Tourist ferry to Robben Island prisoners camp, Cape Town, South Africa
Robben Island, Table Bay, prison grounds used for political prisoners during apartheid in South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, km long north-south, and km wide, with an area of km². People lived on Robben Island many thousands of years ago, when the sea channel between the Island and the Cape mainland was not covered with water. Since the Dutch settled at the Cape in the mid-1600s, Robben Island has been used primarily as a prison. Indigenous African leaders, Muslim leaders from the East Indies, Dutch and British soldiers and civilians, women, and anti-apartheid activists, including South Africa's first democratic President, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and the founding leader of the Pan Africanist Congress, Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe, were all imprisoned on the Island. Robben Island has not only been used as a prison. It was a training and defence station in World War II (1939-1945) and a hospital for people with leprosy, and the mentally and chronically ill (1846-1931). In the 1840s, Robben Island was chosen for a hospital because it was regarded as both secure (isolating dangerous cases) and healthy (providing a good environment for cure). During this time, political and common-law prisoners were still kept on the Island. As there was no cure and little effective treatment available for leprosy, mental illness and other chronic illnesses in the 1800s, Robben Island was a kind of prison for the hospital patients too. Since 1997 it has been a museum and a heritage site. The museum is a dynamic institution, which acts as a focal point of South African heritage. It runs educational programmes for schools, youths and adults, facilitates tourism development, conducts ongoing research related to the Island and fulfils an archiving function.
Size: 2911px × 4367px
Location: Table Bay, Cape Town, South Africa
Photo credit: © Jeff Gilbert / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: africa nelson, bay, bay table, buildings, cape, era seal, island, island cape, island table, mandela apartheid, mountain, mountain table, robben, robben island cape town table bay prison cell apartheid ferry tourists museum, robben island cape town table bay prison ferry, south, town, town prison, town robbeneiland bloubergstrand apartheid, town table
