Redcoat Pikemen

The United Kingdom does not train Pike Levies. Instead, the British player has access to Redcoat Pikemen, based off the mid-17th century New Model Army pikemen. These units do not use Halberds, but instead carry pikes into battle, and have fairly good armour and attack in battle. Their only drawback is that they are often very costly units to raise - but that is the main issue with most British units: they are very good at what they do, having better hitpoints, armour and attack - but they too are very costly and so the British can train but only a few of them at any one given time.
As such, these units are very effective in resisting factions dependent on melee units, such as most non-Western nations, particularly China. Otherwise, as mentioned before, their high recruitment costs do not necessarily make them appealing against other factions. England may well be better off fighting other Western factions' cavalry with her own cavalry, resorting to the use of Redcoat Pikemen only when the enemy has a clear cavalry advantage. Still, the effectiveness of these units makes them desirable, especially moreso when they are properly supported with missile units and cavalry to counter an enemy's guns in any scenario.