The Backstory:
Portugal
A Solejourn is designed to be immersive and educational.
To help you make the most of your experience, we recommend engaging with a few thoughtfully selected pieces of media before departure.
If traveling as a family, please note that we have flagged media where more mature content may be encountered. We encourage parents to review the material before providing it to their children.
Suggested Reading & Watching
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The Portuguese: A Modern History
Barry Hatton
This book is a sweeping portrait of Portugal’s national character and what it feels like to be Portuguese. Hatton’s reflections will come to life when we visit Coimbra’s ancient university and the schist villages. He reminds us that this is a nation defined not by conquest alone, but by a remarkable ability to absorb change while maintaining a strong sense of identity. Through stories of explorers, poets, and ordinary citizens, he uncovers the essence of saudade—a uniquely Portuguese mix of longing, melancholy, and hope. Hatton connects Portugal’s past to its present with warmth and humor, showing how centuries of seafaring, empire, dictatorship, and democracy have shaped the national character. Reading his book gives you a sense of the undercurrent that runs through daily life—the unspoken pride, patience, and poetry that define the Portuguese spirit.
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Conquerors: How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
Roger Crowley
This fast-paced book tells the story of how Portugal once changed the world through adventure, ambition, and salt spray. Crowley tells of daring voyages that carried Portuguese sailors around Africa and across the Indian Ocean in the 15th and 16th centuries. He captures the courage, faith, and fierce competition that drove this tiny kingdom to open sea routes and establish outposts from Brazil to India and beyond. Yet he doesn’t shy away from the darker parts of that legacy—the violence, greed, and cultural collision that came with empire. Crowley’s narrative reads almost like a historical novel, and by the end you’ll understand how Portugal, once a remote corner of Europe, became the center of a new global world.
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Hero on the Front
(Original title: Saldado Milhões)
This biographical war films shares the true story of Portuguese Private Aníbal Augusto Milhais. In 1918 Milhais was fighting on the front lines of the Battle of the Lys in France. Under heavy German offensive and ordered to retreat, he disobeyed, instead staying in the trenches to hold off waves of successive German attacks to cover his comrades’ withdrawal. He was nicknamed “Saldado Milhões” which roughly translates to soldier worth a million men and received the prestigious Order of the Tower and Sword. Told in a flashback style, the story reflects on his experience in the war, how it changed him and impacted him as a parent.
Note: This film contains adult themes, graphic depictions of war and some adult language.
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April Captains
This indie film from 2000 follows the events of April 25, 1974 when young military officers led a nearly bloodless coup known as the Carnation Revolution against the Estado Novo dictatorship.
