World Englishes are mostly products of colonialism, so in this chapter we will get familiarized with the history of European colonization and, in a brief survey, the expansion of the British Empire and the role of the United States in the globalization of English. In particular, we'll look at the social conditions and the linguistic consequences generated by specific types of colonies, the outcomes of varying motives for colonial expansion. We'll learn that, surprisingly, the global growth of English gained even more momentum after the end of the colonial period. To confirm this point, we will get exposed to some numbers, of users of English and of countries where it is in use, and some typologies of kinds of Englishes produced by these historical conditions will be introduced.