Charles II of Spain: Inbreeding's Impact on the Empire

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The Spanish Habsburgs were the most powerful royal family in Europe until they destroyed themselves from within. This is the tragic story of Charles II, "The Bewitched," the last king of his line, whose very existence was a death sentence for an empire.

We dive deep into the science of his incredible inbreeding coefficient, revealing how centuries of cousin-on-cousin marriages concentrated disastrous recessive genes. Charles II was born with a level of consanguinity higher than that of a child born of a brother-sister union, leading to a host of debilitating conditions: the infamous Habsburg jaw that prevented him from chewing, a large tongue, developmental delays (he couldn't walk until age eight), and extreme frailty.

His physical state was so pitiable that courtiers genuinely believed he was possessed, leading to multiple failed exorcisms. But the true curse was biological. He was infertile and impotent, and his death at age 38, childless and suffering, didn't just end a man's life; it plunged Europe into the devastating War of the Spanish Succession.

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