Five main theses are defended in this book:

•  History is not a mere accumulation of past facts, the fruit of chance and uncertainty, and the Science of History is not a simplistic narrative of past ‘stories.’

•  Globalization is an evolutionary and irreversible process, initially conceived in China around the 10th century, and born with the Portuguese Discoveries movement in the 15th and 16th centuries.

•  The Portuguese were pioneers in the process that led to the transition to a true global system of cultural and commercial exchange.

•  The application of systemic methodology to the analysis of History allows for the construction of viable future scenarios.

•  There is an inheritance from the Portuguese generations active during the apex period between the 15th and 16th centuries (the “Discoveries Matrix”), as well as a portfolio of acquired knowledge regarding this country’s capacity for resilience and its historical relationship to some of the emerging 21st century powers.