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Assuming a POD sometime in the 18th or perhaps sometime in the early 19th century, create the largest British Empire possible without including India.

I was wondering about this because I was reading about the economics of the British Empire, and India was the only major money-making source for the British by this point. Without that source of cash, that base into Central Asia, and the control of the Indian Ocean, Great Britain would be severely hampered in expanding their empire.

It would be fine if Britain had very small Indian colonies (say on the scale of Portuguese Goa), but the rest of the subcontinent must remain either independent or under the control of another foreign power (most likely France).

In OTL, the British Empire controlled up to 1/4 of the world's population and area. If you can make it even bigger than that without India, you get bonus points.

Go!

Cheers,
Ganesha
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