Nelson Mandela's letter from jail - a photo on Flickriver

Document: Letter from Nelson Mandela to Sir John Maud, 14 September 1962. Catalogue ref: DO 119/1478

Description:

This is a letter from Nelson Mandela, writing from jail in Johannesburg, to Sir John Maud thanking him and journalist David Astor for sending books via the British Embassy. The letter is dated 14 September 1962, a bit more than a month after Mandela’s arrest on 5 August.

Mandela had been charged with inciting a strike and leaving the country without permission. After his trial, he would go to to be imprisoned for 27 years due to his role in the anti-apartheid movement.

Astor and Maud used their connections to reassure the authorities in South Africa that the books sent were not of a subversive nature. Astor wrote to Maud, who then personally approached the Commissioner of Prisons in South Africa to arrange for Mandela to receive the books for him to study for his London University law degree.

After his release and the end of apartheid circa three decades later, Nelson Mandela served as the first Black President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999 and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He began his term as president on 10 May 1994.

With this document, students could consider:

What type of document is this?

What does this letter tell you about Nelson Mandela?

Why do you think Maud and Astor sent books to Nelson Mandela?

What value do you think the books had for Mandela while he was in jail?

You can find a transcript of this document here: www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/education/resources/significa...

Find out more about the release of this document here: cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk/documents/nelson-mandela-lett...

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Taken on: May 1, 2024

Tags:

prisonner

trial

Johannesburg

Sets appears in: • Document of the month

Stats: 1,334 views

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