Portugal was the first and last of the great European colonial powers. In 1960 the Portuguese flag still flew over vast expanses of African territory, and continued to fly there while others were busy granting independence to their African colonies. It was not until 1975 that it was finally forced down. The educated mestiços and assimilados were well aware of what was happening in other territories. They were encouraged by the fact that the Portuguese territories had begun to find themselves surrounded by newly independent states whose governments were sympathetic to the cause of African nationalism. It seemed that their time had come.