This chapter discusses societal multilingualism from an historical perspective, surveying the linguistic history of Hong Kong from the mid-19th century until the recent past. Multiple forms of multilingualism have been present in Hong Kong at various times of its development. Until very recently the usual forms of Chinese used in Hong Kong have been spoken Cantonese and standard written Chinese, using traditional characters. In addition, the English language has also played a major role in promoting multilingualism, and in the late 19th century it was possible to identify an early group of ‘elite bilinguals’. Today elite bilingualism has given way to an era of mass bi/multilingualism, at a time when increasing numbers of Hong Kong people are claiming at least a functional command of Cantonese, English, and Putonghua. In addition, there are also such minority ethnolinguistic groups as the Filipinos, Indians, Indonesians, Japanese, Nepalese, Pakistanis, and Thais, many of whom have a long history in the territory.