In England, from the 16th to the 19th century, a large and increasing proportion of landed property came to be held under the form of an “entail”.
The purpose of entail was to eliminate the right of any eldest male to do anything to dissipate the wealth and property of the lineage.
The institution of primogeniture and entail, combined with the tendency of the heiresses that did exist to marry heirs, appears to have given pre-industrial England an absolutely extraordinary degree of the concentration of wealth.
“Pride
& Prejudice”
In Jane Austen’s novel, “Pride and Prejudice”, Darcy is introduced “ … the report, which was in general circulation within 5 minutes after his entrance into the ballroom, of his having £10,000 a year.”