D. Spencer Hines
2009-04-15 21:15:49 UTC
As Renia previously noted in a drive-by post.
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Motto of the Hapsburgs could best be described in simplest terms as...
"Keep It In The Family".
--
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
------------------------------------------------
Revealed: the inbreeding that ruined the Hapsburgs
Dynasty that dominated Europe for more than 500 years was undone by incest,
study finds
By Steve Connor
The Independent
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
The Hapsburg dynasty was one of the most important and influential royal
families in Europe dating back more than 500 years and producing rulers in
Austria, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands and the German empire. Then, in
1700, it suffered a sudden demise of its Spanish branch. Now scientists
believe they have come up with a definitive explanation.
This is NOT a NEW EXPLANATION. The inbreeding case of Carlos II of Spain
and the Habsburgs has often been discussed on SGM and SHM, over the past ten
years. -- DSH
A study of the extended family tree of the House of Hapsburg has found that
the last Spanish Hapsburg king, Charles II, was the offspring of a marriage
that was almost as genetically inbred as an incestuous relationship between
a brother and sister or parent and child.
Scientists have found that the Hapsburg fashion of marrying their relatives
to keep their dynastic heritage intact had dire consequences for subsequent
generations, which culminated in the last heir to the Spanish throne being
sickly and impotent.
Charles II of Spain was nicknamed El Hechizado The Hexed because people
at the time thought that his physical and mental disabilities were the
result of sorcery. Now a study into the genetics of his immediate ancestors
has found that he was so inbred that he probably suffered from at least two
inherited disorders.
Despite his deformities and severe health problems, Charles had married
twice in the hope of continuing the rule of the Hapsburgs, but he was
incapable of fathering an heir and died childless at the age of 39. He was
the last of a long line of Hapsburgs and it spelled the end for the Spanish
branch of the dynasty.
Scientists believe they can show just how inbred Charles was following a
study of more than 3,000 relatives of the Hapsburg family extending over 16
generations. The researchers found that his "inbreeding coefficient" a
measure of the proportion of inbred genes he had inherited from his
parents was on a par with that of the offspring of an incestuous marriage.
Professor Gonzalo Alvarez, of the University of Santiago de Compostela in
Spain, found that the Hapsburgs suffered a far higher child mortality than
the general population, even though the family was immensely wealthy and did
not experience the poverty related health problems faced by many people at
the time.
They also suffered a higher incidence of physical deformities, which were
best exemplified by the famous "Hapsburg lip", a disfiguringly prominent
lower jaw caused by an inherited medical condition called mandibular
prognathism, when the lower jaw grows faster than the upper jaw.
Charles II not only suffered an extreme version of the Hapsburg lip, his
tongue was said to be so big for his mouth that he had difficulty speaking
and drooled. He also suffered from an oversized head, intestinal upsets,
convulsions and, according to his first wife, premature ejaculation.
"He was unable to speak until the age of four, and could not walk until the
age of eight. He was short, weak and quite lean and thin. He was described
as a person showing very little interest in his surroundings," Professor
Alvarez said. "He looked like an old person when he was 30 years old,
suffering edemas [swellings] on his feet, legs, abdomen and face. During the
last years of his life he could barely stand up and suffered from
hallucinations and convulsive episodes," he said.
The medical problems of Charles II of Spain were not the random consequences
of life, but the direct result of many generations of interbreeding between
close relatives within the extended Hapsburg dynasty, according to the study
published in the online journal Plos One.
The motto of the Hapsburg dynasty "Let others wage wars, but you, happy
Austria, shall marry" extolled the tendency of family members to marry
within their ranks.
Charles' father, Philip IV, was the uncle of his mother, Mariana of Austria;
his great-grandfather, Philip II, was also the uncle of his
great-grandmother, Anna of Austria; and his grandmother, Maria Anna of
Austria, was simultaneously his aunt.
There were many marriages between first and third cousins within the
Hapsburg family, as well as between uncles and nieces and more remote family
members.
This meant that down the generations, with no let up on the amount of
intermarriage, the degree of genetic inbreeding gradually built up. The
founder of the Spanish dynasty, Philip I, is calculated to have an
inbreeding coefficient of 0.025, which meant that just 2.5 per cent of his
genes were likely to be identical by common descent. But 200 years and seven
generations later, the coefficient had leapt ten-fold to 0.25 in the genome
of Charles II, meaning up to one in four of his genes might have been
identical.
The medical dangers of such a high level of inbreeding is that dangerously
defective genes, which are usually recessive, can come together in one
individual and so manifest themselves as an ailment. This is why the
offspring of first-cousin marriages are at higher risk of inherited
disorders.
Professor Alvarez and his colleagues believe that Charles II suffered the
consequences of a high level of marriage between biological relatives. Nine
of the 11 marriages over 200 years that preceded his birth were
consanguineous, including two uncle-niece marriages and two first-cousin
marriages.
Professor Alvarez suggested that Charles II had inherited genes that caused
two genetic disorders. One was a hormone imbalance called pituitary hormone
deficiency, which would have affected his growth and development, and the
other was a kidney problem that led to a metabolic disorder which caused
impotence and infertility. "His muscular weakness at a young age, rickets,
haematuria [blood in the urine] and big head relative to his body size could
be attributed to this genetic disorder," he said. "In this way, we may
speculate that most of the symptoms showed by Charles II could be explained
by two genetic disorders."
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/revealed-the-inbreeding-that-ruined-the-hapsburgs-1668857.html>
----------------------------------------------------------------
The Motto of the Hapsburgs could best be described in simplest terms as...
"Keep It In The Family".
--
DSH
Lux et Veritas et Libertas
Vires et Honor
------------------------------------------------
Revealed: the inbreeding that ruined the Hapsburgs
Dynasty that dominated Europe for more than 500 years was undone by incest,
study finds
By Steve Connor
The Independent
Wednesday, 15 April 2009
The Hapsburg dynasty was one of the most important and influential royal
families in Europe dating back more than 500 years and producing rulers in
Austria, Hungary, Belgium, the Netherlands and the German empire. Then, in
1700, it suffered a sudden demise of its Spanish branch. Now scientists
believe they have come up with a definitive explanation.
This is NOT a NEW EXPLANATION. The inbreeding case of Carlos II of Spain
and the Habsburgs has often been discussed on SGM and SHM, over the past ten
years. -- DSH
A study of the extended family tree of the House of Hapsburg has found that
the last Spanish Hapsburg king, Charles II, was the offspring of a marriage
that was almost as genetically inbred as an incestuous relationship between
a brother and sister or parent and child.
Scientists have found that the Hapsburg fashion of marrying their relatives
to keep their dynastic heritage intact had dire consequences for subsequent
generations, which culminated in the last heir to the Spanish throne being
sickly and impotent.
Charles II of Spain was nicknamed El Hechizado The Hexed because people
at the time thought that his physical and mental disabilities were the
result of sorcery. Now a study into the genetics of his immediate ancestors
has found that he was so inbred that he probably suffered from at least two
inherited disorders.
Despite his deformities and severe health problems, Charles had married
twice in the hope of continuing the rule of the Hapsburgs, but he was
incapable of fathering an heir and died childless at the age of 39. He was
the last of a long line of Hapsburgs and it spelled the end for the Spanish
branch of the dynasty.
Scientists believe they can show just how inbred Charles was following a
study of more than 3,000 relatives of the Hapsburg family extending over 16
generations. The researchers found that his "inbreeding coefficient" a
measure of the proportion of inbred genes he had inherited from his
parents was on a par with that of the offspring of an incestuous marriage.
Professor Gonzalo Alvarez, of the University of Santiago de Compostela in
Spain, found that the Hapsburgs suffered a far higher child mortality than
the general population, even though the family was immensely wealthy and did
not experience the poverty related health problems faced by many people at
the time.
They also suffered a higher incidence of physical deformities, which were
best exemplified by the famous "Hapsburg lip", a disfiguringly prominent
lower jaw caused by an inherited medical condition called mandibular
prognathism, when the lower jaw grows faster than the upper jaw.
Charles II not only suffered an extreme version of the Hapsburg lip, his
tongue was said to be so big for his mouth that he had difficulty speaking
and drooled. He also suffered from an oversized head, intestinal upsets,
convulsions and, according to his first wife, premature ejaculation.
"He was unable to speak until the age of four, and could not walk until the
age of eight. He was short, weak and quite lean and thin. He was described
as a person showing very little interest in his surroundings," Professor
Alvarez said. "He looked like an old person when he was 30 years old,
suffering edemas [swellings] on his feet, legs, abdomen and face. During the
last years of his life he could barely stand up and suffered from
hallucinations and convulsive episodes," he said.
The medical problems of Charles II of Spain were not the random consequences
of life, but the direct result of many generations of interbreeding between
close relatives within the extended Hapsburg dynasty, according to the study
published in the online journal Plos One.
The motto of the Hapsburg dynasty "Let others wage wars, but you, happy
Austria, shall marry" extolled the tendency of family members to marry
within their ranks.
Charles' father, Philip IV, was the uncle of his mother, Mariana of Austria;
his great-grandfather, Philip II, was also the uncle of his
great-grandmother, Anna of Austria; and his grandmother, Maria Anna of
Austria, was simultaneously his aunt.
There were many marriages between first and third cousins within the
Hapsburg family, as well as between uncles and nieces and more remote family
members.
This meant that down the generations, with no let up on the amount of
intermarriage, the degree of genetic inbreeding gradually built up. The
founder of the Spanish dynasty, Philip I, is calculated to have an
inbreeding coefficient of 0.025, which meant that just 2.5 per cent of his
genes were likely to be identical by common descent. But 200 years and seven
generations later, the coefficient had leapt ten-fold to 0.25 in the genome
of Charles II, meaning up to one in four of his genes might have been
identical.
The medical dangers of such a high level of inbreeding is that dangerously
defective genes, which are usually recessive, can come together in one
individual and so manifest themselves as an ailment. This is why the
offspring of first-cousin marriages are at higher risk of inherited
disorders.
Professor Alvarez and his colleagues believe that Charles II suffered the
consequences of a high level of marriage between biological relatives. Nine
of the 11 marriages over 200 years that preceded his birth were
consanguineous, including two uncle-niece marriages and two first-cousin
marriages.
Professor Alvarez suggested that Charles II had inherited genes that caused
two genetic disorders. One was a hormone imbalance called pituitary hormone
deficiency, which would have affected his growth and development, and the
other was a kidney problem that led to a metabolic disorder which caused
impotence and infertility. "His muscular weakness at a young age, rickets,
haematuria [blood in the urine] and big head relative to his body size could
be attributed to this genetic disorder," he said. "In this way, we may
speculate that most of the symptoms showed by Charles II could be explained
by two genetic disorders."
<http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/revealed-the-inbreeding-that-ruined-the-hapsburgs-1668857.html>