Warrior Race

Modern Britain is a nation shaped by wars. The boundaries of its separate parts are the outcome of conquest and resistance. Warrior heroes - real, imaginary and a mixture of both - are deeply embedded in the collective memories and culture of the English, Welsh, Scots and Irish. Boadicea, King Arthur, Wallace, Rob Roy and Henry V still enjoy a powerful hold over the imagination. Britishness has had a sense of collective identity which grew under careful official cultivation during the global struggles of the 18th century and found its most powerful expression during the world wars of the 20th.