Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was born July 18, 1918 in the Mvezo village in Umtata, which was formerly a part of South Africa's Cape Province. His father, Gadla, was a local chief and counselor to the monarch. He lost his job due to corruption; however, Nelson was told he lost his job for standing up to it. With Gadla being a devout polygamist, Nelson's mother, Nosekeni, was the third wife of four, and Nelson had twelve other siblings; eight brothers and four sisters. As a child, Mandela occupied his time by being a cattle-boy, much to his mother's dismay, so when Nelson was about nine, his mother left him under the guidance of a church elder in