By the time anything resembling a language policy was introduced, English had already reached all corners of the globe. For example, English-speaking puritans were not the only Europeans to arrive in North America: Spanish, French, Dutch and German were also widely spoken.
immemorial - long past; beyond the limits of memory or tradition or recorded history; time immemorial. old - of long duration; not new; old tradition; old house; old wine; old country; old friendships; old money.
Occipital, bone forming the back and back part of the base of the cranium, the part of the skull that encloses the brain. It has a large oval opening, the foramen magnum, through which the medulla oblongata passes, linking the spinal cord and brain.