Measurement system

[Blind.In.Texas]

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Obsolete Spanish and Portuguese units of measurement

Castilian system of units
Spanish English Length relative to 1 pie Length in SI units
punto "point" 1⁄1728 0.1613 mm
línea "line" 1⁄144 1.935 mm
pulgada "inch" 1⁄12 23.22 mm
pie "foot" 1 27.86 cm
vara "yard" 3 0.8359 m
paso "pace" 5 1.3932 m
legua "league" 15,000 4.1795 km

There are a number of Spanish and Portuguese units of measurement of length or area that are now virtually obsolete. They include the vara, the cordel, the league and the labor. The units of area used to express the area of land are still encountered in some transactions in land today. For example, the 'vara' is still used in Costa Rica when ordering lumber.

* 1 Vara (unit of length)
* 2 Labor (unit of area)
* 3 Spanish League (unit of length)
* 4 League (unit of area)
* 5 Palmo and coto (unit of length)
* 6 See also
* 7 External links

Vara (unit of length)
A vara (abbreviation: var) is an old Spanish unit of length. Varas are a surveying unit that appears in many deeds in the southern United States, and varas were also used in many parts of Latin 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.

In Texas, a vara was defined as 331⁄3 inches (846.67 mm), or 1 yard = 1.08 vara. The vara and the corresponding unit of area, the square vara, were introduced in the 19th century to measure Spanish land grants. In Texas, Austin's early surveying contracts required that he use the vara as a standard unit. The vara can be seen in many deeds as late as the mid to late 1900's. An 1 acre (0.405 ha) is equivalent to 5,645.376 Texan square varas. A league is equivalent to 5,000 varas squared or 4,428.4 acres (1,792.11 ha).

To reduce varas to feet, take the varas and divide by 0.36. Standardization of measurement in Texas came with the introduction of varas, cordels, and leagues.

The Portuguese vara was about 1,100 mm (43.3 in), longer than these Spanish units. A measure of 100 varas by 100 varas is equal to 7000 meters square, and is known, at least in Costa Rica, as a manzana. As well, lumber is stil measured in Costa Rica using a system based on 4 vara, 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 which they call pulgadas, or inches. The lumber is charged 'per inch', which is a measurement 11/12 of a board foot.

Labor (unit of area)
A labor (pronounced /ləˈbɔr/ in West Texas) is a unit of area, used to express the area of land, that is equal to 1 million square varas. A labor is equivalent to about 177.1 acres (71.67 ha). It was used in the archaic system of old Spanish land grants affecting Texas and parts of adjoining states. The labor is often used as an approximate equivalent to a quarter-section (that is, one quarter of a square mile of land). It is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.
[edit] Spanish League (unit of length)

A Spanish league (Spanish: Legua) is a unit of length, used to express distances, that is equal to 5,000 varas. It is equivalent to about 4.2 kilometres or about 2.6 miles. Officially the league was abolished by Philip II of Spain in 1568, but it is still in use unofficially in parts of Latin America, with exact meaning varying in different countries. It was also used in the treaty language defining the Pacific Ocean end of the US-Mexico border after the war of 1846-8.

In Argentina a league is a distance of 5 km. In Brazil the league has fallen into disuse, but it used to be described as equivalent to 6 km.

In Yucatán and other parts of rural Mexico the league is still commonly used in the original sense of the distance that can be covered on foot in an hour, so that a league along a good road on level ground is a greater distance than a league on a difficult path over rough terrain.

League (unit of area)
A league can also be a unit of area, used to express the area of land, that is equal to 25 million square varas. A (square) league is equivalent to about 4,428.4 acres (1,792.11 ha). It was used in the archaic system of old Spanish land grants affecting Texas and parts of adjoining states and this use of league is used throughout the Texas Constitution.

A common Texas land grant size, discussed in James Michener's Texas, was a "labor and a league": one labor of good riparian land, and a (square) league of land away from the river.

The (square) league is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.
[edit] Palmo and coto (unit of length)

The palmo ("palm") measured the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the pinky finger with all fingers splayed. Its standardized value is 20.873 cm (8.2177 in). Half of a palmo in Castile was called the coto, described as six fingers and defined as 10.4365 cm (4.10886 in). The ancient Romans had a similar, smaller unit called the palmus, which was 7.3925 cm (2.91043 in).

 

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[Shortstack]

BUMP BUMP BUMP

Some recent postings concerning measurements; old and new, I thought this thread by BIT might be useful to bump back up. I happened to come across it while looking for a certain photo.

These few definitions point out the absolute necessity of knowing WHO and WHEN in conjunction with the WHAT. The who and when would determine which units and techniques were used by the FINAL "author" of the target areas. If there is no way to know for certain the who and when, then a lot of comparison work would be needed.

I almost sound like I know what I'm talking about.

 

[Old Dog]

We often forget that the Measurement we use now and those they used then are of two different worlds.

When using a vara measure it using Spanish inches ... .914 modern inches
This makes a 33 inch vara right at 30 modern inches long.

 

[TC-NM]

Let me add some more information concerning the Vara. I have researched for years in countless volumes of litrature, map documents and trounced through museums to look at actual Vara sticks about this subject. To put it simply, there are many variations to the length from one state or province to the next. Here I put together a brief summary about the Vara.

The “Vara,” or the “Spanish yard,” comes from the Latin word “Forked Stick.”
The origin of the vara has been traced to and substantially used over the centuries by the ancient Phoenicians, Egyptians, and especially the Romans. Early units of measurements derived from physical dimensions of the human body. Specifically the vara was determined by totaling the distance of four spans of the hand or one-quarter vara, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the little finger or “handsbreadth.” Adopted by Spain’s official legislation in the late Sixteenth Century, a royal decree created a standard length of measurement known as “Vara of Burgos,” later known throughout the Hispanic world as the “Castilian Vara.” This same vara equaled Tres Pies (three feet), and a Legua (league) equaled 5,000 varas or approximately 2.6 miles.

When the colonists arrived to the New World they found the need to measure land, architectural layout, textile goods, furniture making and artwork such as Santos. Historical Spanish documents show that the vara measurement was used in Nuevo España as early as the middle Seventeenth Century through the end of the Nineteenth Century, and into the Americas as early as the Sixteenth Century. One such vara stick measuring 33 1/3 inches dates back as early as 1760 and was specifically used in Doña Ana County in southern New Mexico. It is now on display in the Museum of New Mexico at the Palace of the Governors. This measurement was also used and adopted in Texas in some old surveys, commonly known as “Spanish Land Grants.” This measurement was done by horseback by counting the horses pace or measuring the gate which came out to be about 33.333 inches or 2.7778 feet. Other measurements used in the Southwest were the adopted Mexican vara of 32.99 inches or 2.7492 feet. Lands held in “Public Domain” used the value of 33.372 inches or 2.7810 feet. In some remote villages in Northern New Mexico, the value of 33.069 inches or 2.7558 feet or four handsbreadth was used as their system of measurement. Shown here is just a small list of the vara measurements derived from the ancient Vara of Burgos. By the end of 1846 this system of measurement was soon discarded for the English system of measurement of miles, yards, feet, and inches. In 1895 the vara officially continued to be used until President Don Porfirio Díaz decreed the substitution of the Continental European Metric System. The vara remains with us to this day and it remains a measurement of interpretation and further research.

This book was most helpful: Northern New Spain - A Research Guide, By: Thomas C. Barnes, Thomas H, Naylor, and Charles W. Pozer, University of Arizona Press, ©1981

Enjoy,

TC-NM

 

[rangler]

BiT and TC-NM
Great input guys, appreciate it very much! it is easy to get confused by the varations of the vara...

rangler

Isaiah 45:2-4

And I will give thee the treasures of darkness, and hidden riches of secret places, that thou mayest know that I, the LORD, which call thee by thy name, am the God of Israel.

 

[charliejr]

bump

 

[PROSPECTORMIKEL]

YET AGAIN... BUMP
GOOD INFO.

I HAVE STUDIED DR. BRONSON'S WORK ON THE BURGOS VARA, AND FOUND IT USEFUL, SIMPLE AND IN LINE WITH MOST OF THE INFO HERE.

HIS STUDY LED HIM TO FIND THE THREE PIE (SPANISH FOOT) TO BE MADE UP USING THE DEDO (WIDTH OF A DIGIT/FINGER. FOUR HAND WIDTHS = 16 DEDOS PER PIE, AND 3 PIE PER VARA = 48 DEDO PER VARA.

SOME OF THE TRANSLATIONS USE THE PULGADO = 1 THUMB WIDTH, WHICH MAKES THE PIE = 10 . SOMETHING. (THE MODERN PULGADO IS THE SAME AS THE S.A.E. INCH IN MODERN U.S.A.. I SEE IT DISPLAYED ON BILINGUAL PACKAGING AS THE SAME ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF INCH.)

I DON'T HAVE MY NOTES AT HAND, BUT YOU CAN SEE HIS WORK AT;
DRBRONSONTOURS.COM/BRONSONSPANISHMEASUREMENTS.HTML
drbronsontours.com/bronsonspanishmeasurements.html

WELL I THOUGHT ONE OF THOSE WOULD HAVE TURNED BLUE FOR A LINK. THAT IS WHAT I HAVE IN MY NOTES. I MAY NEED TO LOOK DEEPER INTO MY NOTES AND COME BACK TO EDIT WHEN I FIND THEM.

I WILL TRY TO NOT LEAVE YOU CLIFF HANGING TOO LONG.

MIKEL
#/;0)~

OKAY, THAT IS THE WEB SITE ABOVE. NO CAPS NEEDED!