A number of units of measurement were used in South Africa to measure quantities like length, mass, capacity, etc. The Imperial system of measurements was made standard in 1922 and the metric system was adopted in 1961. [1]
British and old Dutch systems were used. [2]
The Rhynland rood (Rijnlandse roede) was a standard Dutch measurement. It was changed in 1859 to the "Cape Foot" due to a drift in standards.
Several units were used. Some units are provided below:
These were used to measure rice and salt.
These were used to measure grains.
The country didn't have a unified system of liquid measurement in the 19th century because the Afrikaners used the Dutch gallon [3.3947 (≈3.4)? liters] and the British used the Imperial gallon [4.54 liters]. When measuring alcohol, the British system was used only for ale and beer and the Dutch system was used only for wine, brandy and distilled spirits. This was due to specialization in the two colonies, which were not united until 1910. Vintning was more common among the Afrikaner farmers of the Western Cape, who dominated the industry. Meanwhile, the British farmers grew grain that could be brewed into beer. Wine was for export and beer, which was perishable, was for domestic consumption. Each community used their own standard measurement systems to store, sell and ship their wares.
The firkin, kilderkin, barrel, hogshead, and butt were traditional British measurements of capacity for standard ale and beer containers. They were based on the British ale gallon. (Once there were different measures for ale and beer before the Ale gallon measure became standard for both in 1688; the Ale gallon then became the Imperial gallon in 1824).
{Beer bottles in South Africa were different from in other countries.}
The Dutch East India company used the Cape of Good Hope as a waystation between Europe and the East Indies in the 17th and 18th centuries. Dutch sailors drank the local wine to combat scurvy and exported barrels of it back to Europe. This was followed by the British government's policy of encouraging the wine and brandy industry in South Africa in the early- to mid-19th century through subsidies and low tariffs. (Their recent isolation during Napoleon's Continental System impressed upon them that they would potentially need alternative sources of European commodities in the future.)
The kanne, anker, ahm, and legger are obsolete 17th century Dutch measurements of capacity that were used for standard containers of wine and spirits. The standard "Dutch gallon" used was based on that of Amsterdam. [11] They were typically sold in ankers, half-aums, and leggers [14] until 1922, when the Imperial measurement system went into effect.
Gasoline was formerly sold in Imperial gallons [1 Imp. gal. = 4.546 L], but was switched to litres after the adoption of the metric system.
The gallon is a unit of volume in British imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use:
A hogshead is a large cask of liquid. More specifically, it refers to a specified volume, measured in either imperial or US customary measures, primarily applied to alcoholic beverages, such as wine, ale, or cider.
A peck is an imperial and United States customary unit of dry volume, equivalent to 2 dry gallons or 8 dry quarts or 16 dry pints. An imperial peck is equivalent to 9.09 liters and a US customary peck is equivalent to 8.81 liters. Two pecks make a kenning (obsolete), and four pecks make a bushel. Although the peck is no longer widely used, some produce, such as apples, are still often sold by the peck in the U.S..
The pint 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 imperial pint is about 20% larger than the American pint because the two systems are defined differently. Almost all other countries have standardized on the metric system, so although some of them still also have traditional units called pints, the volume varies by regional custom.
The quart is a unit of volume equal to a quarter of a gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the imperial quart of the British imperial system. All are roughly equal to one liter. It is divided into two pints or four cups. Historically, the exact size of the quart has varied with the different values of gallons over time and in reference to different commodities.
A barrel is one of several units of volume applied in various contexts; there are dry barrels, fluid barrels, oil barrels, and so forth. For historical reasons the volumes of some barrel units are roughly double the volumes of others; volumes in common use range approximately from 100 to 200 litres. In many connections the term drum is used almost interchangeably with barrel.
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, usually alcoholic beverages; a small barrel or cask is known as a keg.
A keg is a small cask.
English units were the units of measurement used in England up to 1826, which evolved as a combination of the Anglo-Saxon and Roman systems of units. Various standards have applied to English units at different times, in different places, and for different applications.
The units of measurement of German-speaking countries consist of a variety of units, with varying local standard definitions. While many were made redundant with the introduction of the metric system, some of these units are still used in everyday speech and even in stores and on street markets as shorthand for similar amounts in the metric system. For example, some customers ask for one pound of something when they want 500 grams.
Both the British imperial measurement system and United States customary systems of measurement derive from earlier English unit systems used prior to 1824 that were the result of a combination of the local Anglo-Saxon units inherited from Germanic tribes and Roman units.
Alcohol measurements are units of measurement for determining amounts of beverage alcohol.
Weights and measures acts are acts of the British Parliament determining the regulation of weights and measures. It also refers to similar royal and parliamentary acts of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland and the medieval Welsh states. The earliest of these were originally untitled but were given descriptive glosses or titles based upon the monarch under whose reign they were promulgated. Several omnibus modern acts are entitled the Weights and Measures Act and are distinguished by the year of their enactment.
Capacities of wine casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units. The various units were historically defined in terms of the wine gallon so varied according to the definition of the gallon until the adoption of the Queen Anne wine gallon in 1707. In the United Kingdom and its colonies the units were redefined with the introduction of the imperial system whilst the Queen Anne wine gallon was adopted as the standard US liquid gallon.
A wine gallon is a unit of capacity that was used routinely in England as far back as the 14th century, and by statute under Queen Anne since 1707. Britain abandoned the wine gallon in 1826 when it adopted imperial units for measurement. The 1707 wine gallon is the basis of the United States' gallon, as well as other measures.
Capacities of brewery casks were formerly measured and standardised according to a specific system of English units. The system was originally based on the ale gallon of 282 cubic inches. In United Kingdom and its colonies, with the adoption of the imperial system in 1824, the units were redefined in terms of the slightly smaller imperial gallon. The older units continued in use in the United States.
A fifth is a unit of volume formerly used for wine and distilled beverages in the United States, equal to one fifth of a US liquid gallon, or 25+3⁄5 U.S. fluid ounces ; it has been superseded by the metric bottle size of 750 mL, sometimes called a metric fifth, which is the standard capacity of wine bottles worldwide and is approximately 1% smaller.
A firkin is a unit of volume or mass used in several situations. Its etymology is likely to be from the Middle English ferdekyn, probably from the Middle Dutch diminutive of vierde 'fourth'. Firkin also describes a small wooden cask or tub for butter, lard, liquids, or fish.
An Anker was a Dutch unit of capacity for wine or brandy equal to 10 US gallons that was used as a standard liquid measurement. It was most commonly used in Colonial times in New York and New Jersey, thanks to the earlier Dutch settlement of New Amsterdam.
The Exchequer Standards may refer to the set of official English standards for weights and measures created by Queen Elizabeth I, and in effect from 1588 to 1825, when the Imperial units system took effect, or to the whole range of English unit standards maintained by the Court of the Exchequer from the 1200s, or to the physical reference standards physically kept at the Exchequer and used as the legal reference until the such responsibility was transferred in the 1860s, after the Imperial system had been established.