Why Britain limited its War of 1812 commitment

Did the War of 1812 establish the United States as Britain's legal equal?

Britain largely treated the conflict as an expensive sideshow to the Napoleonic Wars, so its limited commitment reflected priorities in Europe more than acceptance of American battlefield superiority.

Britain saw little strategic gain in conquering the United States and assigned resources accordingly. European commitments limited the force sent across the Atlantic; without that larger war, a stronger British campaign might have seized additional ports and territory. The War of 1812 was one theater of a global conflict.