Historical units of measurement

18 januari 2010

The systems of weights and measures used in the Dutch Republic during the seventeenth century were very different to the metric system of today, which was only implemented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 19th century. The monetary system was different too, and even the calculation of time was something of a challenge in those days.

Not only in Europe, but in the Republic too, a wide range of measurement and weight systems were used that were sometimes comparable, but more often were very different from each other.

A number of measurement and weight systems with which Christiaan Huygens had to work are listed below, including the conversion to the current metric system.

• Units of length
• Units of weight
• Money and coins
• Calendar and time calculation
• Literature

These pages are predominantly the work of Rob van Gent.