The Carnation Revolution of 1974 in Portugal overthrew the authoritarian Estado Novo regime that had been in power since 1933. A military movement called the Armed Forces Movement, composed mostly of young captains who had fought in Portugal's colonial wars, launched the revolution on April 25, 1974 with little resistance. The revolution established the National Salvation Junta to govern the country and began a period of political and social turmoil known as the Revolutionary Process in Course as Portugal transitioned to democracy and granted independence to its African colonies.