The Network on History of European Expansion was approved by the ESF Executive Council in June 1986 for an initial two-year period (Phase 1), and moved in July 1989 into Phase 2. It was completed in 1993.
The Chairman of the Network Coordination Committee was Henk L. Wesseling, Professor of General History and Director of the Institute for the History of European Expansion at the University of Leiden.

The Network focuses on the history of the encounter between European and other civilisations, their influence on one another and the gradual growth of a global universal system of civilisation, considering the period from the late 15th to the late 20th century. In addiction, the history of European expansion also takes in the history of pre-colonial non-Western civilisations, relevant for the understanding of later developments, as well as the consequences of decolonisation for the present.
During Phase 1, main themes were the cultural aspects of the expansion of Europe, in particular the impact of European law, and the European expansion and inter-continental migration. During Phase 2 the Network developed projects on the subject of decolonisation.

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