Knowra Portuguese Colonial War Portuguese Colonial War The Portuguese Colonial War was a series of armed conflicts from 1961 to 1974 in which Portugal fought independence movements in Angola, Guinea-Bissau, and Mozambique. It ended after the Carnation Revolution and the colonies’ transition to independence.
Guerrilla warfare : Irregular warfare in which smaller forces use mobility, ambushes, and local support against stronger opponents. Angolan, Guinean, and Mozambican movements used mobile tactics against Portugal’s larger conventional forces.
Estado Novo : Portugal’s authoritarian regime, established in 1933 and overthrown in 1974. Its leaders rejected African self-determination and maintained colonial rule by force.
António de Oliveira Salazar : Portugal’s authoritarian prime minister from 1932 to 1968 and chief architect of the Estado Novo. Salazar insisted that Portugal’s African territories were integral parts of the nation.
Carnation Revolution : The military-led revolution that overthrew Portugal’s Estado Novo on 25 April 1974. It ended the regime committed to continuing the colonial wars and opened negotiations for independence.
Algerian War : A war from 1954 to 1962 in which Algerian nationalists fought France for independence. Like Portugal’s colonial wars, it confronted a European power with an armed independence struggle, but ended earlier.
Portuguese Armed Forces : Portugal’s military institutions, including its army, navy, and air force. They carried out Portugal’s campaigns across three African theaters.
Portuguese Empire : An overseas empire built by Portugal from the fifteenth century and dismantled largely during the twentieth century. The war was fought to preserve parts of this empire in Africa.
Marcelo Caetano : Portugal’s prime minister from 1968 until the Carnation Revolution in 1974. Caetano continued the colonial wars despite mounting military and political opposition.
Decolonization of Portuguese Africa : The process through which Portugal’s African colonies became independent states, mainly between 1974 and 1975. It followed the revolution and formally ended Portuguese rule in the war’s three main theaters.
Indonesian National Revolution : The armed and diplomatic struggle from 1945 to 1949 that secured Indonesia’s independence from the Netherlands. It offers an earlier comparison for a European power’s attempt to restore colonial rule after World War II.
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