Dude, did anyone else find that the fact that Edmund and Fanny were cousins SLIGHTY disturbing?
~Je veux vous blesser avec ce couteau~
im sure lots of your ancestors married cousins, it only seems wrong these days not then
shareThe Pharoahs married their siblings.
http://currentscene.wordpress.com/tag/jane-austen-odyssey/
I know that was a custom in that era [so I can look over it for this story; which is one of my favorites] and scientists may claim there are no ill genetic effects from cousins marrying and having children; but as someone raised very closely with her cousins and second cousins, I can say from personal experience that there are many more genetic similarities in cousins than scientists may assume.
For instance, I've been mistaken as the twin of one of my cousins and my own mother can't tell the difference between my singing voice and my second cousin's voice. My cousins and I also share many talents and interests, even similar food tastes. I've always figured that siblings' kids would share a lot of DNA and it's been proven many times in my case.
For instance, I've been mistaken as the twin of one of my cousins and my own mother can't tell the difference between my singing voice and my second cousin's voice. My cousins and I also share many talents and interests, even similar food tastes. I've always figured that siblings' kids would share a lot of DNA and it's been proven many times in my case.
No, cousins often married each other then. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip are distant cousins, both descendants of Queen Victoria.
shareYes, I think there is a big creep factor to it. But at the time, people liked to keep it in the family.
Which explains all the horrible inbred problems in many, many, lets face it...ALL aristocratic bloodlines.
Obviously before the 20th century, it was much harder to travel and meet people outside of a very small social circle. You would have more contact with various relatives than anyone else, I spoze. Women were especially caught in very small social circles. Most didn't go away to college or take up occupations. Lots of pressure to marry and marry young. I doubt modern audiences could feel how much pressure Gwen (?) was under when she took a correspondence course to rise above her "station."
"We're fighting for this woman's honor, which is more than she ever did."
Apparently in the UK it wasn't a problem back then, it was actually encouraged. They did inbreed just like in Harry Potter so that they could be in good families.
I don't know about the rest of the world, but in my country, which is even rather small in population, it is highly disturbing even the idea of ever having romantic feelings or physical attraction to 4th, 5th, 6th grade cousins, or even more distant than that, and I cannot recount of any case as far as I know of any cousin of whatever distance marrying. We consider our cousins brothers.
But, no matter how highly disturbing I find this culturally, I assume that the English were raised differently back then, and it was ok for them, so I assume it as no consequence.
My Uncle and Aunty have been married for many years and they are first cousins. They even have two children together, which they looked into beforehand. It turned out that there actually isn't anymore risk with two first cousins reproducing than the average couple. The genetics of first cousins are not harmful to the baby/babies.
I'm in Australia, and I think the pair of them married in the 70s. They were generally accepted. Going back farther in time, first cousins being wed was extremely common practice in many countries.
I'm thinking genetics would matter if they were double cousins -- as in 2 sisters marrying 2 brothers and their children marrying each other.
http://currentscene.wordpress.com
I'll be damned if my kid marries my brother's kid!
shareI've never agreed with Cousins being a Taboo, it isn't condemned in The Bible.
"When the chips are down... these Civilized people... will Eat each Other"
I wouldn't go by the bible for anything. It isn't condemned but eventually you end up with this...
http://scienceblogs.com/notrocketscience/2009/04/14/how-inbreeding-kil led-off-a-line-of-kings/