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The Carnation Revolution: The Day Portugal's Dictatorship Fell
25 April 1974, Lisbon. Over the course of a single day, Europe’s oldest fascist regime falls. On its 50th anniversary, this is the story of the revolution that changed Portugal forever.
On the night of 24 April 1974, at five minutes to eleven, a Lisbon radio station broadcasts Portugal’s Eurovision entry. By 6.20 p.m. the next day, Europe’s oldest fascist regime has fallen. Hardly a shot has been fired. As citizens pour into the streets, they offer carnations to the revolutionary soldiers. For the first time in forty-eight years, Portugal is free. The Carnation Revolution winds through the streets of Lisbon as the revolution unfolds, revealing the myriad acts of ordinary and extraordinary resistance that made 25 April possible. It’s the story of daring escapes from five-storey prisons, soldiers disobeying their officers’ orders and simple acts of courage by thousands of citizens. It’s the story of how a group of young captains felled a globe-spanning empire.
On the night of 24 April 1974, at five minutes to eleven, a Lisbon radio station broadcasts Portugal’s Eurovision entry. By 6.20 p.m. the next day, Europe’s oldest fascist regime has fallen. Hardly a shot has been fired. As citizens pour into the streets, they offer carnations to the revolutionary soldiers. For the first time in forty-eight years, Portugal is free. The Carnation Revolution winds through the streets of Lisbon as the revolution unfolds, revealing the myriad acts of ordinary and extraordinary resistance that made 25 April possible. It’s the story of daring escapes from five-storey prisons, soldiers disobeying their officers’ orders and simple acts of courage by thousands of citizens. It’s the story of how a group of young captains felled a globe-spanning empire.
400 pages, Hardcover
Published June 11, 2024
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Displaying 1 - 23 of 23 reviews
April 22, 2024
I was eleven years old when the Armed Forces Movement over threw the Fascist government of Marcelo Caetano. Alex Fernandes’s book clearly describes the reasons for the revolution particularly the colonial wars in Africa and the vicious secret police and prohibition of dissent against the government. The book covers the various attempted coups but it is the heroics of Captains who successfully organise a march on Lisbon. There are moments of humour such as the tanks that have to stop as the lead jeep has stopped at a red light!
It is amazing that only five people died on the 25th April, these being shot by the secret police who opened fire on the civilians surrounding their base.
Following the revolution, Portugal had eighteen months of political uncertainty and came close to a north south civil war. Eventually the moderates won.
Now fifty years on, many who never lived under the fascist regime or with short memories and rose tinted glasses are supporting the new far right spouting populist propaganda família to much of Europe.
I hope that the brave Captains of the 25th of April will not be forgotten by the majority.
This is an important and entertaining read for anyone interested in Portugal and European History.
Congratulations to Alex Fernandes.
It is amazing that only five people died on the 25th April, these being shot by the secret police who opened fire on the civilians surrounding their base.
Following the revolution, Portugal had eighteen months of political uncertainty and came close to a north south civil war. Eventually the moderates won.
Now fifty years on, many who never lived under the fascist regime or with short memories and rose tinted glasses are supporting the new far right spouting populist propaganda família to much of Europe.
I hope that the brave Captains of the 25th of April will not be forgotten by the majority.
This is an important and entertaining read for anyone interested in Portugal and European History.
Congratulations to Alex Fernandes.
February 1, 2025
Before Franco overthrew the elected government in Spain, starting the Spanish Civil War and ushering in four decades of oppression, its neighbour, Portugal, was already under a right wing dictatorship.
This novel explores that dictatorship and how it finally came to an end in 1974 when the army overthrew the government and steered the country to democracy. Fortunately, for Portugal, little blood was shed and it became known as 'the Carnation Revolution’ from the crowds giving soldiers carnations which they stuck in the barrels of their rifles.
The author gives information on earlier, unsuccessful attempts to free Portugal, and we learn of the brutal secret police and the torture and murders they undertook to keep the regime in power. Ultimately, elements of the army, disenchanted by the colonial wars Portugal was waging in Africa and repression at home, plotted to overthrow the government.
It is a fascinating story, although at times the detail and acronyms used are a bit overwhelming for someone like myself who isn’t Portuguese.
Now fifty years later, memories of life under the dictatorship are fading fast, and in the 2024 elections in Portugal the far right won a significant share of the vote, 18%. The same is happening in Spain and elsewhere in Europe as voters forget. They haven’t experienced life under the likes of Franco, Mussolini or Hitler. If too many of us forget what happened before or become complacent, history will repeat itself.
This book is a sobering reminder of what was and what will be again if we let it happen.
This novel explores that dictatorship and how it finally came to an end in 1974 when the army overthrew the government and steered the country to democracy. Fortunately, for Portugal, little blood was shed and it became known as 'the Carnation Revolution’ from the crowds giving soldiers carnations which they stuck in the barrels of their rifles.
The author gives information on earlier, unsuccessful attempts to free Portugal, and we learn of the brutal secret police and the torture and murders they undertook to keep the regime in power. Ultimately, elements of the army, disenchanted by the colonial wars Portugal was waging in Africa and repression at home, plotted to overthrow the government.
It is a fascinating story, although at times the detail and acronyms used are a bit overwhelming for someone like myself who isn’t Portuguese.
Now fifty years later, memories of life under the dictatorship are fading fast, and in the 2024 elections in Portugal the far right won a significant share of the vote, 18%. The same is happening in Spain and elsewhere in Europe as voters forget. They haven’t experienced life under the likes of Franco, Mussolini or Hitler. If too many of us forget what happened before or become complacent, history will repeat itself.
This book is a sobering reminder of what was and what will be again if we let it happen.
July 31, 2024
I’ve been trying to learn more about histories I’m ignorant of so landed on this one. I found the book became far more interesting throughout, which makes sense because revolutions generally become more interesting as they approach their climax. If you don’t enjoy very date and name centric history books I wouldn’t recommend it. But if that is your jam then come on down.
April 6, 2025
Who doesn’t love a story of a fascist regime being overthrown?! 🌺 (closest I could get to a carnation!)
October 9, 2024
Very interesting look at the overthrow of fascism in Portugal with an epilogue that nicely ties the past to the present. The hard part for me was there were a lot of names, locations, and groups (sooo many abbreviations) that I simply am not familiar with. Still, with some work, the story shines through.
May 12, 2024
Lovely, readable book, drawn from and synthesising Portuguese-language archives and histories, carefully but unobtrusively documented, the story largely told in the narrative present. Contextualises the Carnation Revolution in sections that address the rise and rule of António Salazar and the Estado Novo, and demonstrates the degree to which it was despair about the Colonial Wars that led the ‘Conspiracy of Captains’ to plan and carry out the overthrow of the longest-lived authoritarian regime in Europe. The heart of the book is a compelling human history of the central figures, and a detailed hour-by-hour narrative unfolding of events in Lisbon on 25 April 1974.
August 14, 2025
Though limited in scope to events in Lisbon - and shorter on the chaotic post Revolution moments with the Hot Summer of 1975 - this book was a great read for 2025! It's an important reminder of standing up for what you believe in, the power of solidarity and that we beat fascism before, and we can do it again.
July 24, 2024
The Carnation Revolution
“The Carnation Revolution” is an attempt by Alex Fernandes, a young (32) Portuguese citizen who has lived most of his life outside of Portugal, to explain the revolution of 1974 to the British public. Fernandes begins his account with Antonio de Oliveira Salazar being called from the University of Coimbra to become Economics Minister in 1928. By 1932, Salazar is already head of the Council of Ministers and the de facto ruler of Portugal. Although Portugal remained neutral during World War II, Salazar adopted and modified many of the techniques used by other autocrats. When the Portuguese colonies in Africa began to demand self-government after 1961, Salazar’s response was a brutal repression throughout the African colonies. In Cabo Verde, the prison colony Tarrafal had been used to receive would-be revolutionaries. The dreaded secret police PIDE was formed after the World War to stifle dissent at home. Although there were several early attempts to overthrow the Salazar dictatorship, the frequency increased with the start of the colonial wars. And many who fought in Africa, returned home with the conviction that the wars were unwinnable, because the African cause was just, and because the African rebels received substantial support from the Soviet Union. Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho was a mid level officer who had fought in Angola and had come back to Portugal convinced the war was unwinnable. This opinion was also shared by General Antonio de Spínola who later wrote a book on the subject.
Salazar suffered a stroke in 1968 and died in 1970. His place was taken by Marcelo Caetano. There were several attempts at a military uprising during the 1960s, but they all failed for lack of planning and few participants. However, the fighting in Africa resulted in many casualties, especially among the mid level officers, captains to be more precise. The government attempted to solve the manpower problem through Ordinance 353/73, which allowed a person to become a captain after two years of training, instead of the usual four years. This ordinance was wildly unpopular among the captains generating more resentment against a very unpopular government. Otelo Carvalho began planning another uprising and he took care to explain his ideas and to carry out a meticulous planning. On February 22, 1974, Spínola published a book which discussed decolonization. The way to inform all of the uprising participants of its beginning was to play Portugal’s 1974 Eurovision entry “E depois do Adeus” at exactly 23h. The rebel forces occupy the Praça do Comércio and the revolution proceeds without bloodshed. Marcelo Caetano surrenders to General Spínola and is taken to Madeira and eventually sent to exile in Brazil. The PIDE prisoners are released from Rua Antonio Maria Cardoso, 20 and the PIDE headquarters are taken. Prisoners in Caxias are also released.
The government formed after the revolution has Antonio de Spínola as its president. However, the Armed Forces Moviment (MFA) still wields great power although it does not fit the organogram of the government. Spínola tries to consolidate his own power but has difficulty in opposing Otelo Carvalho, now a Brigadier General. Spínola is forced out of the Presidency but he and his followers make another coup attempt in March, 1975 which is defeated. The remaining problem was whether Portugal would be governed by a parliamentary form of government or by a “revolutionary vanguard” such as is encountered in the Soviet Union. The MFA eventually chooses to pursue socialism via a parliamentary path and thus ends the Portuguese revolution around November 26, 1975.
“The Carnation Revolution” is an attempt by Alex Fernandes, a young (32) Portuguese citizen who has lived most of his life outside of Portugal, to explain the revolution of 1974 to the British public. Fernandes begins his account with Antonio de Oliveira Salazar being called from the University of Coimbra to become Economics Minister in 1928. By 1932, Salazar is already head of the Council of Ministers and the de facto ruler of Portugal. Although Portugal remained neutral during World War II, Salazar adopted and modified many of the techniques used by other autocrats. When the Portuguese colonies in Africa began to demand self-government after 1961, Salazar’s response was a brutal repression throughout the African colonies. In Cabo Verde, the prison colony Tarrafal had been used to receive would-be revolutionaries. The dreaded secret police PIDE was formed after the World War to stifle dissent at home. Although there were several early attempts to overthrow the Salazar dictatorship, the frequency increased with the start of the colonial wars. And many who fought in Africa, returned home with the conviction that the wars were unwinnable, because the African cause was just, and because the African rebels received substantial support from the Soviet Union. Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho was a mid level officer who had fought in Angola and had come back to Portugal convinced the war was unwinnable. This opinion was also shared by General Antonio de Spínola who later wrote a book on the subject.
Salazar suffered a stroke in 1968 and died in 1970. His place was taken by Marcelo Caetano. There were several attempts at a military uprising during the 1960s, but they all failed for lack of planning and few participants. However, the fighting in Africa resulted in many casualties, especially among the mid level officers, captains to be more precise. The government attempted to solve the manpower problem through Ordinance 353/73, which allowed a person to become a captain after two years of training, instead of the usual four years. This ordinance was wildly unpopular among the captains generating more resentment against a very unpopular government. Otelo Carvalho began planning another uprising and he took care to explain his ideas and to carry out a meticulous planning. On February 22, 1974, Spínola published a book which discussed decolonization. The way to inform all of the uprising participants of its beginning was to play Portugal’s 1974 Eurovision entry “E depois do Adeus” at exactly 23h. The rebel forces occupy the Praça do Comércio and the revolution proceeds without bloodshed. Marcelo Caetano surrenders to General Spínola and is taken to Madeira and eventually sent to exile in Brazil. The PIDE prisoners are released from Rua Antonio Maria Cardoso, 20 and the PIDE headquarters are taken. Prisoners in Caxias are also released.
The government formed after the revolution has Antonio de Spínola as its president. However, the Armed Forces Moviment (MFA) still wields great power although it does not fit the organogram of the government. Spínola tries to consolidate his own power but has difficulty in opposing Otelo Carvalho, now a Brigadier General. Spínola is forced out of the Presidency but he and his followers make another coup attempt in March, 1975 which is defeated. The remaining problem was whether Portugal would be governed by a parliamentary form of government or by a “revolutionary vanguard” such as is encountered in the Soviet Union. The MFA eventually chooses to pursue socialism via a parliamentary path and thus ends the Portuguese revolution around November 26, 1975.
January 14, 2025
I had high hopes for the favourably reviewed ‘The Carnation Revolution’ by Alex Fernandes, and I was not disappointed. The book covers the 1974 coup that, on April 25th, toppled the Portuguese Estado Novo regime, founded by Salazar some 40 odd years earlier. I particularly enjoyed the chapters covering the frenzied months of planning by the junior officers – the so called Capitães de Abril – and the nerve-wrecking night and day of the coup. The book is well researched but written in an accessible style, avoiding the usual pitfalls of Portuguese historians, who never miss the chance to include every single source in the text rather than consign them to footnotes.
The first section, spanning a third of the book, lays out the main features of Portuguese dictatorship and how it put the colonial empire at the core of its identity. I was unaware of many of the attempts to undermine and dislodge Salazar, despite the suffocating grip of the secret police. My personal highlight is the 1961 hijacking of a plane, flown at low altitude over Lisbon so that anti-regime pamphlets could be cast out of an open door, falling from the sky to the astonishment of people going about their lives. This section could have been shorter if the author had been briefer with his thoughts on the horrors of colonialism. In the same vein as those defacing statues, Fernandes appears perplexed as to why Portugal hasn’t dynamited every single monument commemorating the maritime expansion. I would have preferred some nuance, acknowledging the horrors perpetrated or enabled by the Portuguese, whilst recognising some of their feats.
The narrative then gradually moves to the immediate context of the coup. By the early 1970s, Salazar was dead and had been succeeded by the apparently softer Marcelo Caetano. In Africa, the Portuguese Armed Forces had been fighting a war against independentist movements since 1961, and those on the frontlines were increasingly aware of the hopelessness of their cause. There were also deepening divisions amongst the military brass, with hard-liners pitted against those who believed the conflict could not be solved by military means alone. Caetano presided over this quagmire, acutely aware that the status quo was unsustainable.
If the unwinnable war was the structural force behind the revolution, its trigger was more prosaic. The Armed Forces were running out of men, in particular junior officers. To mitigate this shortage, in 1973 the government, decided to fast-track the progression of soldiers without formal military education. This change prompted existing captains to organise and resist the change, creating the conditions for the conspiracy that eventually overthrew the regime.
The ambition of the captains grew with every passing month, and the writing made me feel like I was right next to Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, one of the key conspirators, as he developed the plan for the big day. I almost facepalmed when one of the captains jumped the gun and drove his men to Lisbon one month before all pieces were in place. Nevertheless, the regime’s weak and discombobulated reaction to this aborted coup filled Otelo with confidence that the captains would succeed.
Reading the chapter covering the day of the coup turned out to be a more emotional experience than I had expected. My heart beat faster every time one of the conspirators hit a snag in the very long early hours of April 25th. I was gripped by the passages about Captain Salgueiro Maia, sent to secure the main square in Lisbon, my eyes watering as a succession of officials, sent to arrest or eliminate him, chose instead to join the revolution. By the afternoon, the barracks where Caetano was sheltering were circled by the rebellious forces and a jubilant crowd of civilians. The prime minister surrendered to General Spínola, who had kept a cautious proximity to the conspiracy. The Estado Novo had ended in an almost bloodless coup, marred only by the secret police who opened fire on civilians who had surrounded its headquarters, killing four people.
Alex Fernandes caps his story with the troubled years known as the PREC (the Portuguese acronym for Ongoing Revolutionary Process). The strong disagreements across various factions started emerging on the very evening of April 25th, and they gradually deepened in the ensuing months. The main axes of discussion were the pace of decolonisation, the choice between a market and a socialist economy, and whether to build a party-based political system or one where some form of junta could embody the true will of the people. The prospect of civil war loomed as the country was torn by both right-wing and left-wing agitation.
This section was enjoyable, and the author tried his best not the drown the reader in the alphabet soup of factional acronyms. That said, this is where I believe Fernandes’s ideological bent undermined the quality of his book. He rightly described episodes of anti-communist violence and how conservative factions led by Spínola tried to take power, but he is virtually silent on the actions of far-left factions, often linked to the violent occupation of factories and farms. Leftist revolutionaries spilled blood in Portugal not only during the ‘hot summer’ of 1976 but well into the eighties, aiming to subvert the democratisation process. The author also uncritically echoes some of the myths that the democratic Portugal created about the Estado Novo, including the now disproven view that “large swathes of Portugal’s rural population [had] been deliberately kept uneducated”.
This selective presentation of facts inevitably made me wonder if there were other biases that I missed. Readers less familiar with the topic will close this book with a very partial understanding of this critical two-year period that set Portugal on course for a liberal democracy and market economy.
Notwithstanding these shortcomings, reading ‘The Carnation Revolution’ was a very satisfying journey. In this, I was perhaps influenced by the quasi-devotion that the Portuguese have developed for the day that set our country on the path of the freedom. Despite the chaos that ensued, it is hard not to share the poet Sophia’s take on April 25th: “This is the dawn I longed for / The original day whole and clear / Where we emerged from the night and the silence / And freely inhabited the substance of time”.
The first section, spanning a third of the book, lays out the main features of Portuguese dictatorship and how it put the colonial empire at the core of its identity. I was unaware of many of the attempts to undermine and dislodge Salazar, despite the suffocating grip of the secret police. My personal highlight is the 1961 hijacking of a plane, flown at low altitude over Lisbon so that anti-regime pamphlets could be cast out of an open door, falling from the sky to the astonishment of people going about their lives. This section could have been shorter if the author had been briefer with his thoughts on the horrors of colonialism. In the same vein as those defacing statues, Fernandes appears perplexed as to why Portugal hasn’t dynamited every single monument commemorating the maritime expansion. I would have preferred some nuance, acknowledging the horrors perpetrated or enabled by the Portuguese, whilst recognising some of their feats.
The narrative then gradually moves to the immediate context of the coup. By the early 1970s, Salazar was dead and had been succeeded by the apparently softer Marcelo Caetano. In Africa, the Portuguese Armed Forces had been fighting a war against independentist movements since 1961, and those on the frontlines were increasingly aware of the hopelessness of their cause. There were also deepening divisions amongst the military brass, with hard-liners pitted against those who believed the conflict could not be solved by military means alone. Caetano presided over this quagmire, acutely aware that the status quo was unsustainable.
If the unwinnable war was the structural force behind the revolution, its trigger was more prosaic. The Armed Forces were running out of men, in particular junior officers. To mitigate this shortage, in 1973 the government, decided to fast-track the progression of soldiers without formal military education. This change prompted existing captains to organise and resist the change, creating the conditions for the conspiracy that eventually overthrew the regime.
The ambition of the captains grew with every passing month, and the writing made me feel like I was right next to Otelo Saraiva de Carvalho, one of the key conspirators, as he developed the plan for the big day. I almost facepalmed when one of the captains jumped the gun and drove his men to Lisbon one month before all pieces were in place. Nevertheless, the regime’s weak and discombobulated reaction to this aborted coup filled Otelo with confidence that the captains would succeed.
Reading the chapter covering the day of the coup turned out to be a more emotional experience than I had expected. My heart beat faster every time one of the conspirators hit a snag in the very long early hours of April 25th. I was gripped by the passages about Captain Salgueiro Maia, sent to secure the main square in Lisbon, my eyes watering as a succession of officials, sent to arrest or eliminate him, chose instead to join the revolution. By the afternoon, the barracks where Caetano was sheltering were circled by the rebellious forces and a jubilant crowd of civilians. The prime minister surrendered to General Spínola, who had kept a cautious proximity to the conspiracy. The Estado Novo had ended in an almost bloodless coup, marred only by the secret police who opened fire on civilians who had surrounded its headquarters, killing four people.
Alex Fernandes caps his story with the troubled years known as the PREC (the Portuguese acronym for Ongoing Revolutionary Process). The strong disagreements across various factions started emerging on the very evening of April 25th, and they gradually deepened in the ensuing months. The main axes of discussion were the pace of decolonisation, the choice between a market and a socialist economy, and whether to build a party-based political system or one where some form of junta could embody the true will of the people. The prospect of civil war loomed as the country was torn by both right-wing and left-wing agitation.
This section was enjoyable, and the author tried his best not the drown the reader in the alphabet soup of factional acronyms. That said, this is where I believe Fernandes’s ideological bent undermined the quality of his book. He rightly described episodes of anti-communist violence and how conservative factions led by Spínola tried to take power, but he is virtually silent on the actions of far-left factions, often linked to the violent occupation of factories and farms. Leftist revolutionaries spilled blood in Portugal not only during the ‘hot summer’ of 1976 but well into the eighties, aiming to subvert the democratisation process. The author also uncritically echoes some of the myths that the democratic Portugal created about the Estado Novo, including the now disproven view that “large swathes of Portugal’s rural population [had] been deliberately kept uneducated”.
This selective presentation of facts inevitably made me wonder if there were other biases that I missed. Readers less familiar with the topic will close this book with a very partial understanding of this critical two-year period that set Portugal on course for a liberal democracy and market economy.
Notwithstanding these shortcomings, reading ‘The Carnation Revolution’ was a very satisfying journey. In this, I was perhaps influenced by the quasi-devotion that the Portuguese have developed for the day that set our country on the path of the freedom. Despite the chaos that ensued, it is hard not to share the poet Sophia’s take on April 25th: “This is the dawn I longed for / The original day whole and clear / Where we emerged from the night and the silence / And freely inhabited the substance of time”.
June 8, 2024
Accessible book about the 1974 Carnation Revolution. The book has roughly three parts; the years before, mostly the 50 or so years prior to 1974; “Estado Novo”linked to the Portuguese colonial project and the various failed attempts to overturn the Portuguese leadership (Salazar). Then the actual 1974 coup and its preparations, and then the messy 2 years after the actual revolution.
I liked the central part best, which was very readable and gets you in the action of the young captains. This is probably what sets this book apart from a more traditional history book, as it almost reads like a thriller or a novel. The flip side is perhaps that you would want to have a more detailed picture of say the economic situation of Portugal (a poor European country struggling to maintain its colonial prestige) in the years leading to the revolution.
Overall a nice book of one of the earliest political memories I have, still being at primary school in 1974. I might still look for an additional traditional book about 20th century Portuguese history.
One comment I cannot help to make: the T6 Harvard is not a jet plane (as is stated in the book) but a single engine propeller plane (mostly a trainer). Perhaps a detail (page 293, the March 1975 aerial bombardement), but it shows what kind of vintage plans the Portuguese Air Force was flying in those years…
I liked the central part best, which was very readable and gets you in the action of the young captains. This is probably what sets this book apart from a more traditional history book, as it almost reads like a thriller or a novel. The flip side is perhaps that you would want to have a more detailed picture of say the economic situation of Portugal (a poor European country struggling to maintain its colonial prestige) in the years leading to the revolution.
Overall a nice book of one of the earliest political memories I have, still being at primary school in 1974. I might still look for an additional traditional book about 20th century Portuguese history.
One comment I cannot help to make: the T6 Harvard is not a jet plane (as is stated in the book) but a single engine propeller plane (mostly a trainer). Perhaps a detail (page 293, the March 1975 aerial bombardement), but it shows what kind of vintage plans the Portuguese Air Force was flying in those years…
June 10, 2025
As a historian of Brazil, my knowledge of Portuguese history gets sketchy after the mid-19th century. I decided to read this book after a recent visit to Portugal. I should have paid more attention to the subtitle - the day Portugal’s dictatorship fell. While the first part and the last part of the book do a great job summarizing the big picture causes and outcomes of the revolution, the bulk of the book is a tedious, blow-by-blow account of the events of April 25. Too much detail and too many names to remember. I don’t regret reading the book, but wish the author had stepped back a bit from the minutiae. It’s also a reminder to pay attention to subtitles! 😂.
July 8, 2025
A solid and highly readable account of Portugal's revolution of 1974.
If you've ever wondered how coups happen and (more importantly) succeed, this book will give you an idea.
There are a lot of names and acronyms to keep track of, something I am not particularly good at, but even I have come away with the names of the key players running around my head.
What's ultimately tragic about this story is the length of time the Portuguese put up with Salazar. Such a shame the revolution didn't arrive decades earlier. The focus of this book however is on the revolution itself rather than Salazar's reign which was over by the time of the revolution.
If you've ever wondered how coups happen and (more importantly) succeed, this book will give you an idea.
There are a lot of names and acronyms to keep track of, something I am not particularly good at, but even I have come away with the names of the key players running around my head.
What's ultimately tragic about this story is the length of time the Portuguese put up with Salazar. Such a shame the revolution didn't arrive decades earlier. The focus of this book however is on the revolution itself rather than Salazar's reign which was over by the time of the revolution.
April 12, 2025
This is a very interesting book about the dictatorship in Portugal, the Carnation Revolution, and the post-revolution revolutionary period, during which both the right and left tried to overthrow the state. It would have been better if the book had focused more on the Communist Party of Portugal because I imagine its influence in the trade unions was understated. The sections on the revolution itself were not that interesting, but the sections about the dictatorship and the early provisional governments of Gonçalves were really interesting.
August 20, 2024
On the 50th anniversary of The Carnation Revolution, when Portugal overthrew the fascist dictatorship that had persisted for half a century, this very readable book looks back to those times. With fascist politicians in several European parliaments today, it also stresses the importance of remembering events of the past in orders to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
I read this while on holiday in Lisbon and it made me look at the handsome squares and streets of the city with fresh eyes.
I read this while on holiday in Lisbon and it made me look at the handsome squares and streets of the city with fresh eyes.
July 6, 2024
Among the most charming of revolutions gets the richly detailed treatment it deserves. The gallantry and idealism of the carnation revolution can disguise the impact it had on freeing generations of Portuguese but more importantly those people the sclerotic regime were murdering in the Portuguese colonies.
October 1, 2025
Comfort book of the year. History isn’t very nice in its portrayal of career military personnel. It’s refreshing to see not just a corrupt regime get overthrown but young educated military personnel lead the revolution with maturity and responsibility (asside from a couple of actors) considering their imposing status of being trained and armed.
September 26, 2025
A charming, inspiring read on a less well-trodden corner of history. I had only the barest previous knowledge on Portugal's dictatorship, and I tore through this book in a little over a week.
Beginning with a brief overview of Portugal's history up to the founding of the dictatorship, Fernandes charts the growth of Portuguese opposition movements and the responses of the Estado Novo in sharp, easy prose. Details on the functions of the dictatorship and its policies are sparse in the interest of economy, and the focus is on the various plots, subversive movements and developments through the 1940s, 50s, and 60s which laid the groundwork for the revolution.
The one aspect of Portuguese policy which is explored in detail is regarding its colonies, and the brutal wars for independence which broke out, and which would do so much to radicalise the army. The biographical sketches of the major and minor players, and the anecdotes on life and resistance under the dictatorship, are a recurring delight which connect the reader intimately with the figures who played important roles.
Once the pieces are in place, the main body of the book is taken up with the development of the Armed Forces Movement, their preparations and manoeuvres, and finally a gripping blow-by-blow of the revolution itself, which stands among the best accounts of a major political event I have ever read. Following this is a thorough explanation of the aftermath, the development of Portugal and the establishment of a stable post-revolutionary status quo (by no means a settled affair) and the resonance of the revolution today.
For someone with existing knowledge, a more thorough ideological, economic, social, or political history might be more satistfying. But as an overview, and above all a human account of the Portuguese revolution, Fernandes' work strikes a masterful balance. The characters are colourful, the tension palpable, the developments thrilling. For anyone with an interest in political history, a delightful read.
Beginning with a brief overview of Portugal's history up to the founding of the dictatorship, Fernandes charts the growth of Portuguese opposition movements and the responses of the Estado Novo in sharp, easy prose. Details on the functions of the dictatorship and its policies are sparse in the interest of economy, and the focus is on the various plots, subversive movements and developments through the 1940s, 50s, and 60s which laid the groundwork for the revolution.
The one aspect of Portuguese policy which is explored in detail is regarding its colonies, and the brutal wars for independence which broke out, and which would do so much to radicalise the army. The biographical sketches of the major and minor players, and the anecdotes on life and resistance under the dictatorship, are a recurring delight which connect the reader intimately with the figures who played important roles.
Once the pieces are in place, the main body of the book is taken up with the development of the Armed Forces Movement, their preparations and manoeuvres, and finally a gripping blow-by-blow of the revolution itself, which stands among the best accounts of a major political event I have ever read. Following this is a thorough explanation of the aftermath, the development of Portugal and the establishment of a stable post-revolutionary status quo (by no means a settled affair) and the resonance of the revolution today.
For someone with existing knowledge, a more thorough ideological, economic, social, or political history might be more satistfying. But as an overview, and above all a human account of the Portuguese revolution, Fernandes' work strikes a masterful balance. The characters are colourful, the tension palpable, the developments thrilling. For anyone with an interest in political history, a delightful read.
April 28, 2024
I enjoyed this book on a key time in Portuguese history, would recommend to any history buffs
August 16, 2024
Leitura absolutamente essencial!
October 10, 2024
Interesting book on a historical episode I didn't know much about. Maybe ran on a little too long, and could have been edited down a bit more. But overall a worthwhile read.
January 19, 2025
I must admit this is something new for me. I have not read about the history of Portugal yet.
February 10, 2025
Wow this book was fantastic
September 21, 2025
An important read in understanding how fascism fell as late as the 1970s, and of Portugal's recent history
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