Even though he is better known for his writings subsequent to the revolution of 25 April 1974, especially his novels, Saramago was already a published author prior to the 1974 events that ended the fascist dictatorship of António de Oliveira Salazar and his successor, Marcelo Caetano. Like many other writers of the postrevolutionary generation, Saramago was affected by the repression and the censorship associated with the Portuguese fascist state and by the long-lasting African colonial wars in which Portugal was involved during the 1960s and early 1970s. These wars affected the national psyche so profoundly and disrupted the lives of so many of its citizens that ultimately they created the conditions for the 1974 military coup, an event responsible for the creation of democratic rule in Portugal and for the independence of the Portuguese African colonies.
In this new political setting, which was initially defined by extreme revolutionary fervor and zeal eventually moderated by Portugal's acceptance of Western European parliamentary democratic ideals, Saramago wrote most of his books. The author, like other writers of the postrevolutionary period, turned to Portuguese history as a source of inspiration for many of his writings.
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