John Bull began as satire on the War of the Spanish Succession

Where did the name and figure of John Bull come from?

John Bull first appeared in John Arbuthnot's 1712 satire on the War of the Spanish Succession and later became a national personification.

John Bull originated in John Arbuthnot's 1712 pamphlet commonly known as Law Is a Bottomless Pit. The satire turned the War of the Spanish Succession into a lawsuit involving characters representing Britain, France, Spain, and domestic institutions. John Bull began as one participant in that argument rather than as a timeless national mascot. Popular culture then detached him from the original pamphlet and expanded the character into a personification of Britain. The comparison with Homer Simpson shows how a fictional figure can become culturally larger than the work that introduced him.