~4.2667 |
|||||||||
3 |
12.8 |
||||||||
20 |
60 |
256 |
|||||||
4 |
80 |
240 |
1024 |
||||||
1¼ |
5 |
100 |
300 |
1,280 |
|||||
kwart |
4 |
5 |
20 |
400 |
1200 |
5120 |
|||
7½ |
30 |
37½ |
150 |
3,000 |
9,000 |
38,400 |
|||
kwart |
4 |
30 |
120 |
150 |
600 |
12,000 |
36,000 |
153,600 |
|
ottav |
2 |
8 |
60 |
240 |
300 |
1200 |
24,000 |
72,000 |
307,200 |
0.117 |
0.233 |
0.933 |
7 |
28 |
35 |
8.750 |
175 |
525 |
2,240 |
3.3 |
6.6 |
26.46 |
198.4 |
793.8 |
992.2 |
3.969 |
79.38 |
238.1 |
1016.05 |
Note the two kwarti. Some of these units may be largely legal fictions, seldom employed in practice.
At least as early as 1840 the qantar was treated commercially as equal to 175 pounds avoirdupois. In 1921 all surviving units were defined legally by British equivalents.
In the Italian period there were two versions of the ratal (or, to give it its Italian name, the rotolo), in the ratio 30:33, which is the number of onces to two different rotoli. Sicily also had two such rotoli. Using the Italian names, this leads to:
tonnellata |
|||||||||||||
125/33 |
|||||||||||||
light pesata* |
1.1 |
4 1/6 |
|||||||||||
cantaro grosso |
30/11 |
3 |
11 4/11 |
||||||||||
|
cantaro or quintale |
1.1 |
3 |
3.3 |
12½ |
||||||||
pesa |
20 |
22 |
60 |
66 |
250 |
||||||||
rotolo grosso |
50/11 |
1000/11 |
100** |
272 8/11 |
300 |
1136 12/33 |
|||||||
rotolo |
1.1 |
5 |
100 |
110 |
300 |
330 |
1250 |
||||||
libbra |
2½ |
2¾ |
12½ |
250 |
275 |
750 |
825 |
3125 |
|||||
oncia |
12 |
30 |
33 |
150 |
3,000 |
3,300 |
9000 |
9900 |
37,500 |
||||
dramma |
8 |
96 |
240 |
264 |
1200 |
24,000 |
26,400 |
72,000 |
79,200 |
3,000,000 |
|||
scrupolo |
3 |
24 |
288 |
720 |
792 |
3600 |
72,000 |
79,200 |
216,000 |
237,600 |
9,900,000 |
||
acino |
20 |
60 |
480 |
5760 |
14,400 |
15,840 |
72,000 |
1,440,000 |
1,584,000 |
4,320,000 |
4,752,000 |
198,000,000 |
|
Doursther |
26.383 |
791.50 |
870.65 |
87.07 |
|||||||||
Board of Trade (1910) |
3.969 |
||||||||||||
Martini (1883) |
55 |
1.102 |
3.307 |
26.460 |
317.515 |
793.787 |
79.3787 |
238.136 |
261.950 |
992.234 |
* Martini says that the pesata of 300 rotoli was (only?) used for retail sales of firewood; the usual pesata was 330 rotoli.
** Nelkenbrecher (1820, page 206) speaks of a “schwere Quintal” (“heavy quintale”) of 111 rotoli each of 2¾ libbre (that is, 111 rotoli grossi). This is almost certainly a scribal error. Universal Commerce (London, 1818, page 167) states: “Cheese, fish, hides and salted provisions are sold by the great cantar which consists of 110 rotolo.”
During the Italian period precious metals were weighed with this system:
cantaro |
|||||||||
pesa |
20 |
||||||||
rotolo |
5 |
100 |
|||||||
lira |
2.5 |
12.5 |
250 |
||||||
oncia |
12 |
30 |
150 |
3000 |
|||||
quarta |
4 |
48 |
120 |
600 |
12000 |
||||
octavo |
2 |
8 |
96 |
240 |
1200 |
24,000 |
|||
sedicesimo |
2 |
4 |
16 |
192 |
480 |
2400 |
48,000 |
||
trapeso |
2 |
4 |
8 |
32 |
384 |
960 |
4800 |
96,000 |
|
coccia |
18 |
36 |
72 |
144 |
576 |
6912 |
17,280 |
86,400 |
1,728,000 |
45.8 |
0.8245 |
1.65 |
3.30 |
6.60 |
26.385 |
316.6 |
791.5 |
3.96 |
79.15 |
Doursther (1840) pages 87, 105, 226, 369, 562.
Robert Montgomery Martin.
History of the Colonies of the British Empire in the West Indies, South
America, North America, Asia...
London: W. H. Allen & Co. and George Routledge, 1843.
Page 586.
Copyright © 2000-2012 Sizes, Inc. All rights reserved.
Last revised: 13 November 2012.