"you mean you'd LIKE to be responsible for adminstering this mess from WAY over there?"

I'm not sure which side of the Pond this came from ...

but suppose Cornwallis and the Howes had not withdrawn like
gentlemen, and things had gone even worse. Might a more
stubborn king have poured millions in men and resources
into the colonies, only to lose the war?

Now impoverished, Britain is subject to attack -- from
America! Led by Gen. Washington, and supported by Napoleon,
the Yankee troops invade and eventually conquer. The
royal family is allowed to retire to seclusion, and the lands
become new "states" of the USA. France is given the Falkland
Islands.

How might history have been different?

India is left alone to inter-ethnic slaughter.
The Confederacy is allowed to seceed, taking with it
   the Louisiana Purchase. California is still Mexican.
Hitler drops one bomb on London and is instantly crushed.

Proposed new slogans for the five British states:

England: The Mother Country State
Scotland: We'll Lairn English Yet!
Wales: Where's the Border?
Ireland: Up the Pope!
No.Ireland: Up the Pope's!

Enquiries may be directed to Mudcat.

JOHNNY in OKC