Portugal, 1959 — military coup conspiracy
Event Summary
The dataset records an event coded as a military conspiracy in Portugal on 15 March 1959, corresponding to the Cathedral Coup (Golpe da Se), a plot by army officers who stored weapons in the Lisbon cathedral. Prepared by figures from the National Independent Movement (Movimento Nacional Independente) linked to opposition presidential candidate General Humberto Delgado, whose 1958 campaign against the Salazar regime had galvanized hopes for change, the coup was defeated in March 1959 by Salazar and the PIDE secret police. It was the first of several failed attempts to overthrow the Estado Novo dictatorship, and its failure was followed by a significant wave of PIDE arrests through 1959 and 1960 that drove many oppositionists into exile.
Researched Details
Researched
Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.
Sources
Editorial Note
Cross-Reference
Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.
Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:
- Cline Center id
23503151959
How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.
Outcome and Target
Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Salazar and PIDE defeated the plot and the Estado Novo dictatorship endured.
Baseline coding: Plot discovered and disrupted before execution. Recorded leader fate: remained in office; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.
Baseline Dataset Citation
Baseline Source-Document Entries
New York Times
Manchester Guardian
Washington Post and Times Herald
Christian Science Monitor
This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →