Historic Events… Portugal’s April 25th Revolution

Freedom Day on April 25th is a national holiday in Portugal, with official commemorations.

It celebrates the 1974 Revolution that ended the dictatorship and started a democracy. It also commemorates the first free elections that took place a year later on April 25th 1975.

The almost bloodless uprising took less than 24 hours to bring down Europe’s longest-lived dictatorship and end the last colonial empire in Africa.

Known as the Carnation Revolution, this was a virtually bloodless, leftist, military-led coup.

It ended the rule of Marcello Caetano, who had assumed the country’s leadership from dictator António Salazar five years earlier.

The revolution began on April 25th 1974, in Lisbon and transformed the Portuguese regime from an authoritarian dictatorship to a democracy.

It followed a long period of social change and power struggles between the left and right-wing political forces.

While the government forces killed four people before surrendering, the revolution was somewhat unusual in that the revolutionaries did not resort to violence to achieve their goals.

The population, holding red carnations, convinced the army not to resist and the soldiers swapped their bullets for flowers.

The revolution marked the end of the longest authoritarian regime in Western Europe.

While April 25th is a public holiday, the majority of stores will remain open to the public, though banks and government offices will be closed.

One of Lisbon’s two famous bridges has been named after the revolution.

The bridge that heads towards beaches of Costa da Caparica and Almada, has been nicknamed Portugal’s Golden Gate Bridge but it is officially called Ponte 25 de Abril