League (unit)

	Email		Print
	Bookmark		Link

League (unit)

A league is a unit

Units of measurement

The definition, agreement and practical use of units of measurement have played a crucial role in human endeavour from early ages up to this day....
of length

Length

Length is the long dimension of any object. The length of a thing is the distance between its ends, its linear extent as measured from end to end....
or area

Area

Area is a quantity expressing the two-dimensional size of a defined part of a surface, typically a region bounded by a closed curve. The term surface area refers to the total area of the exposed surface of a 3-dimensional solid, such as the sum of the areas of the exposed sides of a polyhedron....
long common in Europe

Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
and Latin America

Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
, although no longer an official unit in any nation. The league most frequently expresses the distance a person, or a horse, can walk

Walking

Walking is the main form of animal locomotion on Earth, distinguished from running and crawling . When carried out in shallow waters, it is usually described as wading and when performed over a steeply rising object or an obstacle it becomes scrambling or climbing....
in 1 hour

Hour

The hour is a unit of time. It is not an SI unit but is Non-SI units accepted for use with SI....
of time (usually about 3.5 mile

Mile

A mile is a Units of measurement of length, usually used to measure distance, in a number of different systems. In contemporary English contexts, mile most commonly refers to the statute mile of 5,280 Feet or the nautical mile of 1,852 meters ....
s or 5.5 kilometre

Kilometre

The kilometre , symbol km is a Units of measurement of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres.Slang terms for kilometre include click and kay ....
s).

nglish units over the past couple of centuries or so, the league was most often considered to be 3 mile

Mile

Nautical mile

A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. It corresponds approximately to one minute of arc of latitude along any meridian .It is a non-International System of Units unit used especially by navigators in the shipping and aviation industries....
(1852 m) or the statute mile (now 1609.344 m, but varying slightly through history).

Discussion

Ask a question about 'League (unit)'

Start a new discussion about 'League (unit)'

Answer questions from other users

Full Discussion Forum

Encyclopedia

A league is a unit

Units of measurement

The definition, agreement and practical use of units of measurement have played a crucial role in human endeavour from early ages up to this day....
of length

Length

Length is the long dimension of any object. The length of a thing is the distance between its ends, its linear extent as measured from end to end....
or area

Area

Europe

Latin America

Walking

Hour

The hour is a unit of time. It is not an SI unit but is Non-SI units accepted for use with SI....
of time (usually about 3.5 mile

Mile

Kilometre

The kilometre , symbol km is a Units of measurement of length in the metric system, equal to one thousand metres.Slang terms for kilometre include click and kay ....
s).

Different definitions

The English-speaking world

In English units over the past couple of centuries or so, the league was most often considered to be 3 mile

Mile

Nautical mile

English language

English is a West Germanic language that originated in Anglo-Saxon England and has lingua franca status in many parts of the world as a result of the military, economic, scientific, political and cultural influence of the British Empire in the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries and that of the United States from the mid 20th century onwa...
usage also includes use of this word for any of the various leagues mentioned below (e.g., in discussing the Treaty of Tordesillas

Treaty of Tordesillas

The Treaty of Tordesillas , signed at Tordesillas , June 7, 1494, divided the "newly discovered" lands outside Europe between Spanish Empire and Portuguese Empire along a north-south meridian 370 league west of the Cape Verde islands ....
).

Ancient Rome

The league was used in Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was a civilization that grew out of a small agricultural community founded on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 10th century BC....
, defined as 1.5 Roman miles

Mile

Gaul

Gaul is the name used for the region of Western Europe comprising part of present day northern Italy, France, Belgium, western Switzerland and the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the west bank of the River Rhine....
.

See also: Ancient Roman units of measurement
Ancient Roman units of measurement

The ancient Roman units of measurement were built on the ancient Greek units of measurement with ancient Egyptian units of measurement, Ancient Hebrew units of measurement, and Ancient Mesopotamian units of measurement influences....
.

Argentina

The Argentinian league (legua) is or 6,666 varas: 1 vara is .

Brazil and Portugal

In Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east....
, Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
and other territories of the former Portuguese Empire

Portuguese Empire

The Portuguese Empire was the first global empire in history and also the earliest and longest lived of the modern European Colonialism empires, spanning almost six centuries, from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the handover of Macau in 1999....
there were several units called league (Portuguese

Portuguese language

Portuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and Portugal. It is derived from the Latin language spoken by the Romanization Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago....
: légua):

Légua of 18 by degree, equivalent to 6,172.4 metre
Metre

The metre or meter is a Unit of measurement of length. It is the SI base unit of length in the metric system and in the International System of Units , used around the world for general and scientific purposes....
s
Légua of 20 by degree, equivalent to 5,555.56 metres (maritime légua)
Légua of 25 by degree, equivalent to 4,444.44 metres

As a transitory measure, after Portugal adopted the metrical system, the metric légua, equivalent to 5.0 km, was established.

In Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
, légua is still used occasionally in the country, where it has been described as equivalent to 6.6 km, approximately.

France
The French
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
lieue – at different times – existed in several variants: 10,000, 12,000, 13,200 and 14,400 French feet, about 3.25 km to about 4.68 km. Its use overlapped the metric system
Si

Si, si, or SI may refer to :...
for a while but is now long discontinued.

See also: French units of measurement

French units of measurement

In France, before the decimalised metric system of 1799, a well-defined old system existed, however with some local variants. For instance, the lieue could vary from 3.268 km in Beauce to 5.849 km in Provence....
.

Mexico
In Yucatan
Yucatán

Yucat?n is one of the States of Mexico of Mexico, located on the north of the Yucat?n Peninsula. The Yucatan peninsula includes three states: Yucat?n, Campeche, and Quintana Roo; all three modern states were formerly part of the larger historic state of Yucat?n in the 19th century....
and other parts of rural Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, the league is still commonly used in the original sense of the distance that can be covered on foot in an hour, so that a league along a good road on level ground is a greater distance than a league on a difficult path over rough terrain.

Spain
The Spanish League or legua was originally set as a fixed unit of distance of 5,000 varas
Obsolete Spanish and Portuguese units of measurement

There are a number of Spanish and Portuguese units of measurement of length or area that are now obsolete. They include the vara, the cordel, the league and the labor....
( 0.82 m each ), about 2.6 miles or 4.2 km. Officially the league was abolished by Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain

Philip II was King of Spain from 1556 until 1598, List of monarchs of Naples from 1554 until 1598, king consort of England, as husband of Mary I of England, from 1554 to 1558, lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories, such as Duke or Count; and King of Portugal as Philip I...
in 1568, but it is still in use unofficially in parts of Latin America
Latin America

Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages ? particularly Spanish language and Portuguese language, and variably French language ? are primarily spoken....
, with exact meaning varying in different countries.

In the early Hispanic
Mexican American

Mexican Americans are United States of Mexican descent. They account for 9% of the country's population: 28.3 million Americans listed their ancestry as Mexican as of 2006....
settlement of New Mexico
New Mexico

New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
, Texas
Texas

Texas is a U.S. state located in the South Central United States, nicknamed the Lone Star State. Texas is the second largest U.S. state in both area and population, spanning , and with a growing population of 24.3 million residents....
, and Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
, a league was also a unit of area
Area

Area is a quantity expressing the two-dimensional size of a defined part of a surface, typically a region bounded by a closed curve. The term surface area refers to the total area of the exposed surface of a 3-dimensional solid, such as the sum of the areas of the exposed sides of a polyhedron....
, defined as being equal to 25,000,000 square varas or approximately 4428.4 acre
Acre

The acre is a Units of measurement of area in a number of different systems, including the Imperial unit#Measures of area and United States customary units#Units of area systems....
s. This usage of league is referenced frequently in the Texas Constitution
Texas Constitution

The Constitution of the State of Texas is the document that describes the structure and function of the government of the U.S. State of Texas. The current constitution took effect on February 15 1876....
. So defined, a league of land would encompass a square that is one Spanish league on each side.

Use in fiction

The seven-league boots
Seven-league boots

Seven-league boots are an element in European folklore. The boots allow the wearer to take great strides—seven league each step—resulting in great speed....
are a magical prop in European folk tales.
Several authors have used the league to measure distances in their work. Examples are A Song of Ice and Fire
A Song of Ice and Fire

A Song of Ice and Fire is an award-winning series of epic fantasy novels by American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. Martin began writing the series in 1991 and the first volume was published in 1996....
by George R. R. Martin
George R. R. Martin

George Raymond Richard Martin , sometimes referred to as GRRM, is an United States author and screenwriter of fantasy fiction, horror fiction, and science fiction....
and J. R. R. Tolkien
J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, Order of the British Empire was an English people English literature, poetry, Philology, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion....
's Middle-earth
Middle-earth

Middle-earth refers to the fictional lands where most of the stories of author J. R. R. Tolkien take place. These stories include The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings....
.
Jules Verne
Jules Verne

Jules Gabriel Verne was a France author who helped pioneer the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Journey to the Center of the Earth , From the Earth to the Moon , Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , and Around the World in Eighty Days ....
used this unit in the title of 2 novels:

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by France writer Jules Verne published in 1870 in literature. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax....
Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon
Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon

Eight Hundred Leagues on the Amazon is a novel by Jules Verne, published in 1881.Unlike many of his other novels, this story does not have any science fiction elements....