Tonel (unit)

A tonel is a historic unit of measurement. In Biscay, Spain it was used to measure the capacity of ships, as well as as a unit of volume for kegs of alcoholic drinks such as wine.

Ship Capacity

The tonel was the unit used to measure the capacity of ships in Biscay, in the same way as the tonelada was used in Seville for the Indies trade route.

Twelve toneladas were equal to ten toneles, resulting in a twenty percent increase in the toneladas, that is, in the total number that was the measurement of the ship. Nonetheless, a document from February 13, 1552 declares that the capacity of ships that could be sailed to the Indies was "one hundred toneles machos" or greater; thus the tonel macho is the same as the tonelada, which is the ship of two holds, each of twenty-seven and a half arrobas. At any rate, it appears likely and even evident that the tonel gave its name to the space it occupied, and therefore, to the tonelada.

Volume of alcoholic drinks

The capacities of wine by barrels or toneles was originally measured and standardized according to a specific system of [[ English units of measurement|English units]]. The various units were defined relative to the gallon of wine and therefore varied according to the definition of gallon used, until in 1707 the definition of the gallon of [[ Anne, Queen of Great Britain|Queen Anne]]. In the United Kingdom and its colonies the units were redefined when the Imperial system was introduced while the gallon of Queen Anne was adopted as the standard liquid gallon in the United States. The primary wine-producing countries used barrels primarily and had developed varying standards that varied from the traditional English units of volume.

References

Diccionario marítimo español, José de Lorenzo, Gonzalo de Murga, Martín Ferreiro y Peralto, 1865

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