Portugal lies on the western side of the Iberian Peninsula, facing the Atlantic Ocean, with Spain as its only land neighbour. Far out in the ocean it also includes two groups of islands, Madeira and the Azores. The north is green and hilly, while the south, the Alentejo and the Algarve, is a land of rolling plains, cork oaks and golden beaches.
Portugal became a kingdom in the 1100s, and its borders on the mainland have barely changed since 1297. In the 1400s and 1500s its sailors led the Age of Discovery: they sailed around Africa to India, reached Brazil and built trading posts as far away as China and Japan.
Memories fade faster than photos. Ask these over a meal or a phone call, and write the answers down.
From Lusitanian warriors who fought Rome to the explorers who opened the sea route to India, Portugal's small corner of Europe has had a very large part in world history.
Viriathus, leader of the Lusitanian people, won several victories against the Romans before he was betrayed and murdered in his sleep in 139 BC. The Portuguese remember him as a national hero. Rome went on to conquer the region, which became the province of Lusitania.
Afonso Henriques, who had called himself king in 1139, took Lisbon after a siege of about four months, with the help of crusaders from northern Europe on their way to the Holy Land. Lisbon became the capital about a century later, in 1255.
After English archers helped Portugal beat Castile at the Battle of Aljubarrota in 1385, King John I and England signed a pact of lasting friendship, sealed by his marriage to the English princess Philippa of Lancaster. The alliance is still in force today.
After sailing around the southern tip of Africa, Vasco da Gama landed near Calicut (Kozhikode) in India on 20 May 1498. He had opened the first sea route from Europe to Asia, and the spice trade made Lisbon rich.
On 1 December 1640 the Duke of Braganza was proclaimed King John IV of Portugal. After years of war, Spain accepted Portugal's independence in 1668. The date, 1 December, is a national holiday.
Days before Napoleon's army reached Lisbon, the royal family and about 10,000 courtiers sailed for Brazil. From 1808 to 1821 Rio de Janeiro was the capital of the Portuguese empire.
On 25 April 1974 army officers overthrew the Estado Novo, the dictatorship built by António de Oliveira Salazar, with very little bloodshed. People put red carnations into the soldiers' guns, which gave the revolution its name. Democracy followed, and Portugal's African colonies soon became independent.
At midnight on 20 December 1999 Portugal handed Macau, its last territory in Asia, to China, ending 442 years of Portuguese rule there.
Cook one of the recipes, print the large-print pack about Portugal, and finish with the big-screen quiz or the words crossword. Grandchildren can colour the flag.
