A British territory was ruled directly from London, mainly for trade or strategy, with little settler self-government. An English territory was founded by emigration and had substantial internal self-government while remaining under the Crown.
On the page, the first group covers places held for commerce or bases—Penang, Singapore, Hong Kong, Fiji, Sierra Leone—under a governor sent from Britain. The second covers Canada and Australia, built by settlers, with their own constitutions, cabinets, and later federation. English territories were the more autonomous form; British ones were the more controlled.