Inbreeding Was Major Cause Of Fall Of Spanish Habsburg Dynasty

Thursday, April 16, 2009 - 09:21 in Paleontology & Archaeology

The powerful Habsburg dynasty ruled Spain and its empire from 1516 to 1700. Gut when King Charles II died childless, the male line died out and the French Bourbon dynasty came to power in Spain. Scientists now provide genetic evidence to support historical evidence that frequent inbreeding within the dynasty was a major cause for the extinction of its male line.

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