I think that the 4th most important turning point in Mandela’s life happened in 1992 when he signed a constitutional agreement with the current white president, F.W. de Klerk which was designed to abolish apartheid and introduce democracy to South Africa. The wiping out of apartheid meant that black people did no longer have to carry around the hated pass books anymore, they were now allowed to use the same amenities as whites such as public toilets and they were no longer forced into a particular racial group. This was a turning point in Mandela’s life because form the moment apartheid began, his goal and aim for life was to get the black population of South Africa free form it and treated equally. The acts that got him imprisoned for 27 years were all to appeal and protest against apartheid and now that it was over, it was as if a massive weight had been lifted form his shoulders. He had now reached his goal for life and whatever lay ahead would be a bonus.
On 20th April 1964, Nelson Mandela was brought to court for his acts of terrorism. He was charged with sabotage with the penalty of either death or life in prison. He then got sentenced to life imprisonment on a prison on Robben Island, just off the coast of South Africa. In my opinion, Nelson Mandela being sentenced to life imprisonment was the 3rd most important turning point in his life. This is because although Nelson Mandela done a lot of other political events during his life, this was the event that stood out all over the world. Countries such as the UK supported Mandela and done all they could to get him released throughout the whole 27 years he spent in prison. This was to the extent that a free Mandela concert was held in London in 1988 and it was broadcast around the globe. I classed this event as third most important because it played a huge role in why Mandela is respected nowadays in that people respect the fact that he gave up his life and his family to do things for his people which he knew would send him to prison. The impact I think this had was that so many people were involved and it had affected a large number of people al over the globe, Nelson Mandela’s prison sentence will go down in history for centuries to come.
In my list of 6 main turning points in Nelson Mandela’s life I classed the exhibition of Sharpeville as the 2nd most important. On March 21st, 1960 an ordinary protest was organised to happen at a local police station in Sharpeville. The protest was against the hated pass books and the plans was for a large group of people to all hand in their pass books and offer themselves up for arrest. The idea was that the police knew that they couldn’t arrest so many people so they would consider the pass book law. Except this isn’t what happened. The police fired at the crowds and killed 69 people and wounded 180, these were both including women and children. This event was to change the ANC and therefore Mandela’s views forever. This was the event that sent the ANC to violence and from this point on, violent protests were organised by Mandela and other leading positions of the ANC. I think this is the 2nd most important turning point in Mandela’s life because this was the day that marked the start of violence in the South African apartheid split. If this event were not to have happened then the ANC would most likely not turned to violence and therefore the terrorist attacks acted out by Mandela would not have occurred and therefore he would not have been imprisoned and the whole situation of Mandela’s sentence would not have been necessary.
Last but not least, in my opinion the most important turning point in Nelson Mandela’s life is when he refused his release from prison in return for denouncing the arms struggle. This event happened in 1985. The reason that he was offered his release for denouncing the arms struggle was because it was getting out of hand and the South African government had no choice but to start negotiating with Mandela. I think that this point is the most important turning point in Nelson Mandela’s life because he had already been in prison on Robben Island for 21 years and away from his family. Any normal person who ahs been in prison for that long would do anything to get out and see their family. But not Mandela. He stuck by his guns and refused his release in which made him stay in prison for a further 6 years before finally being set free and able to see his family. I think that this point is most important because it shows how dedicated he was to getting the result for his people, that he wanted and how much that ending apartheid meant to him. He sacrificed 27 years of his life and seeing his children grow up just to get freedom for his people. I think this proves that Nelson Mandela is quite a remarkable man and deserves all the credit he gets. I chose this point to go at the top because although it is a point that is not as public as Sharpeville for example, it has significance in showing how Mandela was determined and done literally everything in his power to succeed.
In conclusion, in an order of significance I think that the most important turning points in Nelson Mandela’s life are
- Refusing release from prison in return for denouncing arms struggle
- Exhibition of Sharpeville
- being sentenced to life imprisonment
- signing a constitutional agreement with president F.W de Klerk
- Joining the ANC
- becoming president of South Africa
By putting all of these six points together, Mandela’s life is shown to take quite a lot of twists and turns but results in a good ending because South Africa now lives in a near enough peaceful land and it was mostly all due to Mr Nelson Mandela.
