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Portuguese History Trivia

Portuguese History Trivia Quizzes

Potuguese History

13 Portuguese History quizzes and 146 Portuguese History trivia questions.

April in Portugal

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

Portugal Freedom Day

One of Portugal's national holidays takes place during the month of April. This quiz will take a look at the events leading to its commemoration.

Average, 10 Qns, Gispepfu, Jan 31 25

Average
Gispepfu
Jan 31 25
57 plays

Portuguese Colonies

Collection Quiz

11 Qns

The Portuguese Empire was the earliest and longest lived of the modern European colonial empires starting in 1415 and ending in 1999.

Easier, 11 Qns, sw11, Jan 17 24

Easier
sw11

Jan 17 24
307 plays

A Trip Through Portugal's Rich History

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

Although Portugal is a relatively small country in terms of area, it was one of the first countries to establish a global empire. Brush up your knowledge of this country that has almost 900 years of history.

Easier, 10 Qns, masfon, Nov 04 23

Easier
masfon

Nov 04 23
278 plays

The Portuguese Age of Discovery best quiz

Match Quiz

10 Qns

Portugal was one of the leading participants in the Golden Age of European Discovery during the 15th and 16th centuries. Match each of these Portuguese explorers with their contribution to this process.

Average, 10 Qns, looney_tunes, Jul 15 18

Average
looney_tunes editor

Jul 15 18
730 plays

The History of Lisbon

Photo Quiz

10 Qns

Lisbon is a city steeped in history as it was the center of many powerful kingdoms. This quiz covers Lisbon's history from its founding until the end of the monarchy in the early 20th century.

Average, 10 Qns, Joepetz, Mar 18 15

Average
Joepetz

412 plays

Portuguese History

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

A quiz on Portuguese History! Give it a try. Good Luck

Average, 10 Qns, carla7, Feb 02 13

Average
carla7
899 plays

A Curious History of Portugal

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

Portugal has a very rich and interesting story, so let's try to get these funny questions right and learn something at the same time.

Average, 10 Qns, atari_riot, May 07 20

Average
atari_riot
May 07 20
603 plays

10 Question Portuguese History Quiz

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

Test your knowledge of Portugal and its history.

Average, 10 Qns, rmatera, Jul 07 13

Average
rmatera
1669 plays

Portugal: The First Civil War (1828-1834)

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

Test your knowledge of Portugal's first civil war, fought between 1828 and 1834. Have fun by learning.

Average, 10 Qns, JAM411, Oct 13 11

Average
JAM411
198 plays

10.

Portugal, the 5th Empire!

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

The writer Fernando Pessoa once said that Portugal was meant to be the 5th Empire. However, that was a long time ago. Now we just try to keep above the surface. Care to test your knowledge?

Average, 10 Qns, Curunír, Sep 30 18

Average
Curunír
Sep 30 18
664 plays

Quick Question

The beginning of the Portuguese Maritime Expansion began with the conquest of which north African city?

From Quiz "Portugal"

11.

Portuguese Colonial History

Multiple Choice

25 Qns

In this quiz I will test your knowledge about Portuguese colonial history.

Difficult, 25 Qns, author, Jun 17 18

Difficult
author
Jun 17 18
1138 plays

12.

Portugal

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

Portugal is one of the most ancient countries in Europe and despite its size, it has done great things in the past. Let's discover some of them!

Average, 10 Qns, Sofia_M, Dec 21 24

Average
Sofia_M
Dec 21 24
780 plays

13.

Portugal's First Republic

Multiple Choice

10 Qns

A short quiz about Portugal's First Republic (1910-1926). Test your knowledge about this period of Portuguese history and have fun.

Tough, 10 Qns, JAM411, Oct 10 11

Tough
JAM411
214 plays

Portuguese History Trivia Questions

1. The first civil war fought on Portuguese soil is also known by another name. What is it?

From Quiz Portugal: The First Civil War (1828-1834)

Answer: The Liberal Wars

This term is most commonly used by the Portuguese historians to identify the conflict fought in Portugal between 1828 and 1834. This war has been referred to also as The Miguelite War and The War of the Two Brothers.

2. Where did the very first proclamation of a republic in Portugal take place?

From Quiz Portugal's First Republic

Answer: Porto

In 1891, there was a brief republican coup in Porto against the king, Carlos I, due to the Ultimatum Crisis of 1890-91 resulting from Britain's demand that Portugal renounce all claims to territory between Mozambique and Angola. (Britain wanted this territory for what soon became Southern and Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland - the modern Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi). The Republic was proclaimed at the Municipal Chamber of Porto, but within 24 hours all the rebels were arrested and the coup was easily smashed.

3. Which family member did the first Portuguese king and founder of the nation, D. Afonso Henriques fight in his struggle for independence at the battle of S. Mamede?

From Quiz A Curious History of Portugal

Answer: His mother

At the Battle of S. Mamede (1128) he overcame the armies under his mother's lover Count Fernando Peres de Trava of Galicia, making her his prisoner and becoming one of the most ungrateful sons ever.

4. From which Roman name does the word 'Portugal' derive?

From Quiz Portuguese History

Answer: Portus Cale

Cale was the name of a settlement on the Douro River. The name Portucale evolved into Portugale and by the 9th century, the term "Portugale" was used extensively to refer to the region between the rivers Douro and Minho. Nowadays, the word Portus Cale is reflected on the name of the two cities on the banks of Douro river: Porto (Portus) and Gaia (Cale).

5. When did Portugal's first king, Afonso Henriques, first declared his independence from Castille?

From Quiz Portugal

Answer: 1143

The king declared Portugal's independence in 1143, but te Pope only recognised it on 23rd May 1179.

6. Portugal is a southern European country. On what peninsula does Portugal lie?

From Quiz A Trip Through Portugal's Rich History

Answer: Iberian

Portugal is located on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula, located in the southwestern part of Europe. Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar, and a small part of France are on this peninsula. Portugal is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean and Spain. Cabo da Roca, Portugal, is mainland Europe's westernmost point.

7. Who was the last King of Portugal?

From Quiz Portuguese History

Answer: D. Manuel II

Manuel II became King after his father, D. Carlos, and his brother, Prince Luis Filipe, were assassinated. In 1910, Manuel II fled to exile to England.

8. What was the main reason behind the establishment of the Republic in 1910?

From Quiz Portugal's First Republic

Answer: The weakness of the monarchic institutions and lack of popular support for the king

On October 5, 1910, there was very little active, widespread support in the country for the Republic but, rather, popular dissatisfaction with the monarchy due to the many scandals which had undermined its political credibility.

9. In what year were the official Portuguese borders with Castille first defined?

From Quiz Portugal

Answer: 1297

The borders were agreed and formaly accepted by both coutnries on the 12th September 1297.

10. This was the most important Portuguese base in India, established 1510.

From Quiz Portuguese Colonial History

Answer: Goa

Annexed by India along with Daman and Diu in 1962.

11. Who discovered the Cape of Good Hope in 1487?

From Quiz Portuguese History

Answer: Bartolomeu Dias

Dias named it the "Cape of Storms". The name "Cape of Good Hope" was given to it by King John II, as an omen of the new discoveries to come.

12. The two sides in the conflict represented two opposing political philosophies which confronted each other all over Europe for the rest of the nineteenth century. I am talking about ...?

From Quiz Portugal: The First Civil War (1828-1834)

Answer: Liberalism and Absolutism

The confrontation between Liberalism and Absolutism started with the French Revolution in 1789, spread with the Napoleonic Wars to the rest of Europe and was present in the Europe's major transformations and revolutions during the nineteenth century.

13. Who was the first constitutional president of Portugal?

From Quiz Portugal's First Republic

Answer: Manuel de Arriaga

Manuel de Arriaga was elected the first president of Portugal by the Congress in 1911. In this election he defeated Bernardino Machado who was supported by the Republic's most preeminent figure, Afonso Costa. Manuel de Arriaga resigned from his post in 1915 due to the permanent institutional conflict with Afonso Costa, who managed to get Bernardino Machado elected in the next presidential election in 1915.

14. Queen Saint Isabel of Portugal, wife of D. Dinis, performed a miracle when she turned bread into what, while trying to hide from her husband the fact that she was helping a poor peasant?

From Quiz A Curious History of Portugal

Answer: Roses

Isabel was married to King Dinis of Portugal, a poet ruler, known as the farmer king, because he planted a large pine forest, near Leiria. The wood from these trees was later used during the discoveries to build the famous Portuguese man-o'-war ships.

15. In 1822 D. Pedro IV became the Emperor of which Portuguese colony?

From Quiz Portugal, the 5th Empire!

Answer: Brazil

In what is known as "the Ipiranga scream" D. Pedro IV gave Brazil what Britain had demanded for the country for a long time ago: independence. Britain wanted an independent Brazil to boost trades. Portugal lost its prime source of gold, slaves and sugar - and by the actions of the heir to the Portuguese crown!

16. Thirdly, this was the Portuguese major port in the Persian Gulf. Occupied 1515. This was a major market and port for trans-shipment in the spice trade.

From Quiz Portuguese Colonial History

Answer: Ormuz

Also called Hormuz. Today in Iran.

17. With which country does Portugal maintain the world's oldest alliance still in force?

From Quiz A Trip Through Portugal's Rich History

Answer: England

It can be said that the friendship between Portugal and England started in 1147 when English crusaders helped King Afonso I capture Lisbon from the Moors. On June 16, 1373, the "Anglo-Portuguese Treaty" was signed between King Edward III and King Ferdinand and Queen Eleanor of Portugal. On May 19, 1386, the Treaty of Windsor was signed between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Portugal, later the United Kingdom and the Portuguese Republic. The alliance was reinforced several times and recognized at the beginning of the 20th century in the Treaties of Arbitration. The treaty stated that these countries would never wage war against each other and would provide aid to each other. The alliance has been invoked several times, including during both World Wars. Today the alliance between Portugal and the United Kingdom goes beyond military cooperation. This alliance helped to increase bilateral trade, foreign investment, and tourism. The Treaty of Windsor is still active to this day.

18. In 1974, Portugal's long-standing dictatorship was overthrown by a coup d'etat led by the armed forces. What was this non-violent revolution called?

From Quiz Portuguese History

Answer: Carnation Revolution

The overthrow of the regime was a bloodless coup. The "Velvet Revolution" was the name given to the overthrow of the Communist régime in Czechoslvakia in 1989.

19. What event led to the beginning of the civil war?

From Quiz Portugal: The First Civil War (1828-1834)

Answer: Dom Miguel's betrayal of his loyalty to the Constitutional Charter

After swearing loyalty to the Consitutional Charter, Dom Miguel, supported by the church and landowners, dissolved all the liberal institutions, such as the Chamber of Deputies and the Chamber of Peers, and reinstated absolutism in Portugal.

20. Luis de Camões wrote the classic Portuguese book "The Lusiadas", celebrating in poetry the heroic history of Portugal. He himself was a part of it, when he lost what in Ceuta?

From Quiz A Curious History of Portugal

Answer: An eye

He enlisted in the overseas militia, supposedly after breaking many female hearts, and traveled to Ceuta in the fall of 1549. During a battle with the Moors, he lost his right eye.

21. There was one event in the Portuguese History that can be called as the seminal event for the foundation of Portugal. It happened in June 24, 1128. What was it?

From Quiz Portuguese History

Answer: Battle of São Mamede

The Battle of São Mamede opposed D. Afonso Henriques to his mother D. Teresa de Leon. The battle occured near Guimarães and the Portuguese army managed to defeat D. Teresa's army. Following this battle, D. Afonso Henriques proclamed himself " Prince of Portugal".

22. This city in the Far East was also a major fort and the principal centre of the spice trade. Taken for the Portuguese by Albuquerque in 1511.

From Quiz Portuguese Colonial History

Answer: Malacca

Lost to the Dutch in 1641.

23. Who 'discovered' Brazil in 1500?

From Quiz Portuguese History

Answer: Pedro Alvares Cabral

Brazil and Portugal celebrated the 500th anniversary of the exploration of Brazil in the year 2000.

24. This president was called "President-King" by the well-known Portuguese poet Fernando Pessoa.

From Quiz Portugal's First Republic

Answer: Sidónio Pais

Sidónio Pais (1872-1918) was also the only president to be elected by popular vote in 1918 and the only one to die still as president. He was shot by a deranged army veteran at the Rossio Station in Lisbon within a year of his election. He is considered a precursor of Fascism by many scolars.

25. Which king, having disappeared in Africa in the XVIth century, is expected to return on a day of fog to save the Portuguese people?

From Quiz A Curious History of Portugal

Answer: D. Sebastião

He was last seen riding headlong into the enemy lines. Whether his body was ever found is uncertain, but Filipe II of Spain claimed to have buried his remains in the beautifull Jerónimos Monastery in Belém, in Lisbon.

26. The independence of Portugal was recognized in the Treaty of Zamora, where D. Afonso Henriques had the assistance of a representative of the Holy See. In what century did these events take place?

From Quiz Portuguese History

Answer: 12th

The Treaty of Zamora was signed in 1143 and it recognized the independence of Portugal and gave D. Afonso Henriques the title of "Dux Portucalensis". But, it was only in 1179 that D. Afonso Henriques was recognized as king by Pope Alexander III.

27. The beginning of the Portuguese Maritime Expansion began with the conquest of which north African city?

From Quiz Portugal

Answer: Ceuta

In 1415, King João I and his sons, who were then knighted, conquered the city of Ceuta, which was just the beginning of the Portuguese expansion into Africa.

28. How many times did Napoleon try to conquer Portugal?

From Quiz Portugal, the 5th Empire!

Answer: 3

Thanks to the help of the British troops under the command of Wellington, we "showed sent them packing". At their first attempt the French managed to reach the capital but after the British disembarked they were sent home swiftly (despite keeping the spoils). At the second attempt they invaded by north but got no further than Oporto. At the third and last attempt they again tried to reach Lisbon but were stopped by the deffensive lines of Torres Vedras.

29. This port in East Africa was occupied in 1505. It was the port of outlet for gold from the Zambezi basin.

From Quiz Portuguese Colonial History

Answer: Sofala

Now called Nova Sofala.

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Last Updated Feb 15 2025 5:45 AM

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