Carnation Revolution
Overview
Although PIDE (the Estado Novo's political police) killed four people before surrendering, the revolution was unusual because the revolutionaries did not use violence to achieve their goals. Holding red carnations (Portuguese: cravos), many people joined revolutionary soldiers on the streets of Lisbon in apparent joy and audible euphoria. Red is the colour of socialism and communism, the ideological tendencies of many anti-Estado Novo insurgents. It was the end of the Estado Novo (the longest-lived authoritarian regime in Western Europe), and the dissolution of the Portuguese Empire. In the aftermath of the revolution, a new constitution was drafted, censorship was prohibited, free speech was permitted, political prisoners were released and the Portuguese overseas territories in sub-Saharan Africa were granted independence. East Timor was also offered independence, shortly before it was invaded by Indonesia.
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