Jesus christ, just wrote a big post and lost it all, dont write on mobile, bad idea.

If its okay, ill write a shorter one and I can answer your questions to the best of my ability.

Nelson Mandela's conditions in prison started poorly and gradually improver over his 28 years in prison saw numerous changes in his location and his treatment, generally improving over time.

Nelson was first imprisoned on Robben Island, where he was given an ordinary prison cell, and spent much of his days breaking rocks into gravel in the prison yard. It is here that Mandela first began the process of winning over his captors. Mandela formed a friendship with his personal cell guard Christo Brand, who came to see Mandela as a father figure. Mandela studied Afrikaans and Rugby, the language and sport of white south Africans, so he could better converse with the wardens, and win them over, it worked, and this combined with Mandela's kind disposition and gentle character won over his jailers and he earned better treatment, he even had a tv in his cell for watching Rugby games.

In 1982, Mandela was moved to Pollsmoor prison, where he was able to have a personal rooftop garden and sent many more letters, his cell conditions were also superior to those at Robben Island, and he no loner had to perform manual labor.

In 1988, due to his deteriorating health, Mandela was moved to Victor Verster prison, where he stayed in a wardens home, and had a personal cook, tv, and read the newspaper, essentially house arrest. Mandela stayed here until his release in 1990 under president de Klerk.