During ancient eras the island, actually the tip of a now-submerged mountain, was connected to the mainland. At the close of the last ice age some 12, years ago, rising sea levels separated it from the shoreline. When the Dutch arrived to settle the Cape in the 17th century they soon began to put the island to use as a prison—a role it continued to play until During the 19th century African chiefs of various tribes were banished to this island.
Muslim leaders from Dutch colonies in the East Indies were also imprisoned here, as were colonial soldiers and civilians. While many confined here were charged with bogus crimes, others were charged with no crime at all. During the 19th century, people suffering from mental illness and leprosy were also isolated on Robben Island, because the climate was considered healthful and because here they could be kept far removed from society at large.
Lepers were confined to a community on the island as late as Beginning in black, Indian, and mixed-race inmates were held here, including, most famously, future South African President Nelson Mandela. The tiny 1. The first is from a most unlikely source: rabbits. The governments of the City of Cape Town and the Western Cape warn that perhaps 25, rabbits are running amok after being introduced on the island. The hungry critters are denuding the island of vegetation and burrowing so extensively that they may damage some historic structures.
For years issues of mismanagement and theft surfaced at the Robben Island Museum manager of the World Heritage site , but with a new administration on board, former prisoners and Museum staff are making it a space they can be proud of. Guns were stored there and the government built roads, a power station, a new water supply and houses. In it started being used as a prison again. During apartheid many Black people were kept on Robben Island as political prisoners.
Former President Nelson Mandela was kept there. The prison internationally notorious for its harsh conditions and when the political prisoners of the apartheid government were released Robben Island became a symbol of the strength of the human spirit. Robben Island was declared a World Heritage Site because the buildings on the island are a reminder of its sad history and because the same buildings also show the power of the human spirit, freedom and the victory of democracy over oppression.
Prisoners lined up on arrival at Robben Image source However, the islands potential as a convict station did not go unnoticed, and in about the Dutch began to place their convicted criminals upon it. Robben Island. Know something about this topic? Towards a people's history.
Travel Guides. Videos Beyond Hollywood Hungerlust Pioneers of love. Lee-Shay Collison. Visible from the city. Named after its seals. Prison moved to mainland. Graveyard on Robben Island for victims of leprosy. Maximum-security political prison. Stark reminder of apartheid. Getting to and from the island. Stunning scenic trip and moment for reflection. Sindsdien is het een museum. Robben Island was used at various times between the 17th century and the 20th century as a prison, a hospital for socially unacceptable groups, and a military base.
Its buildings, and in particular those of the late 20th century maximum security prison for political prisoners, testify to the way in which democracy and freedom triumphed over oppression and racism. The symbolic value of Robben Island lies in its somber history, as a prison and a hospital for unfortunates who were sequestered as being socially undesirable.
This came to an end in the s when the inhuman Apartheid regime was rejected by the South African people and the political prisoners who had been incarcerated on the Island received their freedom after many years. Criterion iii : The buildings of Robben Island bear eloquent witness to its sombre history. Criterion vi : Robben Island and its prison buildings symbolize the triumph of the human spirit, of freedom and of democracy over oppression.
The remains on the island as a landscape reflect the history of the island since the 17th century and all the attributes that convey its value. Little route maintenance had been carried out since The Department of Correctional Services abandoned the island, and many structures require repair and maintenance. A variety of marine and land-based natural, and man-induced, threats also exist due to the lack of clear controls, facilities and direction.
With over buildings and sites listed on the island database, those that are not occupied or used are vulnerable to decay. Work has focused on capital works and infrastructure projects where funding has been easier to obtain compared to budgets for preventive maintenance activities.
This imbalance in activities threatens the integrity of what remains.
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