A number of different units of measurement were used in Brazil to measure quantities including

length Length is a measure of distance. In the International System of Quantities, length is a quantity with dimension distance. In most systems of measurement a base unit for length is chosen, from which all other units are derived. In the Interna ...

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape A shape or figure is a graphics, graphical representation of an obje ...

volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). The de ...

, and

mass Mass is an intrinsic property of a body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the quantity of matter in a physical body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physics. It was found that different atoms and different elementar ...

as those units were derived from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

and had significant local variances. In 1814, as part of the

Portuguese Empire The Portuguese Empire ( pt, Império Português), also known as the Portuguese Overseas (''Ultramar Português'') or the Portuguese Colonial Empire (''Império Colonial Português''), was composed of the overseas colonies, factories, and the l ...

, Brazil adopted the new Portuguese metric system, which was based in the original

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the Decimal, decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in French Revolution, France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the d ...

, but with its units having Portuguese traditional names. This system was not, however, widely adopted and was soon abandoned, with the

Portuguese customary units Portuguese customary units were used in Portugal, Brazil and other parts of the Portuguese Empire until the adoption of the metric system in the 19th century. The various systems of weights and measures used in Portugal until the 19th century com ...

continuing to be used. In 1862, the

finally became compulsory in Brazil, and consolidated in 1972.História da Metrologia - Adoção do Sistema Métrico Decimal
Acesso em 30 de junho de

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Pre-metric units

A number of units were used with local variations.

Length

A number of different units were used in Brazil to measure length. One ''pé'' (foot) was equal to 0.33 m (with local variations). Some of other units are given below: 1 ''polegada'' (inch) = pé 1 ''palmo'' (palm) = pé 1 ''vara'' (yard) = pés 1 ''passo geométrico'' (pace) = 5 pés 1 ''braça'' (fathom) = pés 1 ''légua'' (league) = 20,000 pés.

Mass

A number of different units were used in Brazil to measure mass. One ''libra'' (pound) was equal to 459.05 g (with local variations). Some of other units are given below : 1 ''onça'' (ounce) = ''libra'' 1 ''marco'' (mark) = 1/2 libra 1 ''

arroba ''Arroba'' is a Portuguese and Spanish custom unit of weight, mass or volume. Its symbol is @. History The word ''arroba'' has its origin in Arabic ''ar-rubʿ'' (الربع) or "quarter," specifically the fourth part (of a quintal), which defi ...

'' = 32 ''libras'' (One ''arroba métrica'' is equal to 15 kg. In Santos market Exchange, one ''arroba'' was 10 kg.) 1 ''

quintal The quintal or centner is a historical unit of mass in many countries which is usually defined as 100 base units, such as pounds or kilograms. It is a traditional unit of weight in France, Portugal, and Spain and their former colonies. It is com ...

'' (hundredweight) = 128 ''libras'' 1 ''tonelada'' (ton) = 1,728 ''libras''. The ''quilate'' (karat) used to measure to mass of gems was equal to 3.075 grains, and the ''outava'' used to measure mass of topazes was 57.17 grains.

Area

Different units were used to measure area in Brazil, often with significant local variations. One ''tarefa'' was equal to 3,000 to 4,000 m². One '' alqueire'' was equal to 24,200 or 48,400 m² (it was equal to 8 ''salamis'' and it was 33 L in Minas Gerais).

Volume

A number of different units with notable local variations were used in Brazil. One ''

almude The almude is an obsolete Portuguese unit of measurement of volume used in Portugal, Brazil and other parts of the Portuguese Empire. Etymologically, it derives from the Arabic ''al-mudd'', and ultimately from Latin '' modius''. The almude appear ...

'' was equal to 31.944 L. One '' alqueire'' was equal to 40 to 320 L (generally for grain 33 L) (According to some sources, 1 ''alqueire'' = 5.324 L, ''alqueir''e (salt) = 4.076 L, 1 ''alqueire'' (common) = 3.626 L, 1 ''alqueire'' (Bahia) = 3.524 L, and 1 ''alqueire'' = 1/6 ''almude''). Some of other units are provided below: 1 ''

canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

'' = ''almude'' 1 ''moio'' = 10 ''almudes'' 1 ''pipa'' = 12 ''almudes'' 1 ''tonel'' = 30 ''almudes''. The ''cargueiro'' (mule load) consisted of two small barrels of 40 L each.

References

External links

{{Empire of Brazil Brazilian units of measurement Empire of Brazil