Inresite No. Some background info:
Identical twins are a ‘fluke’, where a fertilised egg splits in two and this occurs in approximately 1 in 250 births. This creates two boys or two girls who have the same genetic profile and are ‘identical’.
Non identical twins occurs due to a number of reasons, the most popular of which is IVF, (not available 300 years ago..) where multiple eggs are inserted and 2 (or more) get to join us happy humans. This could be 2 boys, 2 girls or 1 of each and they do not have the same genetic profile - so non identical twins.
Non identical twins can also occur when mum releases 2 eggs rather than the expected 1 and both are fertilised, typically by 1 dad but amazingly there are cases of non identical twins being fertilised with sperm from different men.
An implanted IVF egg can also split and create identical twins, in fact the chances of this are higher than the normal 1 in 250 that non IVF twins experience. In fact I know of a mother who had 2 IVF eggs implanted. One became a girl and the other split 3 ways to become identical triplet boys!! Giving her and her husband quads, and no sleep for a number of years..
So to answer your question: theoretically, the 1 in 250 births resulting in identical twins is likely the same now as it was 300 years ago, although many many twins would not have have survived childbirth 300 years ago. In addition to this, the invention of IVF has produced many more non identical twins than would have been around back then, and some identical ones as well. So therefore twins are far more common today than they have ever been, and will continue to be more common as IVF methods improve.
Source: Dad of identical twin boys!
