Orthography and Measures
Kirsten Schultz · Yale University Press eBooks · 2023
d M e a s u r e s Orthographic practices in eighteenth-century Portugal and Brazil varied greatly.Here I have tried to maintain the original orthography and spelling of printed works while using present-day conventions when transcribing and translating manuscripts.With quotation and emphasis, I have tried as well to clearly indicate eighteenth-century terms used to describe the people who lived in Brazil.With regard to measures and units in use in the eighteenth century, while there were some local variations in currency, measures, and weights, the real (plural réis) was the basic unit of currency.A cruzado was equal to 480 réis, and a conto was 1 million réis.An oitava, or an eighth of an ounce, was equal to 0.036 kilogram; a Portuguese arroba was 32 pounds or 14.5 kilograms.