Ferrão came from a modest background, and despite training as a primary school teacher, even teaching at Casa Pia, he later became a journalist. Although his formal education was not extensive, he supplemented it by reading some of the highest-quality material, which he occasionally referenced in his work. With a sharp intellect, he mastered a fluid writing style that effortlessly drew readers in. As a journalist, he had access to international agency dispatches, which reached the newspapers' newsrooms without being subjected to censorship — information he skilfully utilised. He benefited from mingling with journalists and writers of exceptional calibre, including Joaquim Manso, Norberto Lopes, Mário Neves, José Ribeiro dos Santos, and Raul Rêgo. Ferrão became a distinguished commentator on international affairs. His professional career soon became closely intertwined with his calling as a historian. Focusing on international politics, he published chronicles in various periodicals, especially the Diário de Lisboa [Lisbon Daily] (where he worked for 42 years), in 1941, and with the help of Livraria Sá da Costa [Sá da Costa Bookshop] in Lisbon, he published the highly useful ABC da política mundial [ABC of World Politics] in which he alphabetically organised brief geographical and historical references, as well as the names of key institutions and political figures. In this way, he provided essential information for the many readers interested in following reports and commentary on international politics during the world conflict to which he was deeply committed. "The names, not always easy to retain, began to weigh on readers' memory." ( ABC , n / n) It was also the war that led him to publish a series of books, compiling his chronicles. These works, rooted in current events which he sought to analyse and explain, reflected his open sympathy for Britain and the United States, a sentiment he later extended to Soviet Russia following the German invasion in 1941.

The works he published during the war, from 1940 to 1946, are notable not only for their analysis of the conflict, with particular emphasis on Europe, but also because they extend beyond mere reporting to explore the potential causes and consequences of current events. Responding to the curiosity and anxiety of readers following the events of this devastating cataclysm, Ferrão sought to offer insights for reflection. The series begins with a well-reseaerched book, Assim estalou a guerra. Organizado sobre os documentos diplomáticos revelados pelo “Livro Branco” alemão, “Livro Azul” inglês e “Livro amarelo” francês. [This is How the War Broke Out. Organised Based on the Diplomatic Documents Revealed by the German "White Book," the English "Blue Book," and the French "Yellow Book."] This demonstrates the close reliance of his writing on these documents and their verified conformity. Carlos Ferrão (CF) consistently aimed to provide explanations — particularly through comparisons with the 1914-1918 conflict — thereby enriching his work. His esteemed debut book, Seis meses de guerra [Six Months of War] , published in the same year, compiled the chronicles he had written in the Diário de Lisboa between 8 September 1939 and 26 March 1940. This tranquil book, written prior to the occupation of France and the Battle of Britain, focuses particularly on the nations suffering under the invasions of the great powers: the German Reich (Austria, Czechoslovakia, and Poland) and the Soviet Union (Finland and Poland). Prior to the occupation of France and the establishment of the national unity government in England, he wrote a brief biography of Winston Churchill, who was then First Lord of the Admiralty. This laudatory text highlighted the qualities of the man who would become the great democratic leader in the fight against Nazism, with CF already regarding him as "the greatest [Englishman] of his time" ( Churchill , p. 6).

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