1736

"a Woman may have several husbands; most commonly of the same Family, nay, Brothers; the Children are dispos'd of among them after this manner; the First-born belongs to the eldest [brother-husband], and those which are born afterwards belong to the younger [brother-husbands]; when the Lamas are tax'd [i.e., accused] with this shameful piece of Lewdness, they offer in excuse the scarcity of Women which are in Thibet [Tibet], as well as in Tartary, where in reality in every Family there are more Males than Females"

[Source: Jean-Baptiste Du Halde, The General History of China, trans. Richard Brookes, 4 vols. (London: John Watts, 1736), 3: 44, in "Evidence For The Sexual Side of Joseph Smith's Polygamy," Comments by D. Michael Quinn on Session #2A "Reconsidering Joseph Smith's Marital Practices," Mormon History Association's Annual Conference, Calgary, Alberta, Canada, 29 June 2012 (unabbreviated version, revised during July)]

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