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 (1772 ship) Britannia (1772 ship) Britannia was built in South Carolina (probably Charleston) in 1772. Prior to 1798, "Britannia" sailed between London and South Carolina, or simply served as a transport. In 1798 she changed ownership and began a sequence of whaling voyages. Between 1798 and 1807 she made a number of whaling voyages to the South Seas whale fishery, and the coast of South Africa. On one of those voyages a French privateer captured her, but "Britannia" was recaptured almost immediately. Between 1808 and 1816, the last year in which she is listed, she returned to operating as a London-based transport.