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The Contemporary Portuguese Politics and History Research Centre introduced us to the events leading up to Portugal's Carnation Revolution. It began early on April 25, 1974, with the radio broadcast of a banned protest song, "Grândola, Vila Morena" by José Afonso. Search results for "Carnation Revolution" led us to a variety of documents describing the non-violent coup d'etat that ended the long, dictatorial rule of António de Oliveira Salazar and his successor, Marcelo Caetano. In the early
'70s, Portugal was troubled by resource shortages at home and civil war in several African colonies. Then, in 1974, the popular general António de Spínola declared that a Portuguese military victory in Africa was impossible, and advocated self-rule for the colonies. Inspired by Spinola's ideas and weary of the current government, a few hundred army officers organized a peaceful overthrow of the government. Led by Francisco da Costa Gomes, Otelo Saraiva do Carvalho, and others, the soldiers took control in late April, just as red carnations appeared in Lisbon flower shops. Soldiers were seen in the streets with red carnations
in the muzzles of their tanks and rifles. The Carnation Revolution resulted in a decade of political and social turbulence in Portugual. Violent civil wars continue today in former Portuguese colonies such as Angola and East Timor. A movie by Maria de Medeiros called Capitäes de Abril (April Captains) offers a fictional account of the coup.
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