The history of the liberation struggles in the Portuguese colonies has been written to attribute glory and monopolies to the "liberating groups", as in the case of Mozambique, Angola and Guinea-Bissau. But a new scientific study, published in book form, calls into question the narrative that has endured for 50 years.

An article published by ObserverThe book, which is a new offspring of literature, seeks to "correct" the story told by the liberation movements. And one of the questions the book asks is who fired the first shot that triggered the colonial wars.

Historian Pedro Aires Oliveira, one of the coordinators of the book Twilight of the Empire - Portugal and the wars of decolonization told the newspaper that "The dominant parties in Guinea, Angola and Mozambique wanted to convey the idea that they had a monopoly on the armed struggle, that they were the ones who had fired the first shots in the struggle for national independence and things aren't exactly like that... they're a bit more complicated".

In the case of Mozambique, the story goes that "the first shot" that triggered the struggle for liberation from Portuguese colonial rule was fired by Alberto Joaquim Chipande, on the night of September 24-25, 1964, in Chai, Cabo Delgado province.

The book was launched in Lisbon on Thursday and includes texts by 37 authors from various Portuguese and foreign universities, as well as recognized experts in the fields of history, strategy, military science, society and economics.