English translation: approximately 4,338 acres of land (see explanation below)
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21:42 Nov 22, 2009
Spanish to English translations [PRO] Art/Literary - History
Spanish term or phrase:de un sitio de
Y en otro ejemplo, en 1595 Gonzalo López Músico por merced que se le otorgó, de un sitio de estancia para ganado mayor funda la Hacienda de la Angostura, Zacatecas con un obraje, del cual habría de surgir la comunidad de Villa García, reconocida hasta hace algunos años por sus tejedores.
Explanation: the expression is in fact "sitio de ganado mayor" or "sitio de estancia de ganado mayor", according to this wonderful ref (!!):
In Mexico, 16th – 20th century (UN 1966), a unit of land area used in making land grants, a square 5000 varas on a side (one square legua), approximately 17.5561 square kilometers (approximately 4,338 acres) legalized in 1837 by the Mexican Ordinance for Land and Sea.1 This was the amount of land considered necessary for a cattle ranch. Also called sitio de estancia de ganado mayor and sometimes spelled sitio de ganedo mayor.
In California, 19th century, this unit was sometimes referred to as a California league, distinguishing it from the league in Texas, which was 4,428.4 acres....
...The shape of a sitio de estancia de ganado mayor is a square each of whose sides* is 5000 Mexican varas. Two of the sides face east-west, and consequently the other two sides face south-north. The distance from the center of the sitio to each of its sides, walking directly toward a cardinal point on the horizon (due east, west, north or south), is 2500 varas. The distance measured from the same center to each of the four right** angles of the sitio, must be 3535½ varas, and the distance that you measure from any one of the angles to the opposite angle, should be 7071 varas. If the cordel of 50 varas is used for these measurements, each of the sides of the sitio de estancia de ganado mayor must have 100 cordels; from the center to each one of the sides must be 50 cordels; from the same center to each one of the angles must measure 70 cordels, 35½ varas, and from an angle to the one opposite it should be 141 cordels and 21 varas. See figure 1 for the best information on what we speak of.
_____________-
How you choose to phrase this is up to you!
Perhaps something vague like "a plot of farmland"...?
I've just done the donkey work - leave you to add the master strokes!
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 12 hrs (2009-11-23 10:34:34 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Carol: Thanks so much for this information! Far more than "donkey" work! It didn't even occur to me that sitio was a measure!! Hope you're having a good weekend! 4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer
http://www.questia.com/googleScholar.qst;jsessionid=LJ2dRWdP...
An association of herders organized the transhumant routes by which sheep moved between seasonal pastures along hundreds of kilometers of stonewalled trails, or canadas. The estancias, or land grants, gridded the landscape league by league, accumulating space for Spaniards and marginalizing natives. The pastures burned each long, dry winter, incrementally altering the vegetation.
By 1580 the viceroys had granted sixty-two cattle estancias in the lowland environs of the port of Veracruz alone, and the report of the alcalde claims 150,000 cows and mares (JGI, XXV-8, f. 5; Sluyter 1995).
Hi, Christine: Actually, in Mexico, an estancia is similar to a hacienda -- a large farm of cattle ranch. Maybe it means he was granted a [royal] favor, in the form of a cattle ranch, on which he founded the Hacienda ...
approximately 4,338 acres of land (see explanation below)
Explanation: the expression is in fact "sitio de ganado mayor" or "sitio de estancia de ganado mayor", according to this wonderful ref (!!):
In Mexico, 16th – 20th century (UN 1966), a unit of land area used in making land grants, a square 5000 varas on a side (one square legua), approximately 17.5561 square kilometers (approximately 4,338 acres) legalized in 1837 by the Mexican Ordinance for Land and Sea.1 This was the amount of land considered necessary for a cattle ranch. Also called sitio de estancia de ganado mayor and sometimes spelled sitio de ganedo mayor.
In California, 19th century, this unit was sometimes referred to as a California league, distinguishing it from the league in Texas, which was 4,428.4 acres....
...The shape of a sitio de estancia de ganado mayor is a square each of whose sides* is 5000 Mexican varas. Two of the sides face east-west, and consequently the other two sides face south-north. The distance from the center of the sitio to each of its sides, walking directly toward a cardinal point on the horizon (due east, west, north or south), is 2500 varas. The distance measured from the same center to each of the four right** angles of the sitio, must be 3535½ varas, and the distance that you measure from any one of the angles to the opposite angle, should be 7071 varas. If the cordel of 50 varas is used for these measurements, each of the sides of the sitio de estancia de ganado mayor must have 100 cordels; from the center to each one of the sides must be 50 cordels; from the same center to each one of the angles must measure 70 cordels, 35½ varas, and from an angle to the one opposite it should be 141 cordels and 21 varas. See figure 1 for the best information on what we speak of.
_____________-
How you choose to phrase this is up to you!
Perhaps something vague like "a plot of farmland"...?
I've just done the donkey work - leave you to add the master strokes!
-------------------------------------------------- Note added at 12 hrs (2009-11-23 10:34:34 GMT) --------------------------------------------------
Carol Gullidge United Kingdom Local time: 18:01 Specializes in field Native speaker of: English PRO pts in category: 56
Grading comment
Carol: Thanks so much for this information! Far more than "donkey" work! It didn't even occur to me that sitio was a measure!! Hope you're having a good weekend!
The translation workplace 
peer agreement (net): +1
