The canada ({{IPA-pt, kɐˈnaðɐ) was the

unit Unit may refer to: Arts and entertainment * UNIT, a fictional military organization in the science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' * Unit of action, a discrete piece of action (or beat) in a theatrical presentation Music * ''Unit'' (a ...

of liquid

volume Volume is a measure of occupied three-dimensional space. It is often quantified numerically using SI derived units (such as the cubic metre and litre) or by various imperial or US customary units (such as the gallon, quart, cubic inch). Th ...

of the ancient Portuguese measurement system. It 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 ...

until the adoption of the

metric system The metric system is a system of measurement that succeeded the decimalised system based on the metre that had been introduced in France in the 1790s. The historical development of these systems culminated in the definition of the Interna ...

. It was equivalent to 4 ''quartilhos'' (

pint The pint (, ; symbol pt, sometimes abbreviated as ''p'') is a unit of volume or capacity in both the imperial and United States customary measurement systems. In both of those systems it is traditionally one eighth of a gallon. The British impe ...

s). The exact value of the canada varied from region to region, the canada of Lisbon being equivalent to 1.4

litre The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m3 ...

s. In the Portuguese metric system officially adopted in August 1814, "canada" was the name given to the unit of liquid volume. This metric canada was equivalent to 1 litre. The canada is still used in some rural areas of Portugal and Brazil to indicate a liquid volume of between 1.5 and 2.0 liters.

References

*Monteverde, Emilio Achilles, ''Manual Encyclopedico para Uzo das Escolas de Instrucção Primaria'', Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1861. *''Dicionário Enciclopédico Lello Universal'', Oporto: Lello & Irmão, 2002. * Fátima Paixão, Fátima Regina Jorge, ''Success and constraints in adoption of the metric system in Portugal'', The Global and the Local: History of Science and the Cultural Integration of Europe, 2006

References

See also