What is a colonial empire?

Colonial empires were those that owned territories far from their own borders. These territories could be located in other parts of the world or continents. The first colonial empires can rightfully be called Portugal and Spain, which opened sea routes to Southeast Asia and America and were able to conquer huge areas and countries in these regions. Other typical colonial empires were England (owned colonies almost all over the world: on the Asian shores, Africa, North America, and even Australia), France (North America, Asia and Africa), etc.