Anthony Week 11 - The Price of Power
Dynasties are frankly, disgusting.
More specifically, it’s the way that sovereign dynasties try to maintain total power which is repulsive. Throughout history, it was relatively common for ruling families to inbreed in order to maintain a “pure” bloodline, ensuring that no external party would be able to squeeze even an ounce of power out of that family by marrying into it.
Inbreeding comes with a whole slough of issues like physical disadvantages ranging from limb deformities to mental impairment, mainly stemming from the issue of homozygosity. The lack of genetic diversity can often lead to health issues due to homozygosity making dangerous, recessive alleles of certain traits more likely to be expressed in comparison to regular reproduction. These defective traits can especially be seen in an autopsy report of Charles II of Spain, a member of the House of Hapsburg; he had a heart the size of a peppercorn, corroded lungs, as well as rotten, gangrenous intestines.
On top of the physical effects of incest, there exists the immorality of marrying family members ranging from distant relatives to direct siblings. It is considered taboo by many societies and especially frowned upon today, being seen as downright revolting.
Despite the desperate attempts at maintaining the crown, all of these incestual dynasties ended up falling, often as a result of the health effects that stemmed from the interbreeding ending the bloodline, leaving an heirless throne and a helpless kingdom, thrown into chaos as people scrambled to acquire the monarchy.
All of this begs the question: What is the real price of power?
Hi Anthony! I enjoyed reading your blog, as your perspective on dynasties in connection to power was both thought-provoking and informative. Your opening line drew me in, as I have heard many different ways to describe dynasties and how they either flourished or declined, but never "disgusting," making me question what makes you have this strong opinion. I found your reflection on the lengths "ruling families" went to "in order to maintain a 'pure' bloodline," particularly through inbreeding, to be quite interesting and valid, as it highlights the physical and moral consequences of their actions. The example you gave of Charles II of Spain was truly shocking (and a bit unsettling), as it is hard to imagine "a heart the size of a peppercorn, corroded lungs, as well as rotten, gangrenous intestines" to be in a human body, but it also illustrates how these attempts of ensuring "purity" led to their own downfall. Your final question left a lasting impression and definitely made me reflect on how much people would go through to obtain power, and I look forward to reading your future blogs!
ReplyDeleteHi Anthony! I have to admit, when I first read the title of your blog and opened it up, I did not expect it to be about inbreeding. However, your matter-of-fact style of writing while providing historical information was an intriguing factor of your blog. I liked how throughout your historical commentary, you added facts about the science behind inbreeding, how it works, and the problems that it creates in regards to a human’s anatomy. It’s interesting how inbreeding is not only something that is morally frowned upon, and just strange in general, but that the way humans work is also against the idea of inbreeding, as it can only produce humans who will suffer in life. When you mentioned the autopsy report of Charles II, I had to search up what a peppercorn is. Imagining a human heart to be that size is hard to wrap my head around. Overall, I thought your topic was very fascinating, people really do anything possible to keep their power. You must’ve had an interesting time writing this. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteAnthony, what an fascinating topic for your Blog Post. I can't say it's a bad one; power and corruption is a tempting topic to discuss with a quarterly theme like this, but you brought a unique angle to exploring just what the pursuit of power can drive people to do. You structure your Blog Post really well, opening with a strong claim that dynasties are "disgusting," elaborating on it by introducing the practice of incest in dynastic regimes, and then focusing on negative consequences of the practice―the health effects and the implications of these health problems to the future of the dynasty. This is a really interesting bit of history that I did not know about before, so I appreciate you sharing it with us in a brief but engaging Blog Post. Great job!
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