Spanish customary units
There are a number of Spanish 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.
Vara (unit of length)
A vara is an old Spanish unit of length. Varas are a surveying unit that appear 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 in 1801. In Argentina, the vara measured about, and typical urban lots are wide. At some time a value of was adopted in California.In Texas, a vara was defined as, 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, Stephen F. 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 1900s. is equivalent to 5,645.376 Texan square varas. A league is equivalent to 5,000 varas squared or.
Standardization of measurement in Texas came with the introduction of varas, cordels, and leagues.
A measure of 100 varas by 100 varas is almost 7000 square meters, and is known traditionally throughout Latin America as a manzana. As well, lumber is still 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 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. 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. It is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.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 league is equivalent to about. 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 A. Michener's Texas, was a "labor and a league:" a labor of good riparian land and a league of land away from the river.
The league is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.
Palmo and coto (unit of length)
The palmo measured the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger with all fingers splayed. Its standardized value is . Half of a palmo in Castile was called the coto, described as six fingers and defined as. The ancient Romans had a similar, smaller unit called the palmus, which was.Local units
Although some standardisation was achieved with the law of 1801, particularly in defining the league as 6666⅔ varas long, varying measures continued to be used in various cities and regions.| Town | Vara | Libra | Cántara or Arroba | Arroba | Media Fanega | Legua |
| Alava | 0.836 | 0.4601 | 16.133 | 12.563 | 55.501 | 5.5727 |
| Albacete | 0.837 | 0.458 | 6.365 | 28.325 | ||
| Alicante | 0.912 | 0.533 | 0.60 | 11.55 | 20.775 | 5.555 |
| Almería | 0.833 | 0.460 | 8.18 | 27.531 | 5.573 | |
| Ávila | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.96 | 28.20 | ||
| Badajoz | 0.836 | 0.460 | 8.21 | 6.21 | 27.92 | 5.573 |
| Balearic Islands | 0.782 | 0.407 | 35.17 | |||
| Barcelona | 1.555 | 0.400 | 30.35 | 4.15 | 34.759 | |
| Burgos | 0.836 | 0.4001 | 7.05 | 27.17 | 5.573 | |
| Cáceres | 0.836 | 0.456 | 1.73 | 1.60 | 26.88 | |
| Cádiz | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.922 | 6.26 | 5.573 | |
| Canary Islands | 0.842 | 0.460 | 5.08 5.34 | 31.33 | ||
| Castellón | 0.906 | 0.358 | 11.27 | 12.14 | 16.60 | 5.573 |
| Ciudad Real | 0.839 | 0.460 | 8.00 | 6.22 | 27.29 | 6.687 |
| Córdoba | 0.836 | 0.460 | 16.31 | 27.60 | 5.573 | |
| A Coruña | 0.843 | 0.575 | 15.58 16.43 | 12.43 | 16.15 | 5.573 |
| Cuenca | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.88 | 27.10 | ||
| Girona | 1.559 | 0.400 | 15.48 | 18.08 | 3.762 | |
| Granada | 0.836 | 0.460 | 8.21 | 27.35 | 5.573 | |
| Guadalajara | 0.836 | 0.460 | 8.21 | 27.40 | ||
| Guipuzcoa | 0.837 | 0.492 | 27.65 | |||
| Huelva | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.89 | 27.531 | 5.573 | |
| Huesca | 0.772 | 0.351 | 9.98 | 0.37 | 22.46 | 4.1173 |
| Jaén | 0.839 | 0.460 | 8.02 | 7.12 | 27.37 | |
| León | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.92 | 18.11 | ||
| Lleida | 0.778 | 0.401 | 11.38 | 18.34 | ||
| Logroño | 0.837 | 0.460 | 16.04 | 27.47 | 5.573 | |
| Lugo | 0.855 | 0.573 | 0.47 | 13.13 | ||
| Madrid | 0.843 | 0.460 | 8.15 | 27.67 | 5.573 | |
| Málaga | 0.836 | 0.460 | 8.33 | 26.97 | 5.573 | |
| Murcia | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.80 | 27.64 | 5.573 | |
| Navarra | 0.785 | 0.372 | 11.77 | 0.41 | 28.13 | 5.495 |
| Ourense | 0.836 | 0.574 | 15.96 | 13.88 | 18.79 | |
| Palencia | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.88 | 6.12 | 27.7505 | |
| Pontevedra | 0.836 | 0.579 | 16.35 | 15.58 | 20.86 | |
| Salamanca | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.99 | 27.29 | 5.573 | |
| Segovia | 0.837 | 0.460 | 8 | 27.30 | ||
| Sevilla | 0.836 | 0.460 | 15.66 | 27.35 | 5.573 | |
| Soria | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.90 | 27.57 | ||
| Teruel | 0.768 | 0.367 | 10.96 | 21.40 | 5.573 | |
| Toledo | 0.837 | 0.460 | 8.12 | 6.25 | 27.75 | 5.573 |
| Valencia | 0.906 | 0.355 | 10.77 | 11.93 | 16.75 | |
| Valladolid | 0.836 | 0.460 | 7.82 | 27.39 | 5.573 | |
| Vizcaya | 0.836 | 0.488 | 6.74 | 28.46 | 5.573 | |
| Zaragoza | 0.772 | 0.350 | 9.91 | 13.93 13.33 | 22.42 | 5.573 |
Other units
- Almud, a unit of volume
- Arroba, the fourth part of a quintal
- Caballería, a unit of land measure in Cuba.
- Celemín, a unit of volume equivalent to approximately 4.625 l.
- Estado, a unit of length used for measuring depths ; 7 pies
- Fanega, measure of grain by volume
- Ferrado used in Galicia, NW peninsular Spain.
- Legua, a unit of length
- Onza, a unit of weight used for chocolate.
- Pulgada used in Spain.
- Quintal, a unit of weight
- Quiñón a unit of land measure in the Philippines.
- Tahúlla, a unit of land measure in Valencia.
- Adarme and tomín, units of weight
- Toesas, unit of length equal to