio
By Dan McEvoy Published
-
Chase boosts easy-access interest rate - savers could earn 4.75%
Chase is offering a boosted interest rate which is fixed for six months, on top of the standard variable rate
By Jessica Sheldon Published