Is it accurate to say that Britain at the start of the 19th century was not a democracy in the modern sense?

Okay, let's talk about why Britain at the start of the 19th century wasn't a democracy in the way we understand it today. Think about the early 1800s – this was a time long before everyone had the right to vote. Only a small percentage of the population, mainly wealthy landowners and some middle-class men, could participate in elections. Women, working-class men, and people from certain religious or ethnic backgrounds were excluded. The electoral system itself was also deeply flawed, with "rotten boroughs" – areas with very few voters that could still elect a Member of Parliament, giving disproportionate power to the elite. The House of Lords, made up of unelected nobles, also held significant power to block legislation passed by the elected House of Commons. So, while there was a Parliament, it wasn't truly representative of the people. It wasn't until a series of reform acts throughout the 19th and 20th centuries that Britain gradually moved towards a more inclusive and democratic system. It's easy to assume that because Britain had a Parliament, it was a democracy, but the reality of who could participate and the power structures in place paint a different picture.