Charles Boxer, a professor at Yale University and the author of a number of historical works, presents the history of the Portuguese Empire, emphasizing that it was the Portuguese who led the first European maritime expeditions. The Spaniards, Dutch, English, and French, who followed the pioneers, largely benefited from their valuable experience. This concerned both the art of navigation and the skills of communicating with people of other faiths and different skin colors. The author analyzes how successfully the Portuguese transferred their main administrative institutions to a new exotic environment and improved them in relation to new conditions. The author also drew attention to the relationship between the empire's possessions scattered in different parts of the world and Portugal itself, located at the westernmost tip of Europe.