Carnation Revolution
A nearly bloodless military coup by the Armed Forces Movement overthrew the Estado Novo; crowds put carnations in the soldiers’ rifles, and the revolution opened the way to democracy in Portugal and to independence for its colonies.
- Date
- 25 April 1974exact date
- Place
- Lisbontoday: Lisbon, Portugal · Western and Central Europe
- Participants
- Armed Forces Movement, Estado Novo (Portugal), Marcelo Caetano, Third Portuguese Republic
- Threads
- History of Portugal since the Battle of Aljubarrota
- Also known as
- Revolução dos Cravos; 25 de Abril; Революция 25 апреля
The signals for the coup were two songs on the radio: “E Depois do Adeus” at 22:55 on 24 April and Zeca Afonso’s banned “Grândola, Vila Morena” at 00:20 on 25 April. Army units occupied key points in Lisbon, and crowds poured into the streets despite appeals to stay at home. Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano took refuge in the headquarters of the National Republican Guard at the Largo do Carmo; surrounded by the rebels, he handed power to General António de Spínola. The coup was almost bloodless: four civilians were killed when agents of the political police (DGS) fired on the crowd outside their headquarters, and in all six people died that day. The name comes from the carnations that the restaurant worker Celeste Caeiro and other Lisboners gave to the soldiers.
A turbulent “revolutionary process” followed, with nationalisations, land seizures and rival coups, until the moderates prevailed in November 1975. Portugal’s first free elections were held on 25 April 1975, and the constitution of 1976 founded the present democratic republic. The revolution is often seen as the beginning of the “third wave” of democratisation in the world.
Connections
Causes and preconditions
- Portuguese Colonial War4 February 1961 – 25 April 1974 · Africaofficers disillusioned by the war organised the coup of 25 April 1974
Consequences
- Independence of Angola11 November 1975 · Africathe new government agreed on independence for all the African colonies
- Handover of Macau to China20 December 1999 · East Asiaafter 1974 Portugal offered to return Macau; China preferred to wait, and the handover was agreed in 1987
Related events
- Salazar’s Estado Novo: the Constitution of 193319 March 1933 · Western and Central Europethe end of the regime founded in 1933
Same place
- Expulsion and forced conversion of the Jews of Portugal5 December 1496 – October 1497 · Western and Central Europe
- Vasco da Gama’s first voyage to India8 July 1497 – between August and September 1499 · Western and Central Europe
- Publication of The Lusiads1572 · Western and Central Europe
- Restoration of Portuguese independence1 December 1640 · Western and Central Europe
- Lisbon earthquake1 November 1755 · Western and Central Europe
- British Ultimatum of 189011 January 1890 · Western and Central Europe
- 5 October 1910 revolution — Portugal becomes a republic5 October 1910 · Western and Central Europe
Meanwhile in the world
Other regions, within 25 years of this event
Africa
- Independence of Angola11 November 1975
- Portuguese Colonial War4 February 1961 – 25 April 1974
South Asia
- Indian annexation of Goa18–19 December 1961
The same period
Sources
- Wikipedia (English): Carnation Revolution
- Wikipedia (Russian): Революция гвоздик
- Maxwell K. The Making of Portuguese Democracy. — Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1995.
- Wikidata: Q193245