Short answers, pulled from the story.
The Cave of Aroeira yielded a 400,000-year-old skull of Homo heidelbergensis in 2014. This discovery proves human presence on the Iberian Peninsula long before recorded history began.
Pelagius of Asturias was elected leader by ousted Visigoth nobles in 718. He defeated Moors at the Battle of Covadonga in 722 and founded the Christian Kingdom of Asturias.
Treaty of Tordesillas divided newly located lands outside Europe between Portugal and Spain in 1494. Treaty of Zaragoza signed in 1529 split Pacific Ocean control between two nations.
A coup d'état replaced monarchy with republic on the 5th of October 1910. Political instability created chaos during First Republic period.
Mount Pico on Pico Island stands highest at 2,351 meters above sea level. Last terrestrial volcanic eruption occurred between 1957 and 1958 at Capelinhos.
José Saramago won 1998 Nobel Prize in Literature representing modern Portuguese writing tradition. Traditional architecture includes Manueline style sumptuous composite ornamentation first decades 16th century followed Pombaline design 18th century.