Was the British colonization of America a failure?

The British were very successful, on the whole, in colonizing the eastern seaboard of North America. There were, however, several failed colonies, such as Roanoke, an early attempt to create a permanent settlement in the 1580s in what would become North Carolina, and later, the colony of New Albion. Nevertheless, despite early struggles, the English managed to create flourishing and highly profitable permanent settlements in the New World.
Where the British failed was at holding the colonies as a British possession. The seeds of this failure lay in the success of the colonial experiment. The colonies were so successful that their leaders and many other people began to feel that they had very few ties to England. Especially if they were born in the Americas, they tended to feel more American than British.
Also, unlike in, say, India, the settlers did not have a huge, entrenched native population to contend with. The native population was small to begin with it, and using warfare and the spread of diseases such as smallpox, the English settlers soon eradicated much of the native threat, so that over time there were actually more British than Native Americans in the settled country. The British winning of the French and Indian War further confirmed in the English colonists' minds that the new country was "theirs."
After the Native American threat was largely dealt with, the American settlers felt little need of British help. They also resented and rejected the British idea that they should pay for the French and Indian War (which the British felt largely benefitted the Americans) through increased taxation. The British were not able to handle the tensions that built up, and, as we know, the colonists revolted, defeated the British, and established their own nation.