2. Why did we make
Quiz City?
We are Anna and Rebecca: a
young start-up, hoping to
improve how you experience
and engage with historic cities.
Anna is Italian, has a classical
education, and knows about
important things. Rebecca grew
up in the north of England and
is excellent at cooking
potatoes.
Anna took Rebecca to the
Duomo di Milano. Rebecca
agreed it was a beautiful
building and looked at it for a
good five minutes.
When Rebecca was ready to
leave, Anna was dismayed that
Rebecca was not more
impressed. But Anna was
looking at the building with a
wealth of historical context
while Rebecca was just looking
at some nice marble.
We now live in Lisbon and want
to help you experience the city
to the full, by engaging with its
history.
And who doesn’t love a quiz?
Please feel free to huddle in a
circle with friends, family, and
random tourists, and take it
way too seriously.
Tell us if you like us
We’re a young start-up and we’d really, really love to know what you
think of Quiz City.
To be honest, without your feedback, we will kill this business idea.
1. Answer more fun questions
• How do you feel about Quiz
City?
• What would you change?
• Which city should we do
next?
• And more!
Just look at this QR code with
your camera phone and it’ll give
you a link to our Survey Monkey
2. Send us a euro
Was this worth 1 EUR?
The best feedback you can give
us is a donation. It would let us
know that you really got some
value from Quiz City.
If you don’t do it… who will?
Just look at this QR code with
your phone camera and it’ll take
you to our PayPal.me
You can tell us in two ways…
3. A QUESTION FOR ST GEORGE CASTLE
In 1147, the castle was the
centre of the Siege of
Lisbon.
Lisbon wasn’t part of
Portugal, but King Afonso
(the first king of Portugal
having taken independence
from Spain) wanted it!
The Muslim Moors didn’t only
occupy Lisbon, they occupied
much of the Iberian Peninsula.
You’ve probably heard of the
Reconquista – the period during
which the Christians fought to end
Muslim rule of the area.
He wanted to take it from the
Muslim Moors, who had occupied
Lisbon for more than 400 years.
But previous attempts by others
had failed, and the king knew he
would be outnumbered by the
Moors…
Q1:
WHO BUILT ST GEORGE CASTLE?
The Romans
They were in the Iberian
Peninsula from 219 BC to the
fall of the Roman Empire
The Visigoths
A Germanic tribe that took over
the Iberian Peninsula after the
Romans, around 500 AD
The Moors
The North African Muslims who
took over the Iberian Peninsula
from 711 AD
Salazar
The dictator of Portugal from
1932 to 1968
A6:
Primarily, because the people wanted an end
to the colonial war.
In contrast to other European powers, Salazar had refused to give
independence to the colonies and war broke out. In 1961, the
Portuguese army surrendered to India, but Salazar was furious and
exiled the general – and the war continued in the African colonies. Even
after Salazar died, in1970, the regime and war continued.
Salazar’s dictatorship was summarised as good results, bad methods:
he took Portugal out of poverty and chaos but he implemented
censorship, and a secret police to suppress political opponents. The
younger generation didn’t remember the financial struggles before, so
they were less accepting of him.
A local restaurant had planned to
give flowers to its customers that
day, but the coup kind of got in
the way. An employee gave the
flowers to the soldiers – and they
put them in their guns to
symbolise peace.
Portuguese military rebels planned a
peaceful coup. They took to the
streets and were joined by thousands
of civilians. After just 6 hours, the
government conceded – ending the
war and beginning a new democracy.
What does it have to do with
ABBA?
The signal to start the coup was the
1974 Portuguese Eurovision song
contest playing on the radio – it was
the same year that ABBA had won!
So what was the Carnation Revolution?
4. A1:
Well, it was kind of Salazar…
Yes, the Romans started fortifications in the 1st Century BC…
And yes, the Moors built a proper castle there…
But it was almost all destroyed in an earthquake in 1755!
So Salazar had the castle reconstructed in 1940.
The king made some
big promises
The king prayed to Saint
Vincent – he had been
killed in the 4th century
for being a devout
Christian and refusing to
pray to pagan gods. The
king promised to find
Vincent’s remains and
bring them back to
Lisbon if they won the
war.
There was a crazy knight
A Portuguese knight called Martim Moniz
saw an open door at the side of the
castle and, before the Moors had a
chance to close it, he threw himself in
the doorway! The Portuguese captured
the castle and the siege ended.
And what happened in the 1147 Siege of Lisbon?
Martim was crushed to
death but on the bright
side there is a metro
and a square named
after him.
It defined the Lisbon coat of
arms
The king found Vincent’s
remains in the Algarve and had
them returned to Lisbon.
Ravens followed Vincent for
the entire journey. This is
depicted in the Lisbon
coat of arms!
Look out for it all around
the city.
Q6:
WHY DID THE CARNATION REVOLUTION TAKE
PLACE?
The Portuguese enjoyed
a good coup
This was the third coup of the
20th century
Everyone was
sick of Salazar
The dictator who had been in
power since 1934
People wanted an end
to the colonial war
Colonies were fighting for their
independence
People wanted to listen to
ABBA on the radio
The dictatorship was operating
strict censorship
The 25 April bridge is named after
the Carnation Revolution, which
took place in 1974 and ended the
dictatorship.
Throughout the 1800s and into the
1900s, Portugal had struggled with
political instability and debt. By
1926, things were so bad that the
military overthrew the government
– and people welcomed the
change.
The military dictatorship persuaded
Salazar (a great economist) to
become the finance minister.
Salazar did such a good job that, a
few years later, Salazar became
the prime minister of the
dictatorship.
The bridge was once named after
him!
A QUESTION FOR THE 25 APRIL BRIDGE
5. A5:
90 days!
The whole voyage from Lisbon to India took 2 years – including a period
of 90 days without seeing land!
Vasco da Gama became known as a hero
Vasco da Gama returned
to Portugal with loads of
black pepper (the
favourite spice at the
time), making Portugal
super rich.
Pessoa is Portugal’s most famous
poet and described as one of the
best writers of the 20th century.
He was born just around the
corner from Chiado Square, in
1888.
Pessoa wrote under different
names, but not just pseudonyms:
heteronyms – each name a
distinct character with its own
voice, style, and even handwriting.
The characters often knew each
other and wrote about each other.
Pessoa even created an
astrologer heteronym, who wrote
horoscopes about the other
heteronyms.
Q2:
HOW MANY HETERONYMS DID PESSOA
HAVE?
8 18
38 72
A QUESTION FOR CHIADO SQUARE
You can find Pessoa
sitting outside
Café A Brasileira,
in Chiado Square.
However, sounds like he wasn’t a very nice
guy. He demanded the Indian rulers trade
only with Portugal. India wasn’t interested in
this arrangement, so Vasco da Gama
bombarded them and stole from them.
But it’s Christopher Columbus we remember…
Maybe you hadn’t heard of
Vasco da Gama, but you’ve
probably heard of the Italian
explorer, Christopher
Columbus.
Before Gama, Columbus had
been in Lisbon and asked
Portugal’s king to fund him
on a voyage to the Far East.
The king declined because
he though Columbus’ plan to
go West was crazy.
But he received funding from
Spain and went on to reach
the Americas (the crew only
went 33 days without seeing
land).
He returned to Lisbon to brag. But the
king said the Americas belonged to
Portugal!
Sensing trouble, Spain told the pope!
The pope divided the world between
Spain and Portugal by drawing a big line
down the Atlantic Ocean: everything to
the west for Spain, and everything to the
east to Portugal.
And it was
later
agreed
in a
Treaty.
6. A2:
Scholars have counted 72!
Pessoa only published one book while he was alive, but among his
belongings when he died was 25,000 pages of writing!
Here are some things Pessoa said about himself –
• I’m an empty stage where various actors act out various plays.
• I’m the gap between what I’d like to be and what others have made of
me.
• I’m beginning to know myself. I don’t exist.
And ironically, “Pessoa” is Portuguese for “person”.
What else do we
know about
Pessoa?
What’s a bica and other coffees in
Portugal?
How to order coffee
in Lisbon
Espresso
“um bica”
--------------
Americano
“um abatanado”
--------------
Espresso with a
drop of milk
“um pingado”
--------------
Cortado
“um garoto”
--------------
Latte
“um galão”
Café A Brasileira
was opened in
1905 to sell
genuine
Brazilian coffee.
It was the first
shop to sell bica
– like an
espresso, but a
little longer and
smoother.
It became a
meeting place
for intellectuals
and artists.
Can you see the Monument of
Discoveries? It celebrates
Portugal’s exploration in the 15th
and 16th centuries.
It started in 1415, when Portugal
invaded the Muslim city of Ceuta
on the north coast of Africa.
Portugal continued down the west
coast of Africa, getting rich.
This set the scene for Vasco da
Gama. In 1497, he set sail for
the Far East, hoping to bring
back spices (which were luxury
goods traded like gold).
The crew
said their
final
prayers in
the Tower
of Belém,
before
setting off
into the
unknown.
It was an epic voyage, but the crew
did reach India! (With help from an
Arab man they picked up in Kenya.)
Q5:
HOW MANY DAYS DID VASCO DA GAMA’S
CREW GO WITHOUT SEEING LAND?
7 33
90 300
A QUESTION FOR BELEM
Pessoa was often seen
in Chiado Square,
drinking absinthe and
bica (coffee) for
breakfast, and smoking
continuously. Pessoa
died young.
There is some debate
about Pessoa’s
sexuality - if he was gay
or deeply spiritual. He
wrote, “I was never one
who in love or friendship
preferred one sex over
the other.”
7. A4:
It’s prostitutes AND the head of government.
Sorry we were a bit sneaky giving two answers.
What happened in church?
The day of the earthquake was a
Catholic holiday – All Saints’ Day – so
most people were celebrating at
church.
People believed earthquakes were the
wrath of God, but the churches were
some of the first buildings to collapse.
Society was shocked. Why would God
do this? Was Lisbon more sinful than
Paris or London?
This inspired a lot of philosophical
discussion. Kant tried to explain the
earthquake through geography – this
was the birth of seismology.
Why did the prostitutes
survive?
The only part of the city to completely
survive the earthquake was the
poorest district, home to criminals and
prostitutes – Alfama. It survived
because it was built on a big, sturdy
rock.
How did the
earthquake reach
Morocco?
The earthquake caused a
tsunami which didn’t only
hit Lisbon, but England and
even Brazil. Worst hit was
Morocco: waves of 20
metres killed 10,000
people.
Have you heard of
Marquês de Pombal?
Marquês de Pombal was
the head of the government
– he saved Lisbon in the
king’s absence.
He threw all the dead
bodies into the sea – the
church wasn’t happy but it
surely stopped diseases
from spreading.
And he had the city rebuilt,
strong enough to withstand
another earthquake.
In 1493, the pope divided the
planet between the two world
powers of Portugal and Spain,
by drawing a line down the
Atlantic Ocean.
Brazil was first “discovered” a
few years later. It was on the
Portuguese side of the pope’s
line and therefore became a
Portuguese colony.
In 1807, the Portuguese royal
family went to Brazil – along with
a staff of 10,000 including
ministers and merchants.
King João VI transformed the city of
Rio de Janeiro (opening a bank and
universities) – and made it the
capital of Portugal!
Q3:
WHY DID THE PORTUGUESE ROYAL
FAMILY GO TO BRAZIL in 1807?
For the gold
They didn’t want to wait for
gold to travel to Europe
To annoy Spain
The Spanish empire was
Portugal’s biggest rival
To escape Napoleon
The French general
Because the king hated
Guinness
Lisbon was the first city in the
world to import Guinness
A QUESTION FOR ROSSIO
8. A3:
To escape Napoleon!
Napoleon controlled most of Europe, but still wanted Britain! Having lost
the Battle of Trafalgar, Napoleon ordered Europe to stop all trade with
Britain. Every country complied except for Portugal! In 1807, French
soldiers set out for Portugal, but the Portuguese royal family and 10,000
staff had already set sail for Brazil. This meant France was easily able to
occupy Portugal and stop trade with Britain.
And what does that have to do
with the square you’re in now?
Rossio square is really called the
Square of Pedro IV, and the statue on
the tall column is of Pedro. Pedro was
part of the royal family that ran to
Brazil – he was the son of the king.
The king eventually returned to
Portugal to start a constitutional
monarchy with a parliament (after
pressure from the Portuguese
people).
But, Pedro stayed in Brazil. He was
quite forward thinking for the time and
declared Brazil independent from
Portugal!
Some years later, Pedro had to return
to Portugal to save the country from
his old-fashioned, absolutist brother –
so he’s a bit of a hero.
Are you sure that’s a
statue of Pedro?
There’s an urban legend that
the statue isn’t Pedro at all –
That the statue was originally
designed for Emperor
Maximilian of Mexico, but he
was assassinated and the
unwanted statue was sold to
Portugal for cheap.
But the legend has actually
been disproven – the statue
has the Portuguese Coat of
Arms on his buttons.
P.S. Lisbon was
the first city to
import Guinness
but not until 1811 –
when the king was
already in Brazil
Q4:
WHO SURVIVED THE 1755 EARTHQUAKE?
The Royal Family and…
People praying in church Prostitutes
Everyone in Morocco
The head of
the Portuguese government
On 1 November 1755, a
historically massive earthquake
hit Lisbon. Its magnitude on the
Richter Scale was between 8 and
9 – the same as 32,000
Hiroshima atomic bombs.
It is estimated that up to 100,000
lives were lost – up to 50% of the
population.
You can see a statue of King
José – he and the royal family
survived because they were
having a picnic in the hills. The
king was nonetheless traumatised
and instead of rebuilding Lisbon,
he went to live in the hills in a
post tent.
Pastel de nata
originate
from
the
1700s
A QUESTION FOR PRAÇA DO COMERCIO