Estado Novo

State · 1926–2026 CE · at its largest around 1926 CE

The authoritarian, corporatist regime that grew out of Portugal's 1926 military coup and was shaped by António de Oliveira Salazar. It fought long colonial wars in Africa before being toppled by the Carnation Revolution of 1974.

On its lands while it lasted

British Raj (1858–1947 CE): After the 1857 rebellion the British Crown took direct rule of India from the East India Company, governing until independence in 1947.
Mahatma Gandhi (1869 CE – 1948 CE): Leader of the Indian independence movement who developed nonviolent mass civil disobedience (satyagraha).
Ho Chi Minh (1890 CE – 1969 CE): Vietnamese revolutionary who led the Viet Minh independence movement, declared the Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945 and led North Vietnam until his death.
Mao Zedong (1893 CE – 1976 CE): Communist revolutionary who founded the People's Republic of China and led it until his death.
Nelson Mandela (1918 CE – 2013 CE): Anti-apartheid leader imprisoned for 27 years who became South Africa's first Black president in 1994 and shared the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.
Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945 CE): Full-scale war between China and Japan, merging into the Second World War; the Nationalist government moved its capital to Chongqing.
Independence of India (1947 CE): India became independent on 15 August 1947, with Jawaharlal Nehru as its first prime minister.
Partition of India (1947 CE): British India was divided into India and Pakistan in August 1947, followed by communal violence and the displacement of some 15 million people.
Declaration of the State of Israel (1948 CE): David Ben-Gurion proclaimed the State of Israel in Tel Aviv on 14 May 1948 as the British Mandate ended, followed by war with neighbouring Arab states.
People's Republic of China founded (1949 CE): Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China from Tiananmen Gate on 1 October 1949.
Korean War (1950–1953 CE): War between North Korea, backed by China and the Soviet Union, and South Korea, backed by UN forces led by the United States.
Vietnam War (1955–1975 CE): War between communist North Vietnam and the US-backed South, which escalated into large-scale American intervention and ended with the fall of Saigon in 1975.
Cultural Revolution (1966–1976 CE): Political campaign launched by Mao against perceived enemies within the party and society, bringing mass persecution and violence.
Cambodian genocide (1975–1979 CE): Under Pol Pot's Khmer Rouge, an estimated 1.5 to 2 million Cambodians died from execution, forced labour and starvation.
Iranian Revolution (1978–1979 CE): Mass protests overthrew Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and Ruhollah Khomeini returned from exile to found the Islamic Republic of Iran.