Costa Rican units of measurement
A number of
Pre-metric units
Before the metric system, a number of modified Spanish (i.e., Spanish Castilian[2]), English and local units were used.[1]
Length
A number of units were used to measure length. One vara was equal to 0.8393 m.[1][2] Some other units are given below: [1][2]
1 cuarta = 1⁄4 vara
1 tercia = 1⁄3 vara
1 mecate = 24 varas.
Mass
Several units were used to measure mass in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. Some units are given below:[1][2]
1 caja = 16 kg
1 fanega = 92 kg
1 carga = 161 kg.
As a typical coffee measure, fanega was equal to 46 kg of coffee.[3]
Area
Several units were used to measure area in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. One manzana was equal to 10,000 square varas or 6960.5 m2.[1] One caballeria was equal to 64 manzanas.[1][2]
Capacity
Several units were used to measure capacity in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. One botella was equal to 0.63 to 0.67 L.[1][2] One cajuela was equal to 16.6 L.[1] The capacity of one cuartillo is very variable.[1]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Washburn, E.W. (1926). International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology. New York: McGraw-Hil Book Company, Inc. p. 5.
- ^ ISBN 978-1-4471-1122-1.
- ^ Danse, M.; Wolters, T., Sustainable Coffee in the Mainstream (in The case of the SUSCOF Consortium in Costa Rica, p. 46