Robben Island (Afrikaans:Robbeneiland) is anisland inTable Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast ofBloubergstrand, north ofCape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from theDutch word for seals (robben), hence the Dutch/Afrikaans nameRobbeneiland, which translates toSeal(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 of5.08 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 ofapartheid.
During the late 20th century, it was used to imprison political prisoners who opposed the postwarapartheid state. Political activist and lawyerNelson Mandela was imprisoned on the island for 18 of the 27 years of his imprisonment before the fall ofapartheid and introduction of full, multi-racial democracy in South Africa. He was later awarded theNobel Peace Prize and was elected in 1994 asPresident of South Africa, becoming the country's first black president. He served one term from 1994 to 1999.
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] andJacob Zuma (2009–2018). Other former prisoners have held a variety of political positions in the democracy.
Located at the entrance toTable Bay, 11 km from Cape Town, this island was 'discovered' byBartolomeu Dias in 1488. For many years, it was used byPortuguese navigators, and later by English and Dutch sailors, as a refueling station. Its current name means "seal island", in Dutch.
In 1654, the settlers of theDutch Cape Colony placed all of their ewes and a few rams on Robben Island. The men built a large shed and a shelter. The isolation offered better protection for the livestock against wild animals than on the mainland. The settlers also collected seal skins and boiled oil to supply the needs of the settlement.[6]
Since the end of the 17th century, Robben Island has been used for the incarceration of chieflypolitical prisoners. The Dutch settlers were the first to use Robben Island as a prison. The island's first prisoner was probablyAutshumato in the mid-17th century. Among its early permanent inhabitants were political leaders imprisoned from otherDutch colonies, including theDutch East Indies. These included the two surviving Malagasy leaders, named in Dutch East India Company records as Massavana and Koesaaij, of themutiny of Malagasy slaves on the slave shipMeermin. They had been sold to theDutch East India Company inMadagascar to be enslaved in the Cape Colony. Massavana died three years later, but Koesaaij survived at Robben Island for another 20 years.[7][8]
After the BritishRoyal Navy captured several DutchEast Indiamen at thebattle of Saldanha Bay in theFourth Anglo-Dutch War in 1781, a boat rowed out to meet the British warships. On board were the "kings ofTernate andTidore, and the princes of the respective families". The Dutch had long held them on "Isle Robin", but then had moved them to Saldanha Bay.[9]
In 1806,Scottish whaler John Murray opened a whaling station at a sheltered bay on the north-eastern shore of the island, which became known as Murray's Bay. It was adjacent to the site of the present-day Murray's BayHarbour, which was constructed in 1939–40.[10][11]
After a failed uprising atGrahamstown in 1819, the fifth of theXhosa Wars, the British colonial government sentenced African leaderMakanda Nxele to life imprisonment on the island.[12] He drowned on the shores ofTable Bay after escaping the prison.[13][14]
The island was also used as aleper colony and animalquarantine station.[15] Starting in 1845, lepers from theHemel-en-Aarde (heaven and earth) leper colony nearCaledon were moved to Robben Island whenHemel-en-Aarde was found unsuitable. Initially, people were relocated on a voluntary basis, and the lepers were free to leave the island if they so wished.[16] In April 1891, the cornerstones for 11 new buildings to house lepers were laid. After passage of theLeprosy Repression Act in May 1892, admission was no longer voluntary, and the movement of the lepers was restricted. Doctors and scientists did not understand the disease and thought that isolation was the only way to prevent other people from contracting it. Prior to 1892, an average of about 25 lepers a year were admitted to Robben Island, but in 1892 that number rose to 338, and a further 250 were admitted in 1893.[16]
In 1948 the National Party came to power and instituted a formal program ofapartheid. Over time, black Africans and allies began to organize against this policy. From 1961, Robben Island was used by the South African government as a prison for political prisoners and convicted criminals.
In 1969, theMoturu Kramat, now a sacred site forMuslimpilgrimage on Robben Island, was built to commemorateSayed Abdurahman Moturu, thePrince of Madura. Moturu, one of Cape Town's firstimams, had been exiled in the mid-1740s to the island. He died there in 1754. Muslim political prisoners would pay homage at the shrine before leaving the island.
In 1982, former inmateIndres Naidoo published his bookIsland in Chains, the first account prison life on the island.[17]
The maximum security prison for political prisoners closed in 1991. The medium security prison for criminal prisoners was closed five years later.[18]
Since theend of apartheid, the island has become a popular tourist destination. It is managed by Robben Island Museum (RIM), which operates the site as aliving museum. In 1999, the island was declared aWorld Heritage Site for its importance to South Africa's political history and development of a democratic society. Every year, thousands of visitors take the ferry from theVictoria & Alfred Waterfront in Cape Town for tours of the island and its former prison. Many of the guides are former prisoners. All land on the island is owned by the nation of South Africa, with the exception of the island church. Administratively, Robben Island is a suburb of theCity of Cape Town.[19] It is open all year around, weather permitting.
Robben Island is accessible to visitors through tours that depart from Cape Town's waterfront.[20] Tours depart three times a day and take about 3.5 hours, consisting of a ferry trip to and from the island, and a tour of the various historical sites on the island that form part of the Robben Island Museum. These include the island graveyard, the disused lime quarry, Robert Sobukwe's house, the Bluestone quarry, the army and navy bunkers, and the maximum security prison. Nelson Mandela's cell is shown.[21]
Seagoing vessels must take great care navigating near Robben Island and nearby Whale Rock (it does not break the surface) as these pose a danger to shipping.[22] A prevailing roughAtlanticswell surrounds the offshore reefs and the island's jagged coastline. Stricken vessels driven onto rocks are quickly broken up by the powerfulsurf. A total of 31 vessels are known to have been wrecked around the island.[23]
In 1990, a marine archaeology team from theUniversity of Cape Town began Operation "Sea Eagle". It was an underwater survey that scanned 31 square kilometres (9 square nautical miles) of seabed around Robben Island. The task was made particularly difficult by the strong currents and high waves of these waters. The group found 24 vessels that had sunk around Robben Island. Most wrecks were found in waters less than ten metres (33 ft) deep. The team concluded that poor weather, darkness and fog were the cause of the sinkings.[23]
Maritime wrecks around Robben Island and its surrounding waters include the 17th-century DutchEast Indiaman ships, theYeanger van Horne (1611), theShaapejacht (1660), and theDageraad (1694). Later 19th-century wrecks include several Britishbrigs, including theGondolier (1836), and theUnited Statesclipper,A.H. Stevens (1866). In 1901 the mail steamer SSTantallon Castle struck rocks off Robben Island in dense fog shortly after leaving Cape Town. After distress cannons were fired from the island, nearby vessels rushed to the rescue. All 120 passengers and crew were taken off the ship before it was broken apart in the relentless swell. A further 17 ships have been wrecked in the 20th century, includingBritish,Spanish,Norwegian andTaiwanese vessels.
Due to the maritime danger of Robben Island and its near waters,Jan van Riebeeck, the first Dutch colonial administrator in Cape Town in the 1650s, ordered that huge bonfires were to be lit at night on top of Fire Hill, the highest point on the island (now Minto Hill). These were to warnVOC ships that they were approaching the island.
In 1865, Robben Island lighthouse was completed on Minto Hill.[24] The cylindrical masonry tower, which has an attached lightkeeper's house at its base, is 18 metres (59 ft) high with a lantern gallery at the top. In 1938, the lamp was converted to electricity. The lighthouse uses a flashing lantern instead of a revolving lamp; it shines for a duration of 5 seconds every seven seconds. The 46,000-candela beam, visible up to 44 kilometres (24 nmi) away, flashes white light away fromTable Bay.[25] A secondary red light acts as a navigation aid for vessels sailing south-southeast.
View ofTable Bay from Robben Island coastRobben island coast with a view of Table Mountain EndangeredAfrican penguin on Robben Island, 2015
When the Dutch arrived in the area in 1652, the only large animals on the island wereseals and birds, principally penguins. In 1654, the settlers released rabbits on the island to provide a ready source of meat for passing ships.[26]
The original colony ofAfrican penguins on the island was completely exterminated by 1800. But, since 1983, a new colony has been established there, and the modern island is again an important breeding area for the species.[27] The colony grew to a size of ~16,000 individuals in 2004, before starting to decline in size again. As of 2015[update], this decline has been continuous (to a colony size of ~3,000 individuals). Such a decline has been found at almost all other African penguin colonies. Its causes are still largely unclear and likely to vary between colonies, but at Robben Island are probably related to a diminishing of the food supply (sardines and anchovies) through competition by fisheries.[28] Easy to see in their natural habitat, the penguins have been a popular tourist attraction.
Around 1958, Lieutenant Peter Klerck, aSouth African Navy officer serving on the island, introduced various animals. The following extract of an article, written by his son Michael Klerck, who lived on the island from an early age, describes the local fauna:[29]
In the early 21st century, therabbit population had reached an estimated 25,000, which had become aninvasive species, endangering others.Humans are hunting andculling the rabbits to reduce their number.[30]
In 2022, theIPCC Sixth Assessment Report included Robben Island in the list of African cultural sites which would be threatened byflooding andcoastal erosion by the end of the century, but only ifclimate change followedRCP 8.5, which is the scenario of high and continually increasinggreenhouse gas emissions associated with the warming of over 4°C.,[31] and is no longer considered very likely.[32][33] The other, more plausible scenarios result in lower warming levels and consequently lower sea level rise: yet, sea levels would continue to increase for about 10,000 years under all of the scenarios.[34] Even if the warming is limited to 1.5°C, global sea level rise is still expected to exceed 2–3 m (7–10 ft) after 2000 years (and higher warming levels will see larger increases by then), consequently exceeding 2100 levels of sea level rise under RCP 8.5 (~0.75 m (2 ft) with a range of 0.5–1 m (2–3 ft)) well before the year 4000.[35]
Ahmed Kathrada, who was imprisoned in Robben Island between 1964 and 1982, is pictured giving a tour of the prison toUS PresidentBarack Obama and his family in 2013.
Rock pile started byNelson Mandela and added to—one rock at a time—by former prisoners returning to the island.
^Weller, F.; Cecchini, L.A.; Shannon, L.; Sherley, R.B.; Crawford, R.J.; Altwegg, R.; Scott, L.; Stewart, T.; Jarre, A. (2014). "A system dynamics approach to modelling multiple drivers of the African penguin population on Robben Island, South Africa".Ecological Modelling.277:38–56.Bibcode:2014EcMod.277...38W.doi:10.1016/j.ecolmodel.2014.01.013.
^Trisos, C.H., I.O. Adelekan, E. Totin, A. Ayanlade, J. Efitre, A. Gemeda, K. Kalaba, C. Lennard, C. Masao, Y. Mgaya, G. Ngaruiya, D. Olago, N.P. Simpson, and S. Zakieldeen 2022:Chapter 9: Africa. InClimate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, US, pp. 2043–2121
.jpg)
.jpg)
_near_trees_on_Robben_Island_-_2015.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
_on_grassland_-_2015_(cropped).jpg)
