The arrátel () was the base unit of

weight In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force acting on the object due to gravity. Some standard textbooks define weight as a Euclidean vector, vector quantity, the gravitational force acting on the object. Others define weigh ...

in the Portuguese customary measurement system.''Dicionário Enciclopédico Lello Universal'', Oporto: Lello & Irmão, 2002. Until the adoption of the

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 ...

in the 19th century, the arrátel was used in

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 ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and other parts 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 ...

.MONTEVERDE, Emilio Achilles, ''Manual Encyclopedico para Uzo das Escolas de Instrucção Primaria'', Lisboa: Imprensa Nacional, 1861. The real value of the arrátel fluctuated during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. Before king Pedro I, the main arrátel seems to have been an arrátel of 12.5

ounce The ounce () is any of several different units of mass, weight or volume and is derived almost unchanged from the , an Ancient Roman units of measurement, Ancient Roman unit of measurement. The #International avoirdupois ounce, avoirdupois ounce ...

s. With Pedro I, the official arrátel increased to 14 ounces. Finally, the Portuguese arrátel was fixed at 16 ounces by decree of King

Manuel I Manuel I may refer to: *Manuel I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (1143–1180) *Manuel I of Trebizond, Emperor of Trebizond (1228–1263) *Manuel I of Portugal Manuel I (; 31 May 146913 December 1521), known as the Fortunate ( pt, O Venturoso), was ...

in 1499. This arrátel, which was kept as the national standard until the introduction of the metric system, was similar to the Spanish

libra Libra generally refers to: * Libra (constellation), a constellation * Libra (astrology), an astrological sign based on the star constellation Libra may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Libra'' (novel), a 1988 novel by Don DeLillo Musi ...

Arratel values

* 13th century: Arratel = 12½ ''onças'' (

s) = 25/32 ''libras'' = 0,3596 kg; * 15th century: Arratel = 14 ''onças'' = 0,4025 kg; * 1499: Arratel = 16 ''onças'' = 1 ''libra'' = 1,011

Avoirdupois pound The pound or pound-mass is a unit of mass used in British imperial and United States customary systems of measurement. Various definitions have been used; the most common today is the international avoirdupois pound, which is legally define ...

= 0,4590 kg.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arratel Units of mass

Arratel values

See also

References