What were Rotten boroughs in Britain?

Answer 1

A rotten borough was one that was represented in Parliament but that had very few electors. Until 1832 most English boroughs, whether large or small, had two members in Parliament. The most rotten borough of all was Old Sarum with seven electors. The typical rotten borough had about 25 to 50 electors. As elections were public, many electors sold their votes and rich people were able to buy their way into Parliament.

Answer 2

After the Industrial Revolution in England, many people in the farm area, moved to cities. So one area would have... let's say a population of 12 people and a city like London had 100. The area with a population of 12 was a rotten borough.

In 1832, when the Whigs passed the Reform Bills of 1832, rotten boroughs were eliminated. So London would have more representatives.

It's sort of like the USA House of Reps. New York has more representatives than let's say North Carolina because we're bigger and have a larger population.

Answer 3

Prior to reforms in the early 19th century, it was a place that sent MPs to Parliament despite the fact few people lived there. A good example is Old Sarum. It was once a medieval city, but had been replaced centuries ago by the city of Salisbury. All that was left was a few houses, which still sent 2 MPs to Parliament. Another example is Dunwich in Suffolk. It was once a large port city that had been abandoned due to cliff erosion, but the villages surrounding it still sent 2 MPs to Parliament.