Suppose a European state with much larger population and resources ends up in charge of an array of American colonies. Perhaps a surviving Roman Empire, or Carolingian Empire, or an early union of France and Spain. Whatever the case may be.
How might the whole colonial experience differ from history?
With more potential settlers, do we see more developed colonies?
Does that lead to earlier independence?
Does the larger wealth and power of the motherland enable it to crush revolutions?
Could the motherland find providing representation amenable, since it would still have the vast bulk of the population?
Obviously, this is a very broad and generalized WI, so I'm mainly looking for analysis of broad trends.