The law of primogeniture hindered them from being divided by succession; the introduction of entails prevented their being broke into small parcels by alienation.

The law of primogeniture, therefore, came to take place, not immediately indeed, but in process of time, in the succession of landed estates, for the same reason that it has generally taken place in that of monarchies, though not always at their first institution.

Hence the origin of the right of primogeniture, and of what is called lineal succession.

The right of primogeniture, however, still continues to be respected; and as of all institutions it is the fittest to support the pride of family distinctions, it is still likely to endure for many centuries.

They were introduced to preserve a certain lineal succession, of which the law of primogeniture first gave the idea, and to hinder any part of the original estate from being carried out of the proposed line, either by gift, or device, or alienation; either by the folly, or by the misfortune of any of its successive owners.

In Europe, the law of primogeniture, and perpetuities of different kinds, prevent the division of great estates, and thereby hinder the multiplication of small proprietors.

No country, therefore, which the right of primogeniture takes place, which pays tithes, and where perpetuities, though contrary to the spirit of the law, are admitted in some cases, can give more encouragement to agriculture than England.

In the other English colonies, indeed, the right of primogeniture takes place, as in the law of England: But in all the English colonies, the tenure of the lands, which are all held by free soccage, facilitates alienation; and the grantee of an extensive tract of land generally finds it for his interest to alienate, as fast as he can, the greater part of it, reserving only a small quit-rent.

In 1775, he succeeded his father as Prince of Nassau-Usingen. In 1783, he concluded a treaty of inheritance with the princes of Nassau-Saarbrücken, Nassau-Weilburg and Nassau-Dietz (i.e. Orange-Nassau), in which it was agreed that the Nassau land were inidivible and that primogeniture would be observed.

The third, Agnès, is named, her dowry of Craon and Chantocé is specified, but the name of her husband is not given; as for the sons all three figure in their order of primogeniture.

Hereditary titles formerly descended by male-preference primogeniture, a woman being eligible to inherit only if she had no brother or if her brothers also inherited titles.

However, by Spanish law, all hereditary titles descend by absolute primogeniture, gender no longer being a criterion for preference in inheritance, since 2005.

While noble titles historically have followed the rule of male-preference primogeniture, a Spanish law came into effect on October 30, 2006, after approval by both houses of the "Cortes", establishing the inheritance of hereditary noble titles by the firstborn regardless of gender.

The early rulers of the Zhou Dynasty issued or enforced laws that already exemplified the values of a primogeniture regime, most notable of which is filial piety.

Succession is by primogeniture governed by the provisions of the Act of Settlement 1701, Bill of Rights 1689, and Royal Marriages Act 1772, which limits the succession to the natural (non-adopted), legitimate descendants of Sophia, Electress of Hanover and stipulates that the monarch must be in communion with the Church of England upon ascending the throne.

It would have involved three major measures: firstly, the change of the form of primogeniture used from male-preference to gender-neutral (absolute) primogeniture—that is, that the eldest child would succeed regardless of gender; secondly, that the Acts of Union 1707, both in Scotland and in England, as well as other relevant legislation, be altered to remove the clauses forbidding the monarch or heirs from marrying any Catholic; and, thirdly, the revocation of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, which requires descendants of King George II (other than descendants of princesses who married foreigners) to obtain the Sovereign's consent to marry.

Duncan I's accession is thus noteworthy for being the beginning the transition to the evolving Anglo-Norman system of primogeniture.

Later in the 18th century, the Society's rules adopted a system of primogeniture wherein membership was passed down to the eldest son after the death of the original member.

Each officer may be represented by only one descendant at any given time, following the rules of primogeniture.

They differ slightly in each society, and some allow more than one descendant of an eligible officer.)(The requirement for primogeniture made the society controversial in its early years, as the new states quickly did away with laws supporting primogeniture and others associated with the English feudal system.)

The criticism voiced concern about the apparent creation of an hereditary elite; membership eligibility is inherited through primogeniture, and generally excluded enlisted men and militia officers, unless they were placed under "State Line" or "Continental Line" forces for a substantial time period, and their descendants.

Camilo was born out of wedlock and orphaned in infancy, although his origins lay ultimately in Northern Portugal's provincial aristocracy (his father, Manuel Joaquim Botelho Castelo Branco, was the son of an illustrious household in the environs of Vila Real, but lived in near-poverty due to the strict law of primogeniture which then largely excluded younger sons from inheritance).

However, the principle of agnatic primogeniture was not able to overcome the tradition of seniority, and following King Andrew I, his brother, King Béla I (1060–1063) acquired the throne despite the claims of the young Solomon.

No small part, however, was played by Dmitri Donskoi's will, which ran contrary to Rurikid dynastic custom whereby the throne would pass from an elder brother to a younger one (agnatic seniority), rather than from father to son (primogeniture).

The actual contents of the Act, save the solemn preamble, has been thoroughly rewritten over the years: the most notable change occurred in 1980 when the core principle of agnatic primogeniture (male succession only) was changed in favor of absolute primogeniture (eldest child regardless of sex).

In 1980, the rule of succession was changed from agnatic primogeniture to absolute primogeniture.

In 1683, against the protestations of his five younger sons, Ernest Augustus instituted primogeniture, so that his territory would not be further subdivided after his death, and also as a pre-condition for obtaining the coveted electorship.

It was introduced to the House of Commons on 18 January 2011 by Labour MP Keith Vaz under the Ten Minute Rule, and was intended to "remove any distinction between the sexes in determining the succession of the throne" by replacing the current system of male primogeniture in succeeding to the throne of the United Kingdom with absolute cognatic primogeniture.

Prime Minister David Cameron said that an Act of Parliament will amend the Act of Settlement 1701, the Royal Marriages Act 1772 and the Bill of Rights 1689 to establish absolute cognatic primogeniture for the descendants of Charles, Prince of Wales.