Armando Cortesão was a professor of cartography at the University of Coimbra for more than a decade and was a member of over a dozen national and international scientific and cultural institutions, including the Royal Geographical Society and the Hakluyt Society of London, the Académie Internationale d'Histoire des Sciences, the National Geographical Society of Washington, the Royal Academy of the History of Spain, the Academy of Sciences of Lisbon and the Geographical Society of Lisbon.

The fame and prestige Cortesão gained in the specialised field of cartography, particularly after the publication of Portvgaliae Monvmenta Cartographica, opened doors to the prestigious Imago Mundi journal. He joined its Editorial Board in 1960 and its Committee of Management in 1962, a position he held until his death in 1977. The Geographical Journal noted, “Portugal has lost a man of distinction and a remarkable scholar, whose convictions at times invited controversy […]. His friends mourn a man of great charm and distinction: the world has lost its greatest authority in historical cartography”, (“Obituaries…”, The Geographical Journal, vol. 144, issue 3, Nov. 1978, p. 534). Posthumously, in 1987, the democratic republican regime awarded Cortesão the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Saint James of the Sword, an honour given to individuals distinguished for their literary, scientific, or artistic achievements. Cortesão's fluency in multiple languages, particularly English, played a crucial role in expanding his international reach. His early positions in the Portuguese colonial administration provided him with opportunities to understand the realities of Portugal's overseas territories and to interact with key European colonial powers.

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