query: How many remaining British colonies or territories are there?
passage: British Overseas Territories
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are 14 territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom.[1][2] They are the parts of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories. These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and, with the exception of Gibraltar, are not part of the European Union. Most of the permanently inhabited territories are internally self-governing, with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations. Three are inhabited only by a transitory population of military or scientific personnel. They all share the British monarch (Elizabeth II) as head of state.
passage: List of modern great powers
British colonies were created along the east coast of North America during the 17th and 18th centuries but by the late 18th century most of these colonies rebelled against British rule, leading to the American War of Independence and formation of the United States of America. Nevertheless, Great Britain retained significant colonies in Canada, the Caribbean and India, and shortly thereafter began the settlement of Australia and New Zealand. Following France's defeat in the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, Great Britain took possession of many more overseas territories in Africa and Asia, and established informal empires of free trade in South America, China and Persia.The Mughal Empire was a Turkic-Mongol imperial power from Uzbekistan, that ruled most of the Indian subcontinent in 16th and 17th century. In 1526, Babur, a Timurid descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan from Fergana Valley in Uzbekistan, swept across the Khyber Pass and established the Mughal Empire, which lasted for over 300 years, ruling 1/4 of the world's population at a time.