A nearly bloodless military coup that ended 48 years of authoritarian rule in Portugal and triggered decolonization across Africa and Asia.
Key Facts
- Date
- 25 April 1974
- Regime overthrown
- Estado Novo (est. 1932)
- Organizing body
- Armed Forces Movement (MFA)
- Retornados displaced
- Over 1 million Portuguese citizens
- Colonies gaining independence
- 5 (by 1975): Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola
- National holiday
- 25 April commemorated annually in Portugal
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
Portugal's prolonged and costly Colonial War (1961–74) in Africa eroded military morale and fueled opposition among officers to the Estado Novo regime, which had been established by António de Oliveira Salazar in 1932 and continued under Marcelo Caetano. Military officers coalesced into the Armed Forces Movement (MFA) to organize resistance against the authoritarian government.
On 25 April 1974, the MFA launched a military coup, code-named Operation Historic Turn, that rapidly overthrew Prime Minister Marcelo Caetano and the Estado Novo regime. The coup met virtually no armed resistance and was met instead by civilian celebration; restaurant worker Celeste Caeiro offered carnations to soldiers, and demonstrators placed flowers in gun muzzles, giving the revolution its enduring name.
The revolution ended the Colonial War and initiated a transition to democracy in Portugal. Negotiations with African independence movements led to the withdrawal of Portuguese troops from Guinea-Bissau by end of 1974, followed by independence for Cape Verde, Mozambique, São Tomé and Príncipe, Angola, and East Timor by 1975. More than one million retornados fled former colonies, and the event is credited with sparking the global third wave of democracy.