The Road to the Coup That Changed Portugal, 1974

On 25 April 1974, a movement of young captains brought down, with practically no resistance, the dictatorial regime that had been in power for over 40 years in Portugal. In the early hours of that day, a military movement unleashed a series of operations that, in less than 24 hours, defeated the forces loyal to the regime, neutralising any possibility of reaction. Few forces resisted the insurgents, and the only resistance worthy of note came from the political police, who in the heat of the revolution opened fire on the surrounding crowd, causing four deaths. In the streets of Lisbon, the people enthusiastically joined the military revolt and started offering food, drinks and red carnations to the soldiers, who decided to stick them in the barrels of their rifles, making the revolt known as the Carnation Revolution. Although it began with a military coup d'état, the 25th of April paved the way for democracy and there is no comparison to other similar revolutions. It was also a unique event in the European context of the time, that broke Portugal's isolation and brought it closer to other Western democracies. This work is part of a two-volume history. This first volume deals with the background to the revolution, namely the causes that led to the revolt of the captains and the situation in the Portuguese colonies in Africa, where a guerrilla war for the independence of the colonies had been going on for more than a decade. Finally, volume II will detail the final moments of the regime and the preparation of the coup d'état by the military dissatisfied with the situation that would culminate in the revolution of April 25th, 1974. 75 b/w & colour photos, maps, profiles