Given the tools we have to detect the sun's 'doings' today are magnanimously more sophisticated than 200 years ago, could it be that 200 years ago several fluctuations were missed because the overall balance still remained throughout the cycles?
If I remember correctly, the sunspot record is fairly accurate since we've had telescopes (~400 years ago), since they can last several months, and there aren't that many of them.
Magnanimous means generous, BTW. It's not appropriate in this context.