Politics and metrological policy of the Crown of Castile until the introduction of the Metric System

Abstract

Castilian monarchy soon took charge of legislating against the metrological chaos that existed inside the kingdom. From Alfonso X to Carlos IV, legislation periodically tried to unify the weights and measures of the vast and differentiated Castilian territory, although each and every one of the reforms failed in their task. This article tries to analyse the way in which the monarchy created, designed and disseminated its reforms of weights and measures throughout the Castilian territory, as well as the real effect that these had at the other end of the administrative pyramid: the local councils. In this way, the Crown, as well as the local governments contributed for the definition of a metrological policy.