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Portugal: history and fado

Portugal: history and fado: a chapter of the Trip to Portugal Book, with the words, places and habits that make a first trip easier.

11 cards · History

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Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the deck a few at a time.

Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 23 Oct 2026

Sources: Visit Portugal (official tourism site), Portugal (Encyclopaedia Britannica)

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  • Year an earthquake and tsunami destroyed Lisbon

    Show answer: Year an earthquake and tsunami destroyed Lisbon

    1755

    Learn more: It struck on 1 November, killing tens of thousands; the city was rebuilt with quake-proof frames.

  • First to sail from Europe to India, in 1498

    Show answer: First to sail from Europe to India, in 1498

    Vasco da Gama

    Learn more: His voyage round Africa opened the sea route for the spice trade.

  • Prince who sponsored the voyages of discovery

    Show answer: Prince who sponsored the voyages of discovery

    Henry the Navigator

    Learn more: He funded expeditions down the African coast in the 15th century.

  • Navigator whose fleet first sailed round the world

    Show answer: Navigator whose fleet first sailed round the world

    Ferdinand Magellan

    Learn more: He died in 1521 in the Philippines; one ship made it home in 1522.

  • Year Portugal was recognised as a kingdom

    Show answer: Year Portugal was recognised as a kingdom

    1143

    Learn more: The Treaty of Zamora recognised Afonso Henriques as king.

About this topic

For a small country, Portugal has a huge history: one of Europe's oldest borders, the voyages that opened sea routes to India and Brazil, an earthquake that shook philosophy, and a revolution won with flowers.

This is a chapter of the Trip to Portugal Book. Some cards let you hear the Portuguese, some show a place glowing on the map, and some put you in a real situation, at a café or a station. Each comes with a hint before you answer and a short reason after. Once you know most of this chapter, the next one starts arriving in your Daily Zap.

All 11 cards

  1. Year an earthquake and tsunami destroyed Lisbon

    1755

    Learn more: It struck on 1 November, killing tens of thousands; the city was rebuilt with quake-proof frames.

  2. First to sail from Europe to India, in 1498

    Vasco da Gama

    Learn more: His voyage round Africa opened the sea route for the spice trade.

  3. Prince who sponsored the voyages of discovery

    Henry the Navigator

    Learn more: He funded expeditions down the African coast in the 15th century.

  4. Navigator whose fleet first sailed round the world

    Ferdinand Magellan

    Learn more: He died in 1521 in the Philippines; one ship made it home in 1522.

  5. Year Portugal was recognised as a kingdom

    1143

    Learn more: The Treaty of Zamora recognised Afonso Henriques as king.

  6. Oldest alliance still in force, signed 1386

    Treaty of Windsor

    Learn more: Portugal and England promised perpetual friendship; it still stands.

  7. Peaceful 1974 coup that ended the dictatorship

    The Carnation Revolution

    Learn more: On 25 April 1974, soldiers put red carnations in their guns.

  8. Year Portugal joined the European Community

    1986

    Learn more: Membership brought new roads, bridges and a boom in the 1990s.

  9. The great voice of 20th-century fado

    Amália Rodrigues

    Learn more: She took fado around the world and rests in the National Pantheon.

  10. Riverside tower that guarded Lisbon's harbour

    Belém Tower

    Learn more: Explorers set sail past it; it is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

  11. Monastery built with spice-trade wealth

    Jerónimos Monastery

    Learn more: Its carved stone shows ropes, shells and sea creatures from the age of discovery.

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