Culling the cousins

Kingship, kinship, and competition in mid-millennial England

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12447477
AutoresJohn M Mccullough, John Mccullough (0000-0001-6836-4394, University of Utah), Kathleen M Heath (Indiana State University, autor de correspondencia), Jessica Fields (0000-0001-9800-6440), Jessica D Fields (0000-0003-1131-6329, Indiana State University)
Año2006
Volumen11
Número1
Páginas59-66
Fecha de publicación2006-01-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaThe History of the Family (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1081-602X • E-ISSN: 1873-5398
EditorialTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/j.hisfam.2005.05.001
OpenAlexW2023621098
IdiomaEN
Referencias citadas16

Kin selection, an aspect of evolutionary theory, argues that, all else equal, individuals should give preferential treatment to relatives, based on the degree of relatedness [Hamilton, W. D. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behaviour I, II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7, 1–52.]. However, one may observe instances where competition for scarce or unique resources is stronger between family members than between unrelated individuals. Such a situation existed between 1377 and 1603 with intense competition for the throne of England among descendents of Edward III. During this period, monarchs were executed by relatives to gain or maintain the throne for him or herself or descendents. Despite the widespread destruction of kindred, we show that executioners never sacrificed lineal relatives nor executed collateral relatives in excess of their own legitimate nuclear relatedness, and the number of executed relatives was positively correlated to the age and legitimate reproductive success of the executioner. Moreover, when resources are scarce, have an intrinsically high value, and are inherited, it may be in your Darwinian reproductive interest not to maximize but to minimize the number of legitimate children in order to reduce competition among family members. Keywords: Intra-familial competitionKin selectionDarwinian evolution Acknowledgements J. M. McCullough gratefully acknowledges the support of the University of Utah for an administrative leave during which time this research was begun, and the kind support of Dr. C. G. N. Mascie-Taylor, Department of Biological Anthropology, Cambridge University, during his stay as a Visiting Fellow

Biology · Competition (biology · Culling · Genealogy · Geography · Kinship · Monarchy · New england · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Anthropology · Demography · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Ecology