The Estado Novo and the colonial war — History, 11–13
A dictatorship of almost half a century: how it worked and why it kept a war going in Africa.
A 48-year dictatorship
In 1926 a military coup ended the First Republic. In 1933 a new constitution created the Estado Novo, dominated by António de Oliveira Salazar and, after 1968, by Marcelo Caetano. It was a dictatorship: there was no individual freedom or free elections, there was a single party, the União Nacional, and the press lived under censorship. It lasted until 1974.
Why there was a war in Africa
The regime saw the colonies as part of the country, an “empire” that gave Portugal weight in the world. When, in the 1950s and 1960s, other European countries accepted independence for their colonies, Portugal refused. The colonial war began in Angola in 1961 and spread to Guinea and Mozambique. It lasted 13 years, with many dead and wounded, both Portuguese and African.
A case: a newspaper under censorship
Step 1: a journalist writes a news item about a strike. Step 2: before the paper is printed, the censors read the text. Step 3: with a “blue pencil”, the censor cuts sentences, or the whole item. Step 4: the paper comes out with different text, and readers never find out what was cut.
The trap: seeing only the “order”
Some remember the Estado Novo as a time of order and balanced books. But that order had a price: those who disagreed could be watched, arrested and mistreated by the political police, the PIDE. And for many Portuguese it also meant poverty, little schooling and emigration. An honest memory keeps both.
Where you can still see this today
In Lisbon, the Museu do Aljube — Resistência e Liberdade is housed in a former political prison of the regime. In Peniche, the fortress, where opponents of the dictatorship were held, also keeps this memory. And you can ask an older relative what they remember: many people lived through the dictatorship and the war first-hand.
Keep exploring
Other languages
Loading MyLeoNes™…