THE PORTUGUESE MARCO OF 1499 - THE FIRST TRAVELLING STANDARD AROUND THE WORLD

António Cruz

Abstract

In 1499, weights and measures in Portugal were object of a general reform and copies of the national standards of the <i>marco</i> were distributed all over the country to the counties. In the same decade the Portuguese Discoveries were in its highest level and the maritime route to India and America discovery are the most well known achievements. But the Portuguese were also the first travelling in the Pacific and arriving to the Moluccas Islands China, Japan and too Australia. Fernão de Magalhães, the first navigator making the circumnavigation around the globe (1519-1522) was a Portuguese although under the Spanish flag. It is now recognized that one of the purposes was to establish new routes for the trade and the vessels were equipped with a copy of the <i>marco</i> to be used in trading with other civilizations. This means that it was the first measuring standard to be used and compared with other local standards as there are descriptions of the travels.

Keywords

measuring standard, discoveries, marco

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IMEKO-WC-2009-TC7-610.pdf

DOI

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IMEKO TC

TC7 - Measurement Science

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