Robben Island was used at var­i­ous times between the 17th and 20th cen­turies as a prison, a hos­pi­tal for social­ly unac­cept­able groups and a mil­i­tary base. Its build­ings, par­tic­u­lar­ly those of the late 20th cen­tu­ry such as the max­i­mum secu­ri­ty prison for polit­i­cal pris­on­ers, wit­ness the tri­umph of democ­ra­cy and free­dom over oppres­sion and racism.