Britannia and the British Empire what Marianne is to France or perhaps what Columbia is to the United States. Britannia became a very potent and more common figure in times of war, and represented British liberties and democracy. During the 1990s the term "Cool Britannia" (drawn from a humorous version by the Bonzo Dog Band of the song "Rule Britannia", with words by James Thomson [1700–1748], which is often used as an unofficial national anthem), was used to describe the contemporary United Kingdom. The phrase referred to the fashionable scenes of the era, with a new generation of pop groups and
Britannia be, we seat in the supreme place, under the shape of a fair and beautiful nymph, Britannia herself... Britain's first road atlas was updated in a series of editions titled from the early 18th into the early 19th century using the title "Britannia Depicta". During the reign of Charles II, Britannia made her first appearance on English coins on a farthing of 1672 (see "Depiction on British coinage and postage stamps" below). With the constitutional unification of England with Scotland in 1707 and then with Ireland in 1800, Britannia became an increasingly important symbol and a strong rallying point among