I'm sure you all know the story of the American Revolutionary War, how the band of traitors calling themselves the Continental Congress led a revolution in the British American Colonies, presumably for personal gain, though telling most everybody they met it was for the good of the American people. What happened is in every history book. The fighting went on for a while, but the Empire was inevitably victorious in the end, and in 1783, the Congress and several men in its employ were hanged, with a few exceptions, the most noteworthy being one Mr. George Washington, who escaped the King's Justice and fled the Empire's North American Colonies to places unknown.
My question is this: Had the rebels somehow managed to succeed in gaining independence, what would have happened? Would the newly independent America have eventually overshadowed Egland as the world's greatest nation? Would the Empire have eventually collapsed as news of the success of one revolt spawned dozens more worldwide? One supposes the possibilites are endless.