Mexican weights and measures
The old weights and measures of Mexico were based on those brought from the Spanish motherland at the Conquista . "Mexico" in the sense used here includes the entire Central American part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain within its respective borders and the independent Central American republics, i. H. until the US invasion of 1848 , the areas from California to Texas . In spite of all the regulations on standardization, the dimensions used remained very different from region to region, as in Europe, especially in port cities. We cannot speak of a “system of weights and measures” for the 16th - 18th centuries. The dimensions used in Guatemala, Honduras, etc. may again have deviated from those described.
16th and 17th centuries
The first attempts at regulation and calibration began early for the capital, Mexico City . The first regulation was made in 1536 by the viceroy Antonio de Mendoza , whereby a vara should be three feet , a paso five feet and a cabezada 96 × 192 vara . In 1542, initially only for the capital, in 1574 for all markets, arroba , azumbre (for wine and oil), fanega, celemín and 1545 pipas (27½ arrobas) were established as the standard. Viceroy Manrique made the vara de Burgos the standard length measure in 1589 .
After iron standard weights had been procured, traders had to have the weights they used checked three times a year since 1620. Weights made of wood and the use of certain dimensions were also prohibited by this regulation. It was not until 1667 that the exclusive use of punched weights became a requirement, but this was still often circumvented. One reason for this was the guilds, whose privileges allowed them to measure by body size.
18th and 19th centuries
The regulations of 1787 and 1797 essentially confirmed the regulations of 1620.
The time of King Charles IV. Was determined by decree of 26 January 1801 that for linear dimensions, the vara de Burgos , for dry bulk goods half fanega of Avila , for liquids in Toledo usual Cuartillo and weights the Castilian Mark should be based on . A standardization of the units in the region could hardly be spoken of either after this or after the (first) official introduction of the meter during the French intervention in Mexico in 1867. The second attempt to switch to the metric system took place at the turn of the century. Pesos divided into 100 centavos were minted from 1905.
The conversion to the metric system began in Peru and Chile in 1848, Spain in 1852 and Costa Rica in 1908. The old units, especially Vara (84 cm) and Quintal (approx. 46 kg), remained in use in trade well into the 20th century .
Regulation, calibration
On January 13, 1525, a supervisor ( contraste ) was appointed for the markets of Mexico City , who had to calibrate the weights and to mark them for a fee. The office was auctioned off annually in January, the exerciser and his assistants were usually blacksmiths. Around 1620 this license cost around 600 pesos ($), its price later rose to around 1100. The overseers also had the right to impose penalties for using incorrect or non-standard weights, but the variety of units used remained difficult to understand.
Length and area dimensions
The basis of the length measurement was the vara ("rod"), which was set by Alfonso the Wise (X. of Aragon , r. 1252-84) at three Roman feet (29.5 cm). At the time of Henry II and Alfonso XI. the length has been redefined. This was the de facto standard as the vara de Burgos or “Castilian rod” until the reform in 1801 . At the beginning of the colonial period, the legua 3000 pasos de Salomón corresponded to 4179 m.
- Length measurements
| unit | corresponds | Pulgada | meter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legua ("mile") | 5000 varas | 180000 | 4190 |
| Cordel | 10 Varas | 360 | 8.38 |
| Braza; Estado | 2 Varas | 72 | 1.67 |
| Vara ("tail") | 3 pies, or 4 palmos |
36 | 0.838 |
| Codo | ½ Vara | 18th | 0.418 |
| Pie | 12 pulgadas, or 16 dedos |
12 | 0.279 |
| Palmo mayor Palmo romano |
16 ⁄ 15 palmo | 9.6 | 0.2218 |
| Palmo | 9 pulgadas or 12 dedos |
9 | 0.209 |
| Pulgada | 12 Líneas | 1 | 0.0233 |
| Dedo | 9 Líneas | 3 ⁄ 4 | 0.0175 |
| Linea | 12 puntos | 1 ⁄ 12 | 0.0019 |
| Punto | 1 ⁄ 144 | 0.00016 |
In contrast to this, palmo menor with four dedos were still in use ; jeme (13.9 cm) and a dedo , which was composed of three pajas and four granos . The estado zu 2⅓ Varas was used especially for height measurements .
Area dimensions
The vara de Toledo (83.59 cm), which was divided into 48 dedos , remained in use for land surveying and mining . For plots in the 17th and 18th centuries, the legua was divided into marcas of 2⅞ varas each. The cordel here had 50 or 69 varas. In house construction, paso de cuadra, initially 141 and later 150 feet, were also common.
| Unit (possibly in a square) | corresponds | square meters |
|---|---|---|
| acre | 40.468 ares | |
| Estadal | 16 Vara² | 11.18 m² |
| Cordel | 10 Vara² | 6.96 m² |
| Vara | 1296 Pulgadas² | 0.70 m² |
| Pie | 144 Pulgadas² | 0.0775 m² |
| Palmo | 81 Pulgadas² | 0.437 |
| Pulgada | 144 Líneas² | 0.111 m² |
| Linea | 0.0027 cm² |
- Estates
After the conquest, the veterans of the Conquista received lands to support them: foot soldiers a peonia, mounted soldiers a significantly larger caballería.
The frequent changes in dimensions made it possible for large landowners in particular to enrich themselves at the expense of the Indian smallholders. The resulting resentment was, as the “land question”, one of the starting points for the revolution of 1911.
| unit | Dimensions (varras) |
Hectares |
|---|---|---|
| hacienda | 5000 × 25000 (1 × 5 leguas) |
8778.05 |
| Sitio de genado mayor | 5000 × 5000 | 1755.61 |
| Sititio de genado menor | 3333.3 x 3333.3 | 780.27 |
| Fundo legal | 1200 × 1200 | 101.12 |
| Solar | 1000 × 1000 | 70.22 |
| Caballeria | 1104 × 552 (4 suertes) |
42.79 |
| Fanega (de sembradura) | 376 × 184 | 3.57 |
| Cuartilla (de sembradura) | 250 × 100 | 1.75 |
| Estajo | 100 × 100 | 0.700 |
| Solar para molin, casa o venta | 50 × 50 | 0.35 |
A quarter of a sitio was a criadero . Especially in the early days, the Caballería was measured differently. The soil quality was also included in the award: tierras de negro was good arable land, tierras de cojer, was land that still managed without irrigation, land for horticultural purposes was called tierra de panllevar.
- Indian villages
The existing Indian villages were granted collective land ownership in the form of an ejido . According to the law, this should be 500 square varra, which was increased to 600 in 1657. In many cases, however, the claims of the immigrant Hazienderos were ignored. Often the municipality ( municipio ) was responsible for the land distribution , which took advantage of the Indians. The land for public purposes ( proporio ) also remained in the hands of the municipality .
Measure of capacity
| Unit (cubic) | corresponds | cubic meter |
|---|---|---|
| Brazada (for building material) |
8 Vara³ | 4.707 |
| Vara | 27 pies³ | 0.58848 |
| Pie | 1728 Pulgadas³ | 0.21796 |
| Palmo | 729 Pulgadas³ | 0.1059 |
| Pulgada | 0.00037 | |
| Linea | 0.000073 |
The estero (" ster ") with approx. 1 m³ was still in use for wood , for firewood and charcoal one calculated in zontle at 100 manos ("handful") with four trozos ("chunks") or in bracina. Alternative units for this were also saca, raja, cuerda and tequio.
Other units existed for certain goods. So bulto for beans and wood. Cacaxtle, tercio and paxtle for fruit and sugar; haz for wheat and sugar cane; ristra and mancuerna for garlic. The burrada was used for both firewood and sugar. Bananas were traded per gajo (11 pieces), racimo (60 pieces), tambache (approx. 25 kg) or atado (approx. 38 kg). Corn on the cob was counted in canasta or jiquipil. Botijuela (about 10 kg) were used for honey, a chiquihuite had 230 fruits, etc. pp.
Bulk (dry)
| Unit (cubic) | corresponds | liter |
|---|---|---|
| Cahiz | 576 Cuartillos 12 Fanegas |
1089.78 |
| Carga | 96 Cuartillos 2 Fanegas |
181.63 |
| Fanega | 48 Cuartillos | 90.815 |
| Cuartilla | 12 Cuartillos | 22,704 |
| Almud Celemín |
4 cuartillos | 7,568 |
| Cuartillo | 1,892 |
Theoretically, the Fanega de Avila was the standard size, but depending on the origin of the traders, the sizes of Málaga, Oviedo, Bilbao etc. were often followed.
To add to the confusion, a fanega in the agricultural area designated a rectangular area of 184 × 276 varas (3.57 hectares).
Other units that were used at times were: Zurrón for wheat, paca for cotton (both around 45-6 kg each). A sarta coffee or chili weighed between 2 and 4 kg. A mazo sugar was one kilo, the mano gave 2-2½ kg. How much bulk material a costal, maquila, mogote, pancle, tercio or saco really contained can no longer be clarified.
- paper
Sheets of paper were counted as follows: 10,000 were a balón of 20 resmas, which were again divided into 20 manos (25 pieces). Five arches were a cuaderno.
Parchment was counted to eight dozen in embotijado .
liquids
Alcoholic beverages in particular were measured in botijas , the volume of which fluctuated between five and eight liters in retail stores . No precise statement can be made, especially for the numerous dimensions for wine and schnapps. Commonly used were: Damazana and Garafa (both around 20 l), galón (around 3.5 l), damajuana and chochocol (17–20 l), garrafón (17–25 l). For other drinks there were also tepachi, cantáro castellana, chinguirito, charaje de piña , etc. A barrel of brandy in the regions of Córdoba , Orizaba , Jalapa and Coatepec was calculated with 160 cuartillos instead of the usual 150. Quelli a unit for the indigenous liquor had 15 liters in Oaxaca, but only 13,850 in the Tehuantepec area .
Milk was traditionally sold per azumbre , but 1½ azumbres of wine were the equivalent.
| Unit (cubic) | corresponds | liter |
|---|---|---|
| Pipa | 6 Barriles | 456 |
| Botija (wholesale) |
435 | |
| Barril ("barrel") | (10 Jarras) | 76 |
| Cántara | Oil: 16.14 ( de Avila to 8 Azumbres) Other: 12.56 |
|
| Jarra ("jug") | 16 or 18 cuartillos | 8.22 |
| Cuartillo | 2 medios | 0.456 oil: 0.562 |
| Medio | 4 cuartos | 0.228 |
- Hydraulic dimensions
Hydraulic measures were important for calculating the consumption of irrigation systems, water wheels and public wells. The amount of water a landowner was entitled to was determined by surveying ( reconocimiento or inquisición ). The basis was the buey ("ox," 9831.2 l / min), which irrigated an area of 1296 square Pulgada. The Surco was an 8 dedos deep trench, which was 6 dedos wide at the base, which corresponds to 194.4 l / min. Smaller units were: Naranja (64.8 l / min), limón or real 8.10 l / min (= 18 pajas ). merced 2.25 l / min and paja 0.45 l / min = one cuartillo per minute.
Weights
The tonelada (de buque) was the basic unit for customs duties in overseas trade . In the customs tariff the relations of certain goods per tonelada (t) were fixed. For example, B. 1 t, 10 bags of dishes or 5 botijas of wine. Paila was a unit for copper. The Real proyecto de comercio of 1720 calculated the customs on cubic palmo.
The carga (“load”) in particular differed greatly from one another regionally or in relation to the respective good. It contained 12 arrobas for lime and gravel, 14 arrobas for sand, 16 arrobas for grain and 18 arrobas for honey in Oaxaca , Valladolid or Mexico City. Koschenille was only set at 9 arrobas per carga for export.
Gemstones were weighed in carats (quilate) , but instead of the widely used Amsterdam carat at 0.1997 g, a slightly heavier one at 0.2058 g was used.
| unit | corresponds | kg |
|---|---|---|
| Carretada or, Guallín |
10 cargas | 1380 |
| Tonelada | 86.08 Arrobas | 1000 |
| Tonel macho | 82.5 arrobas (3 pipas of 27½ arrobas) |
920.2 |
| Carga doble | 181.6 | |
| Carga | 138.0 grain: 103.5 |
|
| Quintal | 100 libras | 46.025 |
| Arroba | 25 libras | 11.506 |
| Libra | 16 onzas | 0.46025 |
| Libra romana | 0.3275 | |
| Onza | 16 Adrames | 0.2876 |
| Adrame | 3 tomines | 0.0018 |
| Tomín | 12 granos | 0.00059 |
| Grano | 0.00005 |
Precious metal weights
In contrast to the standards in the markets, the specifications for coinage based on the Castilian mark (230.2 g to 8 ounces) were strictly followed. This led to the fact that the Mexican dollar ("piece of eights"), whose fineness only decreased by 7½% in the three centuries of its manufacture, became the dominant trade coin in the USA (until 1857) and the entire East Asian region (until 1900–1900). 10) stayed.
Pharmacist weights
The pharmacist weights followed the 12 ounce per pound division common throughout Europe, but the underlying pound was only 345.18 g.
literature
- W Barrett: Jugerum and "Caballeria" in New Spain. In: Agricultural History. Vol. 53, no. 2, Apr 1979, pp. 423-437.
- Susan M. Deeds: Land Tenure Patterns in Northern New Spain. In: Americas. Vol. 41, No. 4, Apr 1985, pp. 446-461.
- Instrucción para reducir facilmente las pesas y medidas estranjeras. Mexico 1850. Conversion tables for Art. 15 of the customs tariff of October 4, 1845; (Full text)
- Manuel Carrera Stampa: The Evolution of Weights and Measures in New Spain. In: Hispanic American Historical Review. Vol. 29, No. 1, Feb 1949, pp. 2-24.
- Collections of laws
- Actas de cabildo de la ciudad de México. 54 volumes. Mexico 1889–1916.
- M. Galván: Ordenanzas de tierras y aguas o sea prontuario geomitrico, judicial para la designación, establecimiento, mensura, amojona'miento y deslinde de las poblaciones… Mexico 1844.
- Recopilación de eyes de los reinos de las Indias. Madrid 1681.
Individual evidence
- ^ Law June 18, 1513; Ordinance of the Viceroy Mendoza of 1536, amended under Gastón de Peralta in 1574 and 1580.
- ↑ Confirmed by royal decree ( cedula ) of June 4, 1687.
Web links
- Kenneth Pauley: Weights & Measurements in California's Mission Period. ( Memento from December 5, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) (3 parts, "Paper presented February 14, 2004, 21st Annual CMSA Conference in San Luis Obispo, CA.")