How and Why the Habsburgs Destroyed their DNA

Why did the Habsburgs marry cousins with cousins and uncles with nieces 13 times between 1496 and 1700? Why did they keep marrying within the family even after their inbreeding lost them their Spanish Empire and caused the deaths of 1.25 million people?

This video is a deep dive into the genetics of the Habsburg dynasty from their emergence in the late-Medieval to WW1. We will see madness, murder, infant mortality, and plenty of genetic freaks.

I used the following music tracks, all published under Creative Commons license:
Early Instruments - 14th century Italian Saltarello (recorder) -
Medieval Dances -
Miguel Rincón | Santiago de Murcia & Gaspar Sanz -
William Lawes (1602-1645) - The Royal Consort (Phantasm, 2015) -

[andrewporter]

The Habsburg women looked just like the men. Court commissions for art would go to the artist that pleased the subject most and the artist would never risk a commission accurately painting the deformities of the female Habsburgs. The artist also likely minimized or "softened" the worst features on the men they painted. Imagine how much worse it was!

[lesterstone]

From a literary viewpoint, it makes me value Poe's short story, "The Fall of the House of Usher, " while simultaneously realizing why the prince in Cinderella was so intent on marrying a stranger who lost her shoe.

[davedoug]

You said Philip II married Mary of England, who was no relation. She was a relation. She was the daughter of Catherine of Aragon. He was the grandson of Juana of Aragon. Catherine and Juana were sisters. Therefore, Philip II and Mary Tudor were first cousins once removed. Of course, they had no children, so it does not impact the bloodline, but it is a part of the MO that led to the results your video is about.

[Washu]

The Hapsburg family tree is more like a family tumbleweed

[Skoopyghost]

Iceland has problem with accidental incest, but most of us know someone who dated someone way more related than you would want to be.

[Miss_Kisa]

For anyone wondering, yes the Arab countries that have a high population of cousin marriage also have a high rate of birth defects. If I remember correctly some countries have made testing mandatory so that the couple knows the risks that their children will have.

[Burkutace]

Turning your family tree into a family circle

[Secretlyanothername]

This is why it's important to ban cousin marriage, which is still extremely common in some countries and communities. The results are awful and children suffer.

[karenmott]

Excellent! Very engaging and well-done. And I do truly appreciate the human aspect of it, which is very apparent, even without YOU being on there. If I hear one more AI voice, I'm going to barf. At this point I refuse to bother with anything narrated with voice that doesn't vary in speed, take a breath, emphasize a word every now and then, or have a wry sense of humor.

[theproplady]

I'm descended from a man who had a recessive gene for a hemoglobin deficiency that he passed on to his daughter, who then married into another family with that gene and they produced a group of blue skinned children called the "Blue Fugates". They lived in Appalachia and intermarried with other families who also shared those genes, and it wasn't until the 20th century that they finally found medical help for their condition. It was definitely a case of people who inbred who were also descended from people who were probably also closely related to each other.

[erikarommel]

Thank you for the video and using your own voice. AI is a horror.

[katyc.]

I feel bad for Charles II, his health problems were not his fault.
Geneticists love studying Iceland because of its relative genetic isolation. They found that cousins, I think it was 3rd cousins, usually have more children than people further or closer related. There are a couple of theories as to why, but they aren't completely sure.

[JacobCarpenter-uv]

My maternal grandfather's maternal grandparents were actually second cousins. You did an terrific job with this video, sir!

[jldisme]

I don't believe Juana was mad. I think her father and husband used her "madness" to usurp her power.

[BernardProfitendieu]

These people, too close in life, are too close in death, too. There's a relatively small room at El Escorial where they are all entombed within a few feet of each other. It's really an odd feeling to stand in the middle of all their stacked tombs and realize you're surrounded within an arm's reach by almost everyone mentioned in this video!

[darksarcasm]

This is a wonderful video. It was informative, and beautiful. The pictures of the Hapsburg are perfect, and they set the tone for the video. The narrator was very knowledgeable. He obviously knew the material, and pronounced all of the text perfectly. Thank you for posting this fantastic video.

[smoregurl]

I appreciate the no ai . I love learning so thankyou . I’m horrible at telling what’s ai and what’s not when it comes to channels like that on YouTube

[j_]

Thank you for the hard work that went into making this. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[melenatorr]

Mary I of England was related to Philip: her mother was Catherine of Aragon, sister of Juana I of Castile. Juana of Castile, as we know, was Philip II's grandmother. So, yes, there was a relation.

[lethaldream]

i just found your channel...because i like history and i had been looking up crusader kings 3 videos and the algorithm suggested the perfect storm lol

this was fascinating, i liked your narration and the thoughtful tone, i hate the AI slop history content channels so much. i just wanted to say i appreciate that you're doing things genuinely.