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On 13 June 1964, Nelson Mandela, who later became South Africa's president, was taken to the maximum security prison on Robben Island off the coast of South Africa.

Mandela had led the military wing of the African National Congress party which was banned by the apartheid government.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment and spent 18 years on the island before being transferred to prison on the mainland.

He was freed on 11 February 1990 after serving 27 years behind bars.

Jen Dale uses Â鶹Éç archive to tell this period of Mandela's life.

Eye-witness accounts brought to life by archive. Witness History is for those fascinated by and curious about the past. We take you to the events that have shaped our world through the eyes of the people who were there.

For nine minutes every day, we take you back in time and all over the world, to examine wars, coups, scientific discoveries, cultural moments and much more.

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We look at the lives of some of the most famous leaders, artists, scientists and personalities in history, including: the moment Reagan and Gorbachev met in Geneva, Haitian singer Emerante de Pradines’ life and Omar Sharif’s legendary movie entrance in Lawrence of Arabia.

You can learn all about fascinating and surprising stories, like the invention of a stent which has saved lives around the world; the birth of the G7; and the meeting of Maldives’ ministers underwater. We cover everything from World War Two and Cold War stories to Black History Month and our journeys into space.

(Picture: Nelson Mandela's cell on Robben Island, Credit: Getty/Dave Hogan)

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