On April 25, 1974, a military coup in Portugal overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime with minimal violence, symbolized by carnations in gun barrels. It ended dictatorship and colonialism, leading to independence for African colonies like Angola and Mozambique.

The Carnation Revolution in 1974 revitalized Portuguese poetry, infusing it with themes of freedom and renewal. Poets such as Adolfo Casais Monteiro reflected on the end of dictatorship, influencing Iberian and Lusophone African literary expressions in their quest for identity.