Dutch units of measurement
Encyclopedia
Dutch Golden Age
The Golden Age was a period in Dutch history, roughly spanning the 17th century, in which Dutch trade, science, military and art were among the most acclaimed in the world. The first half is characterised by the Eighty Years' War till 1648...
, these weights and measures accompanied the Dutch to the farthest corners of their colonial empire, including South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam
New Amsterdam was a 17th-century Dutch colonial settlement that served as the capital of New Netherland. It later became New York City....
and Dutch East Indies
Dutch East Indies
The Dutch East Indies was a Dutch colony that became modern Indonesia following World War II. It was formed from the nationalised colonies of the Dutch East India Company, which came under the administration of the Netherlands government in 1800....
. Units of weight included the pond, ons and last. There was also an apothecaries' system
Apothecaries' system
The apothecaries' system of weights is a historical system of mass units that were used by physicians and apothecaries for medical recipes, and also sometimes by scientists. The English version of the system is closely related with the English troy system of weights, the pound and grain being...
of weights. The mijl and roede were measurements of distance. Smaller distances were measured in units based on parts of the body - the el, the voet, the palm and the duim. Area was measured by the morgen, hont, roede and voet. Units of volume included the okshoofd, aam, anker, stoop, and mingel. At the start of the 19th century the Dutch adopted a unified metric system
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
, but it was based on a modified version of the metric system, different from the system used today. In 1869, this was realigned with the international metric system
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
. These old units of measurement have disappeared, but they remain a colourful legacy of the Netherlands' maritime and commercial importance and survive today in a number of Dutch sayings and expressions.
Historical units of measure
When CharlemagneCharlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
was crowned Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
in 800 AD, his empire included most of modern-day Western Europe including the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
and Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
. Charlemagne introduced a standard system of measurement across his domains using names such as "pound" and "foot". At the Treaty of Verdun
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun was a treaty between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, the son and successor of Charlemagne, which divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms...
, the empire was divided between Charlemagne’s three grandsons and Lothair
Lothair II of Lotharingia
Lothair II was the second son of Emperor Lothair I and Ermengarde of Tours. He was married to Teutberga, daughter of Boso the Elder. He is the namesake of the Lothair Crystal, which he probably commissioned, and of the Cross of Lothair, which was made over a century after his death but...
received the central portion, stretching from the Netherlands in the north to Burgundy
Upper Burgundy
Upper Burgundy is the part of Burgundy east of the Jura mountains, that together with the western County of Burgundy from 868 formed the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy, encompassing both sides of the Jura mountains range...
and Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
in the south.
Further fragmentation followed and with it various parts of the empire modified the units of measures in a manner that suited the local lord. By the start of the religious wars, the territories that made up the Netherlands, still part of the Holy Roman Empire, had passed into the lordship of the King of Spain. Each territory had its own variant of the original Carolignian units of measure. Under the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the seven Protestant territories that owed a nominal allegiance to the Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange
Prince of Orange is a title of nobility, originally associated with the Principality of Orange, in what is now southern France. In French it is la Principauté d'Orange....
ceded from the Holy Roman Empire and established their own confederacy but each kept its own system of measures.
Weight
- pond (poundPound (mass)The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
) (AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
) – 494.09 g (1.0893 lbPound (mass)The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in the Imperial, United States customary and other systems of measurement...
) (with variations)
- A pond was divided into sixteen ons. A pond was roughly about the same size as a modern pound. It was generally around 480 grams, but there was much variation from region to region. The most commonly used measure of weight was the Amsterdam pound.
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- one AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
pound (scale weight) (Amsterdams pond - waaggewicht) was 494.09 grams, - one GorinchemGorinchemGorinchem , also called Gorkum , is a city and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality covers an area of 21.99 km² of which 3.03 km² is water...
pound (Gorinchems pond) was 466 grams, - one UtrechtUtrecht (city)Utrecht city and municipality is the capital and most populous city of the Dutch province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, and is the fourth largest city of the Netherlands with a population of 312,634 on 1 Jan 2011.Utrecht's ancient city centre features...
heavy pound (Utrechts zwaar pond) was 497.8 grams.
- one Amsterdam
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- After the metric system was introduced in 1816, the word pond continued to be used, but for 1 kilogram. This doubling in size of the pond in one fell swoop created a good deal of confusion. The name "kilogram" was adopted in 1869, but the pond was only eliminated as a formal unit of measurement in 1937. Pond is still used today in everyday parlance to refer to 500 g, not far from its historical weight. The word pond is also used when referring to the pound used in English-speaking countries.
Ons
- ons, once (ounceOunceThe ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
) – 1/16 pond = 30.881 gGramThe gram is a metric system unit of mass....
(1.0893 ozOunceThe ounce is a unit of mass with several definitions, the most commonly used of which are equal to approximately 28 grams. The ounce is used in a number of different systems, including various systems of mass that form part of the imperial and United States customary systems...
) (with variations)
- An ons was 1/16 of a pond. An ons was generally around 30 grams, but there was much variation. The figures provided above for the weight of the various pounds used in the Netherlands can be divided by 16 to obtain the weights of the various ounces in use. After the metric system was introduced, the word ons continued to be used, but for 100 g. The ons was eliminated as a formal unit of measurement in 1937, but it is still used today in everyday parlance to refer to 100 g. In the Netherlands today the word ons does not commonly refer to its historical weight of around 30 g (the exact weight depending on where you were), but to 100 g.
Last or Scheepslast
- scheepslast – 4,000 Amsterdam pond = 1976.4 kg (2.1786 short tonShort tonThe short ton is a unit of mass equal to . In the United States it is often called simply ton without distinguishing it from the metric ton or the long ton ; rather, the other two are specifically noted. There are, however, some U.S...
s)
- Meaning literally a "load", a last was essentially the equivalent of 120 cubic feet of shipping space. A last in the Dutch East India CompanyDutch East India CompanyThe Dutch East India Company was a chartered company established in 1602, when the States-General of the Netherlands granted it a 21-year monopoly to carry out colonial activities in Asia...
(VOC) in the 17th century was about the same as 1,250 kg, becoming later as much as 2,000 kg.
- In the Dutch fishery, a last was a measurement of the fish loaded into the various types of fishing boat in use (e.g. a bomschuit, buis, sloep or logger). The last of these could take 35 to 40 last of fish, the exact amount depending on the location. In the South HollandSouth HollandSouth Holland is a province situated on the North Sea in the western part of the Netherlands. The provincial capital is The Hague and its largest city is Rotterdam.South Holland is one of the most densely populated and industrialised areas in the world...
fishing villages of Scheveningen and KatwijkKatwijkKatwijk is a coastal municipality and town in the province of South Holland in the western Netherlands. It has a population of 61,292.-Location:...
, it amounted to 17 crans (kantjes) of herringHerringHerring is an oily fish of the genus Clupea, found in the shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and the North Atlantic oceans, including the Baltic Sea. Three species of Clupea are recognized. The main taxa, the Atlantic herring and the Pacific herring may each be divided into subspecies...
; in VlaardingenVlaardingenVlaardingen is a town in South Holland in the Netherlands. It is located on the north bank of the Nieuwe Maas/Nieuwe Waterweg river at the confluence with the Oude Maas...
14 packed tons. A cran (kantje) held about 900 to 1,000 herring. In FlandersFlandersFlanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...
a last was about 1,000 kg of herring. The term fell out of use when the herring fishery disappeared.
Apothecaries' system
- In the Netherlands (as in English-speaking countries) there was an apothecaries' systemApothecaries' systemThe apothecaries' system of weights is a historical system of mass units that were used by physicians and apothecaries for medical recipes, and also sometimes by scientists. The English version of the system is closely related with the English troy system of weights, the pound and grain being...
of weights.
| Unit | Symbol | Division | Grains | Grams |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| medicinal pound (medicinaal pond) | lb | 12 ons | 5760 | 373.241 72 |
| medicinal ounce (medicinaal ons) | 8 drachmen | 480 | 31.103 477 | |
| dram (drachme) | 3 scrupels | 60 | 3.887 9346 | |
| scruple (scrupel) | 20 grein | 20 | 1.295 9782 | |
| grain (grein) | gr. | 1 | 0.064 79891 |
Length
Mijl- mijl (mileMileA mile is a unit of length, most commonly 5,280 feet . The mile of 5,280 feet is sometimes called the statute mile or land mile to distinguish it from the nautical mile...
) = about 5 km (with variations)
- The Hollandse mijl was "an hour's walk" (één uur gaans) which makes it equivalent to the English leagueLeague (unit)A league is a unit of length . It was long common in Europe and Latin America, but it is no longer an official unit in any nation. The league originally referred to the distance a person or a horse could walk in an hour...
- about three English miles or five kilometres, though the exact distance varied from region to region. Other equivalents of the various miles in use were the French lieu marine (5,555 m), 20,000 Amsterdam feet (5,660 m) or 20,000 Rijnland feet (6,280 m). Between the introduction of the "Dutch metric system" (Nederlands metriek stelsel) in 1816 and the reforms in 1869, the word "mijl" was used to refer to a kilometre. The word mijl has since fallen into disuse except when referring to the "mile" used in English-speaking countries.
Roede
- The roede (literally, "rod") was generally somewhat smaller than the English rod, which is 16.5 feet (or 5.0292 metres). However, the length of a roede, and the number of voeten in a roede, varied from place to place. There could be anywhere from 7 to 21 voeten in a roede. The roede used in the Netherlands for the measurement of long distances was generally the Rijnland rod. Other rods included:
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- one RijnlandRijnlandThe name Rijnland means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English or "Rheinland" in German...
rod (Rijnlandse roede) (= 12 Rijnland feet) was 3.767 m - one AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
rod (Amsterdamse roede) (= 13 Amsterdam feet) was 3.68 m - one Bloois rod (Blooise roede) (= 12 feet) was 3.612 m
- one 's-Hertogenbosch rod (s-Hertogenbosche roede) (= 20 feet) was 5.75 m
- one Hondsbos and Rijp rod (Hondsbosse en Rijp roede) was 3.42 m
- one Putten rod (Puttense roede) (= 14 feet) was 4.056 m
- one Schouw rod (Schouwse roede) (= 12 feet) was 3.729 m
- one Kings rod (in Friesland) (Konings roede) (= 12 feet) was 3.913 m
- one Gelderland rod (Geldersche roede) (= 14 feet) was 3.807 m
- one Rijnland
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- Today the word roede is not in common use in the Netherlands as a unit of measurement.
El
- The length represented by the Dutch ell was the distance of the inside of the arm (i.e. the distance from the armpit to the tip of the fingers), an easy way to measure length. The Dutch "ell", which varied from town to town ' onMouseout='HidePop("77033")' href="/topics/Ell">ellEllAn ell , is a unit of measurement, approximating the length of a man's arm.Several national forms existed, with different lengths, includingthe Scottish ell ,the Flemish ell ,the French ell...
(114.3 cm). A section of measurements are given below:
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- one Hague ell or standard ell (Haagse of gewone el) = 69.425 cm
- one AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
ell (Amsterdamse el) = 68.78 cm - one BrabantNorth BrabantNorth Brabant , sometimes called Brabant, is a province of the Netherlands, located in the south of the country, bordered by Belgium in the south, the Meuse River in the north, Limburg in the east and Zeeland in the west.- History :...
ell (Brabantse el) 69.2 cm or 16 tailles - one DelftDelftDelft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
ell (Delfsche el) = 68.2 cm - one GoesGoesGoes is a municipality and a city in the southwestern Netherlands in Zuid-Beveland, in the province Zeeland. The city of Goes has approximately 27,000 residents.-History of Goes:...
ell (Goesche el) = 69 cm - one TwenteTwenteTwente is a non-administrative region in the eastern Netherlands. It encompasses the most urbanised and easternmost part of the province of Overijssel...
ell (Twentse el) = 58.7 cm
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Iin 1725 the Hague ell was fixed as the national standard for tax purposes and from 1816 to 1869, the word el was used in the Netherlands to refer to the metre. In 1869 the word meter was adopted and the el, disappeared, both as a word and as a unit of measurement.
Voet
- The voet ("foot") was of the same order of magnitude as the English foot (30.48 m), but its exact size varied from city to city and from province to province. There were 10, 11, 12 or 13 duimen (inches) in a voet, depending on the city's local regulations. The Rijnland foot which had been in use since 1621 was most commonly used voet in the both Netherlands and in parts of Germany. In 1807, de Gelder measured the copy of the Rijnland foot in the Leiden observatory to be 0.3139465 m while Eytelwien found that the master copy that was in use in Germany was 0.313853543 m - a difference of 0.03%. The following is a partial list of the various voeten in use the Netherlands:
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- one RijnlandRijnlandThe name Rijnland means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English or "Rheinland" in German...
foot (Rijnlandse voet) (=12 Rijnland inches) was 31.4 cm - one AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
foot (Amsterdamse voet) (= 11 Amsterdam inches) was 28.3133 cm - one Bloois foot (Blooise voet) was 30.1 cm
- one 's-Hertogenbosch foot (s-Hertogenbossche voet) was 28.7 cm
- one Hondsbos and Rijp foot (Honsbossche en Rijpse voet) was 28.5 cm
- one Schouw foot (Schouwse voet) was 31.1 cm
- one GelderlandGelderlandGelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
foot (Geldersche voet) was 29.2 cm
- one Rijnland
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- Today the word voet is not in common use in the Netherlands as a unit of measurement, except when referring to the English foot.
Palm
- kleine palm (small palm) – 3 cm (1.18 in)
- grote palm (large palm) – 9.6 cm; after 1820, 10 cm
Duim
- The duim ("thumb", but translated as "inch") was about the width of the top phalanx of the thumb of an adult man. It was very similar to the length of the English inch (2.54 cm). Its exact length and definition varied from region to region, but was usually one twelfthof a voet, though the Amsterdamse duim was one eleventh of an Amsterdamse voet.
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- one AmsterdamAmsterdamAmsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
inch (Amsterdamse duim) was 2.57393 cm - one GelderlandGelderlandGelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
or Nijmegen inch (Gelderse of Nijmeegse duim) was 2.7 cm - one RijnlandRijnlandThe name Rijnland means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English or "Rheinland" in German...
inch (Rijnlandse duim) was 2.61 cm
- one Amsterdam
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- When the "Dutch metric system" (Nederlands metriek stelsel) was introduced in 1820 the word duim was used for the centimetre, but in 1870 was dropped. Today the word duim is not in common use in the Netherlands as a unit of measurement except when referring to the English inch. The word is still used in certain expressions such as "drieduims pijp" (three-inch pipe) and "duimstok" (ruler or gauge).
Area
Morgen- morgen was 8,516 square metres (with variations).
- "Morgen" means "morning" in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
. A morgen of land represented the amount of land that could be ploughed in a morning. The exact size varied from region to region. The number of roede in a morgen also varied from place to place, and could be anywhere from 150 to 900.
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- one RijnlandRijnlandThe name Rijnland means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English or "Rheinland" in German...
morgen (Rijnlandse morgen) = 8,516 square metres (Divided into 6 honts. A hont was divided into 100 square Rijnland rods. So there were 600 Rijnland rods in a morgen. A Rijnland rod was divided into 144 square Rijnland feet.) - one BiltDe BiltDe Bilt is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-Population centres :The municipality of De Bilt consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Bilthoven, De Bilt, Groenekan, Hollandsche Rading, Maartensdijk, Westbroek...
morgen (Biltse morgen) = 9,200 square metres - one GelderlandGelderlandGelderland is the largest province of the Netherlands, located in the central eastern part of the country. The capital city is Arnhem. The two other major cities, Nijmegen and Apeldoorn have more inhabitants. Other major regional centers in Gelderland are Ede, Doetinchem, Zutphen, Tiel, Wijchen,...
morgen (Gelderse morgen) = 8,600 square metres - one GooiGooiHet Gooi is the area around Hilversum in the centre of the Netherlands. It is a slightly hilly area characterised by its green landscape, its historical charm, the wealth of its inhabitants, and its villas. Het Gooi is known in the Netherlands as the home of the rich and famous.- Name :The name...
morgen (Gooise morgen) = 9,800 square metres - one 's-Hertogenbosch morgen (Bossche morgen) = 9,930 square metres (Divided into 6 loopense = 600 square roede = 240.000 square feet.
- one VeluweVeluweThe Veluwe is a forest-rich ridge of hills in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands. The Veluwe features many different landscapes including woodland, heath, some small lakes and Europe's largest sand drifts....
morgen (Veluwse morgen) = 9,300 square meteres - one WaterlandWaterlandWaterland is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is located north of Amsterdam, on the borders of the IJsselmeer.-Population centres :...
morgen (Waterlandse morgen) = 10,700 square metres - one ZijpZijpe-Population centres :The municipality of Zijpe consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Burgerbrug, Burgervlotbrug, Callantsoog, Groote Keeten, Oudesluis, Petten, Schagerbrug, Sint Maartensbrug, Sint Maartensvlotbrug, 't Zand....
or SchermerSchermerSchermer is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The name came from "skir mere", which means "bright lake" Schermer (West Frisian: Skirmare) is a municipality in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. The name came from "skir mere", which means "bright...
morgen (Zijper of Schermer morgen) = 8,516 square metres
- one Rijnland
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- During the French occupation, measurements were standardised and regional variations eliminated. Initially, the Napoleonic king Louis Napoleon decreed in 1806 that the RijnlandRijnlandThe name Rijnland means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English or "Rheinland" in German...
morgen would be used throughout the country, but this only lasted a few years. It wasn't long before the metric system was introduced. Since then land has been measured in square metres (hectares, areAREAre, ARE or Åre may refer to: United Arab Emirates using ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code*The second-person singular and plural forms of the verb "to be", copula of the English language...
s and centiares).
Hont
- A hont was made up of 100 roede. The exact size of a hont of land varied from place to place, but the Rijnland hont was 1,400 square metres. Another name for hont was "honderd", a Dutch word meaning "hundred". The word hond is derived from the earlier Germanic word hunda, which meant "hundred" (or "dog"). After the metric system was introduced in the 19th century, the measurement fell into disuse.
Roede
- A square roede was also referred to as a roede. Roede (or roe) was both an area measurement as well as a linear measurement. The exact size of a roede depended on the length of the local roede, which varied from place to place. The most common roede used in the Netherlands was the Rijnland rod.
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- one Rijnland rod (Rijnlandse roede) was 14.19 m²
- one Amsterdam rod (Amsterdamse roede) was 13.52 m²
- one 's-Hertogenbosch rod (Bossche roede) was 33.1 m²
- one Breda rod (Bredase roede) was 32.26 m²
- one Groningen rod (Groningse roede) was 16.72 m²
- one Hondsbos rod (Hondsbosse roede) was 11.71 m²
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- When the Dutch metric system (Nederlands metriek stelsel) was introduced in 1816, the old names were used for the new metric measures. An are was referred to as a "square rod" (vierkante roede). The rod and the square rod were abandoned by 1937, but the Rijnland rod (Rijnlandse Roede), abbreviated as "RR²", is still used as a measurement of surface area for flowerbulb fields.
Voet
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- Rijnlandse voet (RijnlandRijnlandThe name Rijnland means "Rhineland" in Dutch. When referring to the Rhine in Germany, "Rijnland" has the same meaning as "Rhineland" in English or "Rheinland" in German...
square foot) – 0.098596 m²Square metreThe square metre or square meter is the SI derived unit of area, with symbol m2 . It is defined as the area of a square whose sides measure exactly one metre...
(1.0163 sq ft) - Hertogenbossche voet ('s-Hertogenbosch square foot) – 0.082369 m² (0.8866 sq ft.)
- Rijnlandse voet (Rijnland
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- A square voet was also called a voet. The word voet (meaning "foot") could refer to a foot or to a square foot. The exact size of a voet depended on the length of the local voet, which changed from region to region. The most commonly used voet in the Netherlands was the Rijnland foot.
Volume
- The Dutch measures of volume, as with all other measures, varied from locality to locality (as do modern day US and UK measures of volume). The modern day equivalents are therefore only approximate and equating litres with quartQuartThe quart is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon, two pints, or four cups. Since gallons of various sizes have historically been in use, quarts of various sizes have also existed; see gallon for further discussion. Three of these kinds of quarts remain in current use, all approximately...
s will not unduly distort the results (1 litre = 1.136 US quarts = 0.880 UK quarts)
Okshoofd
- okshoofd (hogsheadHogsheadA hogshead is a large cask of liquid . More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either Imperial units or U.S. customary units, primarily applied to alcoholic beverages such as wine, ale, or cider....
) – 6 ankers = 232 LLitrepic|200px|right|thumb|One litre is equivalent to this cubeEach side is 10 cm1 litre water = 1 kilogram water The litre is a metric system unit of volume equal to 1 cubic decimetre , to 1,000 cubic centimetres , and to 1/1,000 cubic metre...
- A okshoofd (earlier spelling: oxhoofd) was a measurement of volume representing the volume held by a large barrel of wine. The measurement was also used for vinegar, tobacco and sugar. The measurement is still used by businesses in the wine and spirits trade. There were six ankers in an okshoofd.
- There is a saying in Dutch: "You can't draw clean wine from an unclean hogshead". (Men kan geen reine wijn uit een onrein okshoofd tappen.)
Aam
- aam – 4 ankers = 155 L
- There were four ankers in an aam. It was used for measuring the volume of wine. The size of an aam varied from place to place. It was anything from 141 to 160 litres.
Anker
- anker (anchor) = approximately 38.75 L
- An anker was a measure of volume representing the volume held in a small cask holding around 45 bottles.
Stoop
- stoop – 1/16 anker = 2.4 L
Mingel
- mingel – 1/2 stoop = approximately 1.21 L
Dutch metric system
In 1792 the southern part of the Netherlands was incorporated into the First French Republic and in 1807 the rest of the Netherlands was incorporated into what had now become the First French EmpireFirst French Empire
The First French Empire , also known as the Greater French Empire or Napoleonic Empire, was the empire of Napoleon I of France...
and as a result the Netherlands was forced to accept the French units of measurement
French units of measurement
France has a unique history of units of measurement due to radical attempts to adopt a metric system following the French Revolution.In the Ancien régime, before 1795, France used a system of measures that had many of the characteristics of the modern Imperial System of units...
. In 1812 France replaced the original metric system
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
with the mesures usuelles
Mesures usuelles
Mesures usuelles were a system of measurement introduced by Napoleon I in 1812 to act as compromise between the metric system and traditional measurements...
.
Under the Congress of Vienna
Congress of Vienna
The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of European states chaired by Klemens Wenzel von Metternich, and held in Vienna from September, 1814 to June, 1815. The objective of the Congress was to settle the many issues arising from the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars,...
in 1815, the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
which included Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
was established as a buffer state against France. Under the Royal decree of 27 March 1817 (Koningklijk besluit van den 27 Maart 1817), the newly-formed Kingdom of the Netherlands
Kingdom of the Netherlands
The Kingdom of the Netherlands is a sovereign state and constitutional monarchy with territory in Western Europe and in the Caribbean. The four parts of the Kingdom—Aruba, Curaçao, the Netherlands, and Sint Maarten—are referred to as "countries", and participate on a basis of equality...
abandoned the mesures usuelles in favour of the "Dutch" metric system
Metric system
The metric system is an international decimalised system of measurement. France was first to adopt a metric system, in 1799, and a metric system is now the official system of measurement, used in almost every country in the world...
(Nederlands metrisch stelsel) in which metric units were given the names of units of measure that were then in use. Examples include:
Length
- 1 mijl (mile) = 1 kilometre (1 statute mile = 1.609 km)
- 1 roede (rood) = 10 metres
- 1 el (ell) = 1 metre (1 English ell of 45 in = 1.143 m)
- 1 palm (hand) = 10 centimetres (1 English hand = 10.16 cm)
- 1 duim (thumb/inch) = 1 centimetre (1 inch = 2.54 cm)
- 1 streep (line) = 1 millimetre (1 English line = 2.12 mm)
Area
- 1 bunder = 1 hectare
- 1 vierkante roede (square rod) = 1 are or 100 m2
Volume
- 1 wisse or teerling el = 1 cubic metre.
- 1 mud (bushel) = 100 litres
- 1 kop (cup) = 1 litre (1 Australian cup = 250 ml)
- 1 maatje (small measure) = 100 millilitres
- 1 vingerhoed (thimble) = 10 millilitres
Weight
- 1 pond (pound) = 1 kilogram (1 pound avoirdupois = 0.454 kg)
-
- (though in modern colloquial speech, 500 g is also known as a pond.
-
- 1 ons (ounce) = 100 grams (1 ounce avoirdupois = 28.35 g)
- 1 lood (lead)= 10 grams
- 1 wigtje (small weight) = 1 gram
- 1 korrel (grain) = 0.1 gram
In 1816, the Netherlands and France were the only countries in the world that were using variations of the metric system. By the late 1860's, the German Zollverein
Zollverein
thumb|upright=1.2|The German Zollverein 1834–1919blue = Prussia in 1834 grey= Included region until 1866yellow= Excluded after 1866red = Borders of the German Union of 1828 pink= Relevant others until 1834...
and many other neighbouring countries had adopted the metric system, so in 1869 the modern names were adopted (Wet van 7 April 1869, Staatsblad No.57). A few of the older names remained officially in use, but they were eliminated when the system was further standardised by the 1937 Act on Weights and Measures (IJkwet), though the pond is now used colloquially to mean half a kilogram.
Nomenclature
The metric system in the Netherlands has virtually the same nomenclature as in English, except:- the "-er" spelling is used (e.g. kilometer),
- there is no plural form (e.g. "three metres" is expressed as "drie meter"),
- "tonneTonneThe tonne, known as the metric ton in the US , often put pleonastically as "metric tonne" to avoid confusion with ton, is a metric system unit of mass equal to 1000 kilograms. The tonne is not an International System of Units unit, but is accepted for use with the SI...
" is ton in Dutch, - a few metric measurements unfamiliar to most English speakers are sometimes used to refer to property measurements (e.g. areAREAre, ARE or Åre may refer to: United Arab Emirates using ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 country code*The second-person singular and plural forms of the verb "to be", copula of the English language...
and centiare).
Standards
On 30 October 2006 the Weights and Measures Act was replaced by the Metrology Act. The organisation currently responsible for weights and measures in the Netherlands is a private company called the Netherlands Meetinstituut (NMi). Literally, this means "Dutch Institute of Measures", but the organisation uses its Dutch name in English. The company was created in 1989 when the Metrology Service (Dienst van het IJkwezen) was privatised. At first the sole shareholder was the Dutch government, but in 2001 the sole shareholder became TNO Bedrijven, a holding company for TNO, the Dutch Organisation for Applied Scientific Research.See also
- Weights and measures
- Historical weights and measures
- SISiSi, si, or SI may refer to :- Measurement, mathematics and science :* International System of Units , the modern international standard version of the metric system...
External links
- NMI (Nederlands Meetinstituut (NMi) There is some information in English, but very little on the historical system.)
- Cor Snabel's page on Old Dutch Measures (A comprehensive collection of links and information.)
- Pieter Simons' page on "Oude Maten" (Dutch only)
- Oscar van Vlijmen's page on "Historische eenheden Nederland en België" (Dutch only)
- Dutch Weights and Measures Collectors Society