Wars are expensive, just as expensive then as now. We didn't stand a chance against the Crown, until Spain, Holland, and France decided the time was ripe to get involved. Britain's campaign in the south got tangled, and the cost of maintaining an army in the field escalated. The States simply weren't worth the trouble, especially if we could be dealt with later. The French revolution, Napoleonic wars, and the Irish Union all took up vast amounts of capital & resources. 1812 cemented the fact the states were too costly, and the Empire went on to vast prosperity without us. Folks forget how wealthy Great Britain became under Victoria, and the industrial revolution.