Qunu
Encyclopedia
Village
A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet with the population ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand , Though often located in rural areas, the term urban village is also applied to certain urban neighbourhoods, such as the West Village in Manhattan, New...
in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
's Eastern Cape
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the "independent" Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province...
Province, 32 km (20 mi) south-west of Mthatha
Mthatha
Mthatha is the main town of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town has an airport, previously known by the name K. D. Matanzima Airport after former leader Kaiser Matanzima....
on the road between Butterworth
Butterworth, South Africa
Butterworth is a settlement in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Butterworth has a population of 287,780 and is situated 111 km north of East London on the N2 national highway in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa...
and Mthatha.
Mvezo
Mvezo
Mvezo is a small village on the banks of the Mbashe river in the District of Umtata, the capital of the Transkei, an area in the South Eastern area of South Africa. The village is mainly known as being the birthplace of former South African president Nelson Mandela, whose family serves as its...
on Mbashe River is near where Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
was born, and Qunu is where he grew up and later retired after leaving office as South Africa's President in 1999. It is the village to which Nelson Mandela's father relocated after being deposed as Mvezo chief. In his autobiography Long Walk to Freedom
Long Walk to Freedom
Long Walk to Freedom is an autobiographical work written by Nelson Mandela, and published in 1995 by Little Brown & Co. The book profiles his early life, coming of age, education and 27 years in prison. Mandela was once regarded as a terrorist but he is now regarded as uncontroversial...
, Mandela describes Qunu as where he spent the happiest moments of his childhood.