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205 caberίas

English translation: 205 caballerías (a unit of land equivalent to 45 hectares)

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Spanish term or phrase:205 caberίas
English translation:205 caballerías (a unit of land equivalent to 45 hectares)
Entered by: Charles Davis

04:01 Sep 28, 2013
Spanish to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Agriculture / Legal battle
Spanish term or phrase: 205 caberίas
Hi,
I would like an idea of this word means, when referring to the size/area of a farm.
The person who is describing this land is a campesinos from Guatemala, so I am not sure if he might be mispronouncing the word or if this is terminology used in the area of Peten, Guatemala.

The original text says:
“El total de la tierra son 205 caberίas … entonces el total de los asociados éramos 218”

Would appreciate your help with this.
Thank you, Estela
Estela Quintero-Weldon
Canada
205 caballerías (a unit of land equivalent to just over 45 hectares)
Explanation:
I am sure that what sounded like "cabería" was in fact "caballería". This is an old unit of land measurement, dating from colonial times still used in Central American countries. Its value varies from one country to another; in Guatamala, according to Wikipedia, it is equivalent to 45 ha 1,266.74 m²:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caballería_(medida_de_superfici...

Expressed another way, this is 45.126674 hectares. If you want that in acres, it's equivalent to 111 acres 22235 ft²:
http://www.metric-conversions.org/area/hectares-to-acres.htm

So these 205 caballerías, in total, would amount to very nearly 9,251 hectares, or some 22,860 acres. (I'll double check all these figures and add a note if I find an error.)

"Caballería" really can't be translated; it's a specifically Hispanic measure. You'll have to keep "205 caballerías" in the translation and add a note.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2013-09-28 07:36:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Confirmation:

Value of caballería in Guatemala: it's reckoned as 45 hectares:

"En Guatemala, el acuerdo gubernativo del 17 de febrero de 1925 estableció que una caballería tiene 45 hectáreas"
http://www.glosariochapin.com/c/terminos-con-las-letras-ca/c...
(This is from the Google search; the page won't open).

This confirms 45 hectares, and also indicates a much smaller unit, the manzana, which is around 0.7 hectare (7000 square metres):

"…se detectó que 22 terratenientes poseían más de 200
caballerías de terreno cada uno (1 caballería = 45 hectáreas); en
tanto que un promedio de dos millones de jefes de familias
campesinas no poseían ni una sola parcela. Un poco más de un
cuarto de millón eran lo que se podría llamar “pequeños
propietarios”, con menos de 5 manzanas por persona (5
manzanas = 3.49 hectáreas)."
http://www.odhag.org.gt/pdf/Hambre siemprehahabido.pdf (p. 20)

If you do the calculations at 45 hectares, you could round down to 111 acres per caballería, and 205 caballerías will be 9225 hectares or 22795 acreas. Anyway, it's there or thereabouts.
Selected response from:

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 05:13
Grading comment
Thank you so much Charles for your help, your research and documentation for us (ProZ participants) to follow the links!
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +1205 caballerías (a unit of land equivalent to just over 45 hectares)
Charles Davis


  

Answers


3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +1
205 caberίas
205 caballerías (a unit of land equivalent to just over 45 hectares)


Explanation:
I am sure that what sounded like "cabería" was in fact "caballería". This is an old unit of land measurement, dating from colonial times still used in Central American countries. Its value varies from one country to another; in Guatamala, according to Wikipedia, it is equivalent to 45 ha 1,266.74 m²:

http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caballería_(medida_de_superfici...

Expressed another way, this is 45.126674 hectares. If you want that in acres, it's equivalent to 111 acres 22235 ft²:
http://www.metric-conversions.org/area/hectares-to-acres.htm

So these 205 caballerías, in total, would amount to very nearly 9,251 hectares, or some 22,860 acres. (I'll double check all these figures and add a note if I find an error.)

"Caballería" really can't be translated; it's a specifically Hispanic measure. You'll have to keep "205 caballerías" in the translation and add a note.


--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 3 hrs (2013-09-28 07:36:06 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Confirmation:

Value of caballería in Guatemala: it's reckoned as 45 hectares:

"En Guatemala, el acuerdo gubernativo del 17 de febrero de 1925 estableció que una caballería tiene 45 hectáreas"
http://www.glosariochapin.com/c/terminos-con-las-letras-ca/c...
(This is from the Google search; the page won't open).

This confirms 45 hectares, and also indicates a much smaller unit, the manzana, which is around 0.7 hectare (7000 square metres):

"…se detectó que 22 terratenientes poseían más de 200
caballerías de terreno cada uno (1 caballería = 45 hectáreas); en
tanto que un promedio de dos millones de jefes de familias
campesinas no poseían ni una sola parcela. Un poco más de un
cuarto de millón eran lo que se podría llamar “pequeños
propietarios”, con menos de 5 manzanas por persona (5
manzanas = 3.49 hectáreas)."
http://www.odhag.org.gt/pdf/Hambre siemprehahabido.pdf (p. 20)

If you do the calculations at 45 hectares, you could round down to 111 acres per caballería, and 205 caballerías will be 9225 hectares or 22795 acreas. Anyway, it's there or thereabouts.

Charles Davis
Spain
Local time: 05:13
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 135
Grading comment
Thank you so much Charles for your help, your research and documentation for us (ProZ participants) to follow the links!
Notes to answerer
Asker: This really is great research and help, Charles. Thank you so much. I now realize that when the interviewee says 'caberia' he was shortening the pronunciation of 'caballeria." And thank you for the rhyme, Gallagy2!


Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yvonne Gallagher: "'Twas certain he could write, and cipher too:/ Lands he could measure,...and still the wonder grew/That one small head could carry all he knew"!!!//well, you do take on the village schoolmaster role sometimes:-)
2 hrs
  -> LOL! Thanks for making me smile! The "lands he could measure" part is apt here. (And for the agree, of course :) ) // Yes, I know; I can't help it!
neutral  Belli: Fascinating! Very educational.
2 days 3 hrs
  -> Thank you, Belli!
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