Carnation Revolution Volume 1: The Road to the Coup That Changed Portugal, 1974

(Paperback)

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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'tat, 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'tat by the military dissatisfied with the situation that would culminate in the revolution of April 25th, 1974. 80 b/w photos, 7 colour illustrations, 15 colour profiles, 1 colour map, 2 b/w maps, 1 table

Reviews

"These volumes provide a detailed and nuanced account of the April 1974 coup, with a surprising emphasis on the multifaceted role of airpower in its success. Extensive bibliographies and notes make them useful to serious historians. There are copious photographs throughout, as well as large sections of full-color drawings."-- "The Journal of the Air Force Historical Foundation"

Author Bio

Jose Matos is an independent researcher in military history in Portugal with a primary interest in operations of the Portuguese Air Force during the colonial wars in Africa, especially in Guinea. He is a regular contributor to numerous European magazines on military aviation and naval subjects, and has collaborated in the major project 'The Air Force at the end of the Empire', published in Portugal in 2018. This is his first instalment for Helion. Zelia Oliveira: is a journalist at the Portuguese National News Agency (Lusa) and holds a master's degree in contemporary Portuguese history.