Carnations Revolution Day and Freedom Day in Portugal

The Carnation Revolution (Portuguese: Revolução dos Cravos or, much more frequently, O 25 de Abril) is the name given to a citizens' revolution that took place on April 25, 1974 in Portugal, which brought about the end of the regime of the Second Portuguese Republic, which had not held democratic elections since 1925. The end of this dictatorship, known as Estado Novo, restored democracy in Portugal almost fifty years later, and allowed all non-European Portuguese provinces (except Madeira, the Azores and Macao) to achieve independence before the end of 1975. After a violent period in what are now Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Angola and Mozambique, Portugal granted independence to these four countries and became a democratic state governed by the rule of law.