Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in the tiny settlement of Mvezo, which is part of the Eastern Cape Province today. Mvezo is a collection of traditional homesteads clustered on a high ridge overlooking the looping Mbashe River Valley. The little settlement represents thousands of others precisely like it that are scattered across rural South Africa.
The fact that Mandela was born in a place like Mvezo gave him the instinctive ability to understand the type of life he shared with others who grew up and lived their lives in the countryside.
Although his family lived in this remote location, the circumstances of his birth were also unlike those of his neighbours.Mandela was born into the African aristocracy and grew up as a Prince of the Thembu royal household. He was a direct descendant of King Ngubengcuka who brought together various clans and smaller groups of refugees, effectively uniting the Thembu people during a time of social unrest at the start of the 19th century.
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