Spanish units of measurement

Castiliansystem of units

Spanish	English	Length in pies	Length inSI
punto	"point"	1/1,728	0.1613 mm
línea	"line"	1/144	1.935 mm
pulgada	"inch"	1/12	23.216 mm
pie	"foot"	1	278.6 mm
vara	"yard"	3	0.8359 m
paso	"pace"	5	1.3932 m
milla	"mile"	5,000	1.3932 km
legua	"league"	15,000	4.1795 km

There are a number ofSpanish units of measurementof length or area that are virtually obsolete due tometrication.They include thevara,thecordel,theleagueand thelabor.The units of area used to express the area of land are still encountered in some transactions in land today.

Vara(unit of length)

This street block is made up of six (2 × 3) 50-varaplots. The Californiavarais 33 inches,so 50vararesults in 137.6-foot plots. Subplots are within the original boundary lines. The San Francisco business district bounded by Union, Kearny, Filber, and Montgomery Streets was originally called the 50VaraDistrict.

Ivory vara (yardstick) used by Franciscan missionaries during the California Mission period.

Avara(meaning "rod" or "pole", abbreviation:var) is an oldSpanishunitoflength.Varas are asurveyingunit that appear in many deeds in the southernUnited Statesdue to them previously being part of Mexico, they became part of the United States due to theTreaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo.Varas were also used in many parts ofLatin America.It varied in size at various times and places; the Spanish unit was set at about 835.905 mm (32.91 in) in 1801.In Argentina, the vara measured about 866 mm (34.1 in), and typical urban lots are 8.66 m (28.41 ft) wide (10 Argentine varas). At some time a value of 33 inches (838.2 mm) was adopted in California.

InTexas,avarawas defined as33+1⁄3inches (846.67 mm), or 1 yard = 1.08vara.Thevaraand the corresponding unit ofarea,the squarevara,were introduced in the 19th century to measure Spanish land grants.Stephen F. Austin's early surveying contracts required that he use thevaraas a standard unit. Thevaracan be seen in many deeds as late as the mid to late 1900s. 1acre(0.405ha) is equivalent to 5,645.376 Texan squarevaras.A league is equivalent to 5,000varassquared or 4,428.4 acres (1,792.11 ha).

Standardisation of measurement inTexascame with the introduction ofvaras,cordeles, and leagues.

A measure of 100 by 100varas(Spanish) is almost 7000 square meters, and is known traditionally throughout Spain and Latin America as amanzana(i.e., a "city block" ). As well, lumber is still measured in Costa Rica using a system based on 4vara,or 11 feet, for both round and square wood. With square wood, using inches, the width is multiplied by the depth to get a measurement calledpulgadas,or inches. The lumber is charged 'per inch', which is a measurement of2.2litres(11⁄12board foot).

Labor(unit of area)

Thelabor(/ləˈbɔːr/in WestTexas) is aunitofarea,used to express an area of land, that is equal to 1 million squarevaras.Alaboris equivalent to about 177.1acres(71.67ha). It was used in the archaic system of old Spanish land grants affecting Texas and parts of adjoining states. Thelaboris often used as an approximate equivalent to aquarter-section(that is, one quarter of asquare mileof land). It is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.

League (unit of area)

Aleaguecan also be aunitofarea,used to express the area of land, that is equal to 25 million squarevaras.A (square) league is equivalent to about 4,428.4acres(1,792.11ha). It was used in the archaic system of old Spanish land grants affectingTexasand parts of adjoining states and this use of league is used throughout theTexas Constitution.

A common Texas land grant size, discussed inJames A. Michener'sTexas,was a "laborand a league ": alaborof goodriparianland and a (square) league of land away from the river.

The (square) league is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.

Palmoandcoto(unit of length)

Thepalmo( "palm" ) measured the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger with all fingers splayed. Its standardized value is 20.873cm(8.2177in) (9pulgadas). Half of apalmoinCastilewas called thecoto,described as six fingers and defined as 10.4365 cm (4.10886 in). Theancient Romanshad a similar, smaller unit called thepalmus,which was 7.3925 cm (2.91043 in).

Local units

Although some standardisation was achieved with the law of 1801, particularly in defining the league as6666+2⁄3varaslong, varying measures continued to be used in various cities and regions.

Town	Vara (m)	Libra (kg)	(Media) Cántaraor Arroba(wine) (l)	Arroba(oil) (l)	MediaFanega (l)	Legua (km)
Alava	0.836	0.4601	16.133	12.563	55.501 (Fanega)	5.5727
Albacete	0.837	0.458	6.365		28.325
Alicante	0.912	0.533	0.60	11.55	20.775	5.555
Almería	0.833	0.460	8.18	—	27.531	5.573
Ávila	0.836	0.460	7.96	—	28.20
Badajoz	0.836	0.460	8.21	6.21	27.92	5.573
Balearic Islands	0.782	0.407			35.17
Barcelona	1.555	0.400	30.35	4.15	34.759
Burgos	0.836	0.4001	7.05	—	27.17	5.573
Cáceres	0.836	0.456	1.73	1.60	26.88
Cádiz	0.836	0.460	7.922	6.26		5.573
Canary Islands	0.842	0.460	5.08 (Santa Cruz) 5.34 (Las Palmas)		31.33 (Santa Cruz)
Castellón	0.906	0.358	11.27	12.14	16.60	5.573
Ciudad Real	0.839	0.460	8.00	6.22	27.29	6.687
Córdoba	0.836	0.460	16.31	—	27.60	5.573
A Coruña	0.843	0.575	15.58 (wine) 16.43 (Aguardiente)	12.43	16.15 (flour)	5.573
Cuenca	0.836	0.460	7.88	—	27.10
Girona	1.559	0.400	15.48	—	18.08	3.762
Granada	0.836	0.460	8.21	—	27.35	5.573
Guadalajara	0.836	0.460	8.21	—	27.40
Guipuzcoa	0.837	0.492			27.65
Huelva	0.836	0.460	7.89	—	27.531	5.573
Huesca	0.772	0.351	9.98	0.37	22.46	4.1173
Jaén	0.839	0.460	8.02	7.12	27.37
León	0.836	0.460	7.92	—	18.11
Lleida	0.778	0.401	11.38	—	18.34
Logroño	0.837	0.460	16.04	—	27.47	5.573
Lugo	0.855	0.573	0.47		13.13
Madrid	0.843	0.460	8.15	—	27.67	5.573
Málaga	0.836	0.460	8.33	—	26.97	5.573
Murcia	0.836	0.460	7.80	—	27.64	5.573
Navarra	0.785	0.372	11.77	0.41	28.13	5.495
Ourense	0.836	0.574	15.96	13.88	18.79
Palencia	0.836	0.460	7.88	6.12	27.7505
Pontevedra	0.836	0.579	16.35	15.58	20.86
Salamanca	0.836	0.460	7.99		27.29	5.573
Segovia	0.837	0.460	8	—	27.30
Sevilla	0.836	0.460	15.66	—	27.35	5.573
Soria	0.836	0.460	7.90	—	27.57
Teruel	0.768	0.367	10.96	—	21.40	5.573
Toledo	0.837	0.460	8.12	6.25	27.75	5.573
Valencia	0.906	0.355	10.77	11.93	16.75
Valladolid	0.836	0.460	7.82	—	27.39	5.573
Vizcaya	0.836	0.488		6.74	28.46	5.573
Zaragoza	0.772	0.350	9.91	13.93 (aceite) 13.33 (aguardiente)	22.42	5.573

Other units

• Adarmeandtomín,units of weight.
• Almud,a unit of volume.
• Arroba,the fourth part of aquintal
• Caballería,a unit of land measure in Cuba.
• Celemín,a unit of volume equivalent to approximately 4.625 L.
• Estado,a unit of length used for measuring depths (similar to thefathom); 7pies
• Fanega,measure of grain by volume
• Ferrado(of which there are 12cuncas) used in Galicia in northwestern peninsular Spain.
• Jeme,measure of length, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger of an extended hand.
• Legua(league),a unit of length.
• Onza(ounce), a unit of weight (28 grammes) used for chocolate.
• Pulgada(inch: 24.5 mm) used in Spain.
• Quintal,a unit of weight.
• Quiñón,a unit of land measure in the Philippines.
• Tahúlla,a unit of land measure in Valencia.
• Toesas,unit of length equal to 66.72 inches (1.695 m)

See also

• International System of Units
• Metrication in Guatemala
• Portuguese customary units
• Systems of measurement
• Units of measurement

External links

• Varafrom theHandbook of TexasOnline
• sizes, "Vara Conversions in 19th Century Spain"
• Rowlett'sA Dictionary of Units of Measurement
• Reasonover's Land MeasuresA Reference to Spanish and French land measures(and their English equivalents with conversion tables) used in North America
• http:// sizes /units/