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A number of units of measurement were used in Nicaragua to measure measurements in mass, area, volume, etc. In Nicaragua, the metric system was adopted in 1910, and has been compulsory since 1912, by a joint convention between Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador.

Pre-metric units

Before the metric system, a number of modified Spanish (i.e. Spanish Castilian), English and local units were used.

Mass

Several units were used to measure mass in the above five countries. Some of these units are given below:

1 caja = 16 kg

1 fanega = 92 kg

1 carga = 161 kg

Area

Several units were used to measure area in these countries. One manzana was equal to 10,000 square varas or 6987.4 m. (A vara was an obsolete Spanish unit of length equal to 0.8359 m.) One caballeria was equal to 64 manzanas.

Volume

Several units were used to measure volume in these countries. One botella was equal to 0.63 to 0.67 litres. One cajuela was equal to 16.6 litres. However the capacity of one cuartillo is very variable.

References

1. ^ Washburn, E.W. (1926). International Critical Tables of Numerical Data, Physics, Chemistry and Technology. New York: McGraw-Hil Book Company, Inc. p. 5.
2. ^ Cardarelli, F. (2003). Encyclopaedia of Scientific Units, Weights and Measures. Their SI Equivalences and Origins. London: Springer. pp. 157, 158. ISBN 978-1-4471-1122-1.

• Culture of Nicaragua
• Units of measurement by country